(July 30, 2010) Volkswagen reported the biggest quarterly profit in two years on higher demand in China and the U.S. for the Golf compact and Audi A5 coupe.

Second-quarter net income quadrupled to 1.25 billion euros ($1.63 billion) from 283 million euros a year earlier, the company said. Profit beat the 721 million-euro median estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Revenue rose 22 percent to 33.2 billion euros.

(July 30, 2010) Hundreds of Nissan Z enthusiasts will descend on Nissan North America headquarters this weekend for the 23rd Annual International Z Car Convention in Nashville.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the original Datsun 240Z. One of the highlights of the convention, which runs from July 28th through Aug. 1st, will be a day-long car show on Saturday on the front lawn of Nissan’s recently opened headquarters building in Franklin, Tennessee.

(July 29, 2010) TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. said today it would recall 412,000 cars in the United States to fix steering problems, Reuters reported.

Toyota, which has conducted a string of recalls this year, will recall 373,000 of its 2000-2004 model year Avalon sedans because the steering lock bar in these vehicles could break under certain conditions, it said in a statement.

(July 28, 2010) Porsche's supervisory board approved production of the 918 Spyder hybrid sports car, a model that soars to 100 kilometers an hour in 3.2 seconds and may top the Carrera GT as the manufacturer's costliest vehicle.

Porsche plans to develop the vehicle at a research facility near Stuttgart, Germany, where the carmaker is based, the company said today. The car will be built at the main plant in Zuffenhausen.