McLaren DOESN’T stop production of the MP4-12C to fix problems.

McLaren MP4-12C problems haven't stopped production The McLaren MP4-12C is McLaren’s first road car in almost twenty years, and it appears that the new 458 competitor from Woking has a few problems. Reports have been cropping up for some weeks that MP4-12C owners have been plagued (well, plagued is harsh) by a raft of problems including a battery drainage issue (something many cars suffer from early on), headlight condensation and glitchy door operation. McLaren are adamant none of the issues affecting the 12C are safety related and it is therefore continuing to build the cars, so although there will be a delay for some new owners in delivery, the issues should cause no long term back log in deliveries.

Natural-gas-powered Honda Civic can stay in California carpool lane

Honda Civic GX drivers in California are smiling this week as they continue to have access to the high-occupancy-vehicle lane, even with just one person in the car. Even though one-occupant hybrid cars have lost access to the carpool lane, natural-gas-powered vehicles get to use it for another four years. Beginning on July 1, yellow-stickered partial hybrids were banned from HOV areas on the highways unless they carried the mandated number of people.

Suzuki delays U.S. launch of the Swift

Suzuki has delayed the relaunch of its Swift small car in the United States until next year while it works on a global product strategy with Volkswagen AG and ponders the growing strength of the yen against the dollar. The rise of Japan's currency already has forced Suzuki to slash its overall U.S. marketing budget.