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Honda Accord hybrid unintended-acceleration claim under review

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary investigation into whether some Honda hybrid vehicles are prone to unintended acceleration. The federal auto safety regulator said Monday it had agreed to look into a complaint stemming from a fatal July 2005 crash. The driver of a 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid said she was driving over rumble strips on the side of a freeway when she tried to apply the brakes.

Chrysler, VW lead February sales gains

U.S. auto sales led by Chrysler Group surged 16 percent in February, giving the industry its strongest showing in four years in a fresh sign that the recovery is gaining more traction. Total light vehicle sales rose to 1.15 million units as the seasonally adjusted sales annual rate hit 15.1 million.

Design Services: Car Menu launched

Within almost every automotive design department throughout the world, their comes a time when a junior designer is dispatched to find a picture of some new model's tail lamp, the side view of a particular class leading competitor or examples of several new cars' colour and trim packages. Whilst looking at the competition is not necessarily a healthy way of finding ideas, it is often essential to demonstrate what is feasible, check in-house proposals are not too derivative, or show how advanced a design theme is relative to the same type of cars on the market. But even if the particular aspect of a car can be found, press packs and magazines typically show cars in the flattering light of an exotic location or being drifted around a corner on opposite lock; rarely are these images particularly useful.