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Cash for clunkers plan revives trade fight

Import brand automakers and dealers warned on Thursday that a vehicle scrappage proposal before the Senate would violate trade agreements and could weaken the economy. The Senate could vote on the plan on Thursday, which would offer $10,000 to any moderate- or low-income consumer who trades in a car or truck that is at least 10 years old and buys a new one that is more fuel-efficient and "assembled in the United States." The trade-ins would be scrapped rather than resold. The U.S.-made mandate "smacks of the protectionism that led to the Great Depression," said Barbara Nocera, the top Washington lobbyist for Mazda North American Operations.

CAFE standards set to rise to 54.5 mpg for 2025

President Barack Obama on Friday revealed ambitious plans to raise the corporate average fuel economy standard for cars and light trucks to 54.5 mpg by the 2025 model year, a landmark move that will dramatically remake carmakers' product portfolios and consumers' buying habits. Unlike the first CAFE standards passed by Congress in 1975, the Detroit automakers now publicly support the high requirements and have begun retooling their fleets to adapt the changes. “[This] represents the single most important step we've ever taken as a nation to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” Obama said in a morning press conference.

Interior Motives China Conference 2013 – Day One

This year's Interior Motives China Conference got off to a great start yesterday in its new home at the Hilton Hongqiao in Shanghai. The theme of this year's event is 'Technology and Tradition; Old meets new in modern-day China.' Interior Motives is the print magazine from Car Design News, which focuses on the design development of vehicle interiors. The sixth running of the annual conference has seen a large shift in the Chinese market since the first.