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News watch December 2010: today's auto industry news

Welcome to CAR Magazine's news aggregator as we round up the daily stories in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hourFriday 31 December 2010• A judge in Manhattan has dismissed two lawsuits from hedge funds claiming for $2bn losses when it bought VW shares in 2008. Elliott Associates LP, Black Diamond Offshore and 39 other funds filed a complaint, claiming Porsche misled short-sellers who hadn't realised that Porsche had cornered the market in VW shares (Automotive News)Thursday 30 December 2010• Volvo plans to hire an extra 200 staff as it claims demand for its cars is rising.

Spoken street names useful in navigation units, magazine says

If you're in the market for a portable navigation unit, features such as spoken street names and reality view/lane assist are worth the money while traffic information, connected services and voice recognition are not as essential, says Consumer Reports magazine. Less expensive navigation models are even offering the service via which the unit will speak the names of streets or highway numbers rather than telling drivers to merge or turn in a specific direction. Reality view/lane assist is a feature commonly packaged as one that displays three-dimensional views of exits, signs and intersections as well as the best lane to be in for upcoming driving maneuvers.

Toyota's quake-hit Yaris plant offline for at least another month

Toyota's quake-hammered Miyagi assembly plant, which makes the Yaris small car for export to the United States, is expected to be offline for at least another month. Workers have completed repairs at the factory and restored electricity, but the facility cannot get supplies of natural gas, a person familiar with the situation said. The assessment underscores the long road facing Toyota and other Japanese automakers in bringing plants back into full operation following the deadly quake, which killed more than 11,000 people, ruptured gas lines, shutdown electric grids and snarled logistics across half the country.