Auto News 5

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...

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...

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...

The Atlantic Championship has announced its 2010 schedule with include 12 races all over America. The season will begin at Sebring for the famous Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring and end at Road Atlanta in October. Full story...

Sometimes payback isn't that word that rhymes with witch. When Ron Hornaday Jr. was a big name he let the then undiscovered Kevin Harvick sleep on his couch. Now, at 51, Hornaday is driving a Camping World Chevrolet Truck for Kevin Harvick Inc. Full story...

IndyCar driver/owner Alex Tagliani was pretty happy with the team's work after the first day of practice for the Nationwide event in Phoenix where he finished a lonely 42nd in the first session but an unexpected 23rd in the afternoon. 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

After three years in court, Arkona Inc. has prevailed in a lawsuit filed against it by rival dealership software provider Dealer Computer Services Inc., a unit of Reynolds and Reynolds Inc. Arkona is now a division of DealerTrack Holdings Inc. Full story...

After three years in court, Arkona Inc. has prevailed in a lawsuit filed against it by rival dealership software provider Dealer Computer Services Inc., a unit of Reynolds and Reynolds Inc. Arkona is now a division of DealerTrack Holdings Inc. Full story...

Claiming that Nissan will be rewarded for blazing a trail into mass production of electric vehicles, CEO Carlos Ghosn kicked off a year-long marketing blitz for his five-passenger Leaf. Full story...

Claiming that Nissan will be rewarded for blazing a trail into mass production of electric vehicles, CEO Carlos Ghosn kicked off a year-long marketing blitz for his five-passenger Leaf. Full story...

Nissan will keep the price of its upcoming battery-powered Leaf competitive with similar-sized cars and expects to make money on the vehicle despite the cost of its launch, CEO Carlos Ghosn said today. Full story...

November's U.S. auto sales will at least reach October levels, Ford Motor Co.'s chief U.S. sales analyst said on Friday. Maintaining October's levels would beat November 2008's 10.3 million units of demand. Full story...

Has Volkswagen AG outproduced Toyota Motor Corp. through September? Some news reports this week said Volkswagen had passed Toyota in production through September. Full story...