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Electric Cars are 5 years away – said Ford in 1966

Electric Cars are 5 years away - said Ford in 1966 It’s 1966 and the Ford Cortina MK I (pictured above) is selling like hot cakes, a sure indicator of a prosperous new age, and just about to be replaced by the MK II Cortina. But Ford had news up its sleeve about the future of cars. The future is the electric car, they proudly proclaimed in 1966, and it will be a reality in five years time.

News watch March 2010: today's auto industry news

Tuesday 30 March 2010• Mercedes has dismissed claims that its Maybach brand is for sale, after reports in the Chinese media claimed Chinese car company BYD was considering a bid for the upmarket offshoot. BYD has also denied the claims (Reuters)• Toyota president Akio Toyoda has promised his company will listen more carefully to customers and react faster in a bid to regain credibility after the Japanese car manufacturer was forced to recall millions of vehilces over safety fears (BBC)• The Obama administration is expected to unveil its finalised fuel economy and tailpipe emissions through to 2016 this week, to coincide with the opening of the 2010 New York auto show (Detroit News)  Monday 29 March 2010• Toyota has agreed to licence the hybrid technology in the Prius to Mazda, which will combine the electric system with its next-gen Sky engines. It’s part of Mazda’s plans to increase the average fuel economy of its vehicles by 30% by 2015 (compared to 2008 levels) and it hopes to have its first hybrid vehicle on sale in Japan by 2013 (Mazda)• Ford and Chinese car company Geely have signed a stock purchase agreement that will allow the latter to acquire 100% of Volvo (along with related assets including intellectual property rights).

2010 Lincoln MKZ gets more power, noise insulation

For 2010, Lincoln hopes to lure more entry midsize-luxury shoppers to its fold with increased optional content and improved performance in the revised MKZ. The 3.5-liter V6 is unchanged with its 263 hp, but the six-speed automatic transmission with manually selectable gears is new. Thanks to lower early gears, the '10 MKZ slashes its 0-to-60-mph time from 7.7 seconds to 7.1 seconds over the outgoing model.