Auto News 5

You know the Infiniti G35 coupe. It's that sleek two-door with the classy fascia, flat rear end, wide taillamps and the stance of a Nissan 350Z. It makes that distinctive, semi-exotic exhaust howl you probably like, too. Full story...

TROY, Mich., -- The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) has announced the debut of Electric Avenue, a 37,000 square foot feature on the main floor of the 2010 show. The new showcase will spotlight electric vehicles and technology of both traditional automakers and innovative entrepreneurs. Full story...

Audi today released the final social media video installment documenting behind-the-scenes considerations that shaped its entries in this year's Los Angeles Design Challenge, a competition associated with the upcoming L.A. Auto Show involving Southern California automotive studios. Full story...

Nothing finally went according to plan for Alex Tagliani who, after being unable to complete the qualifications session, had to take the start with the reserve car during the Nationwide event presented Saturday, in Phoenix. Full story...

The Malaysian-owned new Lotus team has signed its first driver for the 2010 season, boss Tony Fernandes revealed on his Twitter page. "Public announcement soon," he said. "The dream continues." Meanwhile, Jarno Trulli was this weekend trackside for the Sprint Cup event in Phoenix ahead of his NASCAR test for Michael Waltrip Racing in the coming day. Full story...

The Hinwil based Sauber team is "waiting patiently" to know if it will be able to keep racing in formula one in 2010. "We are waiting patiently for our starting place," team founder Peter Sauber said referring to the FIA's declaration last week that "urgent clarification" is being sought as to Toyota's "legal position" following the Japanese carmaker's decision to withdraw from F1. Full story...

Superman is back! Mark Martin, trying to win his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship, called his teammate Jimmie Johnson Superman for good reasons after the race in Phoenix: No one in the past four years has been good enough in NASCAR's playoffs to beat Johnson in the so called Chase for the Sprint Cup. Full story...

Nelson Piquet Jr. will take part in the Superkarts USA Super Nationals in Las Vegas next week-end competing against drivers like Michael Schumacher. It will be a first race appearance for the young driver since the end of his Formula 1 career early this year. Full story...

Ford Motor Co. has resolved its workload dispute with workers at its assembly plant in suburban Kansas City, Mo., a spokeswoman said, as workers were expected to wrap up voting to authorize a strike. Full story...

Ford Motor Co. has resolved its workload dispute with workers at its assembly plant in suburban Kansas City, Mo., a spokeswoman said, as local employees wrapped up voting to authorize a strike. Full story...

Fiat plans to boost Italian output about 40 percent to 900,000 units a year under a restructuring scheme, la Repubblica newspaper said. Fiat will present the plan to unions in a couple of weeks, the daily said. Full story...

Fiat plans to boost Italian output about 40 percent to 900,000 units a year under a restructuring scheme, la Repubblica newspaper said. Fiat will present the plan to unions in a couple of weeks, the daily said. Full story...

From behind the wheel, the production version of the Nissan Leaf electric car is smooth, silent, feels nearly friction free and offers all the prodigious torque inherent in an electric car. Full story...

GM has paid back another tranche of a 1.5 billion ($2.2 billion) euro bridge loan advanced by Germany in June to save Opel / Vauxhall from bankruptcy. GM said Friday it had paid back another 200 million euros of the loan. Full story...

Toyota Motor Corp. will soon offer to fix the accelerator pedals of up to 4 million vehicles in the United States that are subject to the company's largest ever safety recall, Kyodo News reported. Full story...

The outgoing Tucson, introduced in 2005, is and was Hyundai's oldest product on the show floor. In case you were wondering, the Azera is next up and it should be replaced by the all-new Equus sometime in late summer or fall 2010 as a 2011. Full story...

Bosch's enhanced night vision system "Night Vision plus" makes driving in the dark even safer for drivers and other road users. Like its predecessor, this active safety system provides a high-contrast image of the area immediately ahead of the vehicle. Full story...

With its stylish Bertone coachwork and race-bred 200bhp V8 engine, the iconic Alfa Romeo Montreal is one of the most stunning series production automobiles of the twentieth century. Full story...

McLaren has confirmed British newspaper reports revealing that Jenson Button visited the Woking based team's headquarters on Friday.The 2009 world champion-elect had just touched down in Heathrow after a post-season holiday in Japan when he made "a small detour to Woking to say hello", a McLaren spokesman said. The Guardian newspaper said his manager Richard Goddard was also given a tour of the factory by team boss Martin Whitmarsh. Full story...

Martin Truex Jr. has stolen the spotlight, briefly, as he grabbed the Phoenix NASCAR Sprint Cup Pole. Another Martin -- Mark Martin, the favorite, that is -- won from the pole in the spring and was looking to duplicate that effort, but had to settle for tenth place. Full story...