(June 9, 2011) Drivers of sport-utility vehicles, who used to be the most likely to die in crashes because of rollovers, are now among those with the highest probability of survival, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said in a report released today.

SUVs in the 2006-09 model years had a driver fatality rate half that of cars, the IIHS reported. This is due in great part to electronic stability control.

(June 9, 2011) NEW YORK — Ford this week said it expects its worldwide sales to increase by approximately 50 percent by mid-decade to about 8 million vehicles a year — with improved operating margins — as the company continues its One Ford plan to accelerate product introductions and expand quickly in growth markets.

(June 8, 2011) ARLINGTON, Va. (PRNewswire-USNewswire) — American Trucking Associations and the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association together have called on the federal government to begin researching how standards for crashworthiness for heavy trucks.

"NHTSA has continuously developed crashworthiness standards for automobiles and light trucks, but to date has generally not applied crashworthiness standards to commercial trucks," the two groups wrote in a June 6 letter to David Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

(June 8, 2011) BEDFORD, Ind. — General Motors will invest $49 million to purchase tooling and equipment for the Bedford powertrain plant to produce components for a recently announced 8-speed transmission and a future small engine program. GN The investment will create or retain 91 jobs.   

(June 8, 2011) PONTIAC, Mich. -- Anyone who has ever played the game “telephone” knows that the more times a message gets passed along, the less accurate it will be when it gets to its destination. The same thing applies to feeding fuel to an engine.

Across-the-board use of direct injection in the Buick lineup is helping to take translation layers out of the delivery process to reduce both fuel consumption and emissions.

(June 8, 2011) Pictures of the new 2012 BMW 1 Series have been leaked and are now floating over the Internet. The first reveal of the new small BMW was to be made at the Frankfort motor show in September.

The wagon-like hatchback is stylish in a small car sort of way and will be a true BMW with rear-wheel drive and at least a couple of engine choices for the U.S. market mated to either a six-speed manual or an eight-speed automatic transmission.

(June 8, 2011) BMW has gained bragging rights as the top selling luxury nameplate in the U.S.

Sales of BMW brand vehicles increased 15.6% in May for a total of 20,651 compared to 17,859 vehicles sold in May 2010.

(June 7, 2011) The extreme Audi R8 GT quite literally got its second wind last week as a new open-air Spyder version.

Distilling the celebrated R8 V-10 formula into an even more concentrated form, the more intensively weight optimized GT soft-top will deliver its breathtaking pace and handling poise to just 333 customers worldwide.

(June 7, 2011) HERNDON, Va. (PRNewswire) — While much of the auto industry struggled during May, Audi sailed through the difficult sales month with its fifth-consecutive record and its best U.S. sales month in company history.

Demand for Audi luxury vehicles increased 13.6 percent  to 10,457 vehicles sold, from 9,205 vehicles sold in May 2010, marking the third-best month in Audi of America history.

(June 7, 2011) Ford is investing $100 million globally to install robotic plant laser inspection technology to improve quality through reduced wind noise and more refined fit and finish.