Auto News 5

Mark Webber on Saturday underwent surgery, after he broke his right leg in a cycling crash during his own outdoor adventure event in Tasmania. Full story...

Porsche is known for making exceptionally fuel efficient performance vehicles. It's a promise that's about to get even stronger as the second-generation Boxster and Cayman models will soon ship with a revised and more efficient powertrain lineup. Full story...

The Kia Borrego FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle) has just made its grand entrance at the Los Angeles Auto Show. It features a slew of innovative features, such as a fuel cell capable of delivering 154 hp, a 450-volt supercapacitor producing 134 additional horsepower as well as a conventional, 147-hp engine. The Kia Borrego FCEV offers an impressive 685-km operating range courtesy of its hydrogen tanks totalling 202 litres at a pressure of 70 MPa. Full story...

Certain phenomenons in life are fascinating. The Mazda3, for example, is unique in its genre. More than 5 years after its official launch, not only is this little car still successful, but its sales figures are progressing, to the detriment of rivals such as the Honda Civic. Full story...

About 14,000 Chrysler LLC white-collar employees are agonizing this weekend over whether to take buyout packages offered by the company. They have until the end of business Wednesday to decide. Full story...

GMAC Financial Services could end up in bankruptcy court if it fails to get government bailout money, says Standard and Poor's, the credit rating agency. But a GMAC spokesman said the possibility of bankruptcy is )x("”",pure speculation. Full story...

Nissan-Renault chief Carlos Ghosn says the Renault brand is committed to Mexico and wants to build more models here in the future. )x("”",Renault is fully committed to Mexico,” he told reporters on Thursday. Full story...

Executives of Fisker Automotive Inc. said today that they will buy from General Motors a powerful gasoline engine for their plug-in hybrid luxury sedan, due next year in North America. Full story...

Ford Motor Co. is cutting more production in North America. Three additional down weeks are planned at plants in Chicago and Michigan in December. The cuts come after Ford's Nov. Full story...

Mazda's futuristic idea of an electric race car, called the Kaan, won the design challenge this week at the Los Angeles auto show, besting teams from eight other automakers. Full story...

General Motors is scrubbing part of its corporate jet fleet -- and scrambling to explain why. Two of seven leased jets were grounded in September when their leases expired. Now two more are being returned, GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson said today. Full story...

General Motors is further altering its production schedule for December and January in a bid to save cash and balance its inventory. Full story...

If you need another pair of hands when working under the bonnet, a set of locking pliers really comes into its own. Full story...

Air Hogs model clings to walls – and even ceilings. Full story...

Our great leaders’ splash cash, but tell motorists to cut back! Full story...

Democratic leaders of Congress have sent a letter to the Detroit 3, spelling out what they want to see in plans the companies must file before lawmakers will consider emergency loans. Full story...

Democratic leaders of Congress plan to send a letter today to the CEOs of the Detroit 3, spelling out what they want to see in plans the companies must file before lawmakers will consider emergency loans. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Full story...

The White House criticized Congress today for going on recess without taking action on a plan to help automakers, saying Democrats had "mindless opposition" to what Republicans support. Full story...

Safety cameras are big business in the UK – and the devices you can buy to beat them even more so. Full story...

The design entry from Mazda R&D of North America has been chosen as the winner of the Los Angeles Auto Show's 2008 Design Challenge. This year's theme, Motor Sports 2025, asked nine of Southern California's automotive design studios to form their vision of the future by depicting a motor sports vehicle that predicts how auto racing will change by the year 2025 Full story...