New Altima, Fusion challenge Camry and Accord for sales dominance

The Nissan Altima and Ford Fusion have entered the thick of the midsize sedan sales chase -- long a battle mainly between the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord -- leaving the rest of the pack a few laps behind. The also-rans include the Chevrolet Malibu and Hyundai Sonata. A lackluster design has hampered sales of the Malibu, and short supplies have held back the Sonata.

Lotus fights back with three-year warranty and servicing deal

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 02 July 2014 12:55 Lotus has this month launched a three-year warranty and servicing deal for all new Elise, Exige and Evora models. The move is designed to kickstart interest in the brand, which is suffering a 9% slump in sales in 2014 year to date. Lotus has sold just 73 cars in the United Kingdom over the first five months of the year.

Diesel joins Porsche Panamera lineup

Porsche has put forward some eye-catching fuel-economy figures for the Panamera diesel--although we may never see the car in the United States. Set to go on sale across Europe in August, the four-door is claimed to return a combined city/highway driving fuel economy of 36.2 mpg in standard guise under European testing procedures. When fitted with optional low-rolling-resistance tires, the fuel economy climbs to 37.3 mpg on the European test--a figure that gives the Panamera diesel a theoretical range of 800 miles on its 21-gallon fuel tank.