(March 17, 2011) HERNDON, Va. (PRNewswire) — Two Minnesota Audi owners on March 14  celebrated 300,000 miles driven on their Audi vehicles.  Don deChambeau, 63, of St. Cloud, Minn., and Don Nygaard, 74 of Roseville, Minn., bought their Audi cars at the Maplewood Audi dealership near the Twin Cities, Minn., and have driven their Audi vehicles for more than 10 years.

(March 16, 2011) SANTA MONICA, Calif. (PRNewswire) — February was the first time since September 2010 that cars out sold trucks as rising gas prices helped shift what consumers buy. 

TrueCar.com has compiled a list of the top ten most fuel-efficient hybrid and non-hybrid cars currently being sold, based on fuel economy and cost of gas, per 15,000 miles driven annually. 

(March 16, 2011) MCLEAN, Va. (PRNewswire-USNewswire) —  National Automobile Dealers Association is urging its 16,000 members to support the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami fund of the American Red Cross.

To jumpstart the campaign, the NADA Charitable Foundation announced Tuesday a $100,000 donation to the Red Cross' special Japan fund. The Red Cross set up the fund to support disaster relief efforts in Japan after last week's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

(March 16, 2011) NEW YORK (PRNewswire) — The Toyota USA Foundation, a charitable endowment supporting K-12 math and science education, today announced over $5.2 million in new grants.  The latest round of grants is going to 8 organizations from across the country.

(March 15, 2011) WARRENDALE, Pa. (PRNewswire-USNewswire) — With more than 20 different hybrid cars available from most major automakers, hybrid vehicles are a crucial and growing market segment. Additionally, with several high profile plug-in hybrids coming out now or within the next year, innovation and development of hybrid vehicles is continuing at an ever-growing pace.

(March 15, 2011) British explorer, Ben Saunders, today announced his second attempt to become the fastest person ever to reach the geographic North Pole. Only two people in history have reached the North Pole solo and unsupported, the most recent being eight years ago.

Land Rover is supporting the expedition.

(March 15, 2011) COLOGNE, Germany — Ford's overall European sales in its 50 markets remained stable in February. As in January, sales were particularly strong in the growth markets of Turkey, Russia and Eastern Europe.

Ford's sales in these markets were 104,700 units, unchanged versus February 2010.

(March 15, 2011) Nissan reports that six facilities in Japan reported damage to buildings or equipment from the Japanese earthquake. But several plants are expected to resume operation later this week.

If you are awaiting the arrival of your Nissan Leaf electric car, Nissan says a shipment of more than 600 Leafs destined for the U.S. left port in Japan on March 10, just prior to the earthquake, and will arrive as scheduled.

(March 15, 2011) Honda said on Monday that there would be no immediate impact on its operations in North America where it makes most of its vehicles for the U.S. market.

However, many of Honda's Japanese plants will be closed at least through March 20 following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hits portions of Japan.

(March 14, 2011) DETROIT — The General Motors Foundation today approved an immediate $500,000 contribution to the American Red Cross relief fund to help earthquake-stricken Japan. GM also has provided a direct web-link that employees can conveniently access from their desktop work stations to contribute personally to the Red Cross disaster fund.