2004 Chevy Impala 18338 Miles Fuel Pump 755123 on 2040-parts.com

U.S. offers advance peek at 'cash for guzzlers' rules

Dealers participating in the "cash for guzzlers" program must visit www.cars.gov to find a list of facilities that may qualify for scrapping vehicles and then make sure the company can crush or shred trade-ins, according to preliminary rules on the Web site. The government posted the rules today for the program, designed to lift U.S. light-vehicle sales from 27-year lows.

Nissan and Fiat marketing heads trade insults over 'visual pollution'

A war of words has erupted between Fiat and Nissan's marketing departments over their electric vehicle designs, the Leaf and the 500e. Matt Davis, head of Fiat product marketing, told Bloomberg News before the launch of its all-electric 500e at the Los Angeles show last week that "ugliness is probably one of the worst forms of pollution," seen as an indirect attack on Nissan's electric offering. The then 500e came under attack with Nissan criticizing the fact that it was created only to meet Californian emissions requirements.

Mini Cooper Countryman gets New York freshening

The Mini Countryman has undergone a subtle midlife facelift for the New York auto show, four years after it was launched in North America. The lightly reworked range-topping Mini Countryman model is expected to go on sale in July at prices company officials suggest will remain largely unchanged here in the U.S. As this first batch of official photographs reveals, there is very little to distinguish the refreshed Countryman from the existing model.