French government vows Renault reform after meeting with Ghosn

The French government will see to it that the individuals responsible for the now debunked Renault SA espionage affair are dealt with, the Finance and Industry ministers said in a statement. "The ministers underscored that they will pay close attention to organizational reform and individual responsibility (at Renault) based on the result of the audit," Finance minister Christine Lagarde and Industry Minister Eric Besson said in a joint statement after meeting with Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn on Thursday. The French state, which owns 15 percent of Renault, has called for a thorough investigation into discredited claims that three Renault executives were spying on the carmaker, possibly for a foreign government.

College Exhibition: Umea Institute of Design Degree Show 2004

Students at Sweden's Ume? University Institute of Design presented their work in the annual Degree Show in June, which included work from the Masters programmes in Transportation Design, Advanced Product Design, and Interaction Design along with the final thesis projects from the Bachelor level graduates. Go to Photo Gallery250 photos The degree students from the three year bachelor programme showed their 10 week final degree projects in Industrial Design, and the two year Masters Programmes presented their 20 week final degree works.

Ford outsells GM for second time since 1998

Ford Motor Co. outsold rival General Motors in the United States last month for the second time since 1998. Ford, aided by a 21 percent jump in truck sales amid rising gasoline prices, said today it sold 212,295 light vehicles last month, or 5,674 more than GM.