Auto News 5

Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. sales rose by less than 1 percent in November, for the automaker's fourth gain in five months, as the industry was expected to post its second-strongest sales month of the year without the help of the cash-for-clunkers program. Full story...

GM plans to cut 354 jobs at its Vauxhall plant in Luton in England. Talks will begin with unions on the timing of the job losses which are to be voluntary, GM said. Full story...

The VW Polo narrowly beat the Toyota iQ to win the 2010 European Car of the Year award for the first time in 18 years. The Polo scored 347 points against 337 for the iQ. The Opel Astra was No. 3 followed by the Skoda Yeti. Full story...

Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. posted slight U.S. sales gains in November and Hyundai-Kia soared as the industry reported sales in line with its and#8220;new normal,and#8221; after a four-year decline and this summer's cash-for-clunkers incentive. Full story...

U.S. auto sales increased by less than 1 percent in November for the industry's first year-over-year gain without government incentives since October 2007. Full story...

The VW Polo narrowly beat the Toyota iQ to win the 2010 European Car of the Year award for the first time in 18 years. The Polo scored 347 points against 337 for the iQ. The Opel Astra was No. 3 followed by the Skoda Yeti. Full story...

Capstone Turbine Corporation (www.capstoneturbine.com) (Nasdaq:CPST) is pushing traditional hybrid electric vehicle barriers with the introduction of the CMT-380, a high performance hybrid electric supercar powered by traditional batteries and an untraditional ultra low emission range extending microturbine, which is essentially like having an ultra-clean and quiet jet engine under the hood. Full story...

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) and Japan Delivery System Corporation (JDS)* have jointly developed an electric vehicle (EV) charging system for apartment complexes. The system, called i-CHARGER, is to be sold by JDS starting from December 1. Full story...

Just a few short hours before the Los Angeles Auto Show officially kicks off, and the Auto123.com team is already on site and poised for action. And there will be some action again this year, as Los Angeles has just become one of the big North American shows. Over 30 North American debuts and a few world premieres are on the menu, not to mention the surprises the organizers have in store for us. Full story...

Twenty-four year old Spaniard Andy Soucek set the fastest time in Day 1 of Formula 1 young driver testing at Jerez de la Frontera, southern Spain. Full story...

A photo posted on Danica Patrick's website yesterday might have said more about her possible NASCAR plans than she had actually wanted. Full story...

Road racer Rinaldo "Dindo" Capello scored a victory at the Monza Rally Show last weekend, driving a World Rally Championship Citroen C4 WRC. Full story...

Driving a Ford Focus WRC, MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi won four of the nine stages which made up the annual Rally di Monza event, to finish 17 seconds behind winner Dindo Capello, an Audi endurance racer. Rossi beat former World Rally Champion Marcus Gronholm, who took fourth place in his Subaru Impreza. Full story...

Quick, name the hardest working man on Jimmie Johnson's team. If you said crew chief, Chad Knaus you'd be wrong... Full story...

Both Sauber and Toyota are missing from the FIA's newly published provisional entry list for the 2010 season. Full story...

On a clear and crisp morning at Jerez, F1's 'young driver' formula one test kicked off. Full story...

The new British team Manor's takeover by the Virgin brand is definitely set to proceed. Full story...

Volkswagen Canada announced that it increased its sales by 12.3% in November over the same time period in 2008 as it sold 3,190 new vehicles after its new 2010 Golf TDI Clean Diesel was named the Green Vehicle of the Year last week by Auto123.com. Full story...

Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited saw retail sales climb 7.5 per cent marking the company's sixth consecutive month of retail sales gain. Market share also increased for the thirteenth consecutive month at Ford of Canada despite a down industry. Ford car sales were up 8 per cent with positive results driven by the award-winning Fusion, which won Motor Trend magazine's Car of the Year and Taurus which was recently named "Best New Family Car" in the over $30,000 category by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Full story...

Fascinating sportiness, innovative technology and superior comfort: Audi is bringing the next generation of the A8 to the starting line. Full story...