Subaru Forester 1999 Right Clearance Lamp [9211000] on 2040-parts.com

Schumacher in coma after ski crash

RACING DRIVER Michael Schumacher is in a coma after a skiing accident in France. The seven-times Formula One champion crashed while skiing off-piste in the resort of Meribel yesterday and was airlifted to hospital. University Hospital of Grenoble spokesman Jean-Marc Grenier said the 44-year-old German had suffered a serious head injury and remains in a critical condition.

Mercedes-Benz to cut production time, halve number of vehicle architectures

Mercedes-Benz is restructuring its global production network to cut the average production time for its models to 30 hours by 2015 from 43 in 2008. "We have increased productivity by 2 percent a year over the last few years. We will be accelerating our productivity efforts," Mercedes production boss Wolfgang Bernhard said during an investor conference that was part of the automaker's plant opening in Kecskemet, Hungary, on Thursday.

Japan hopes to make EV recharging technology the global standard

Japan's automakers aim to cement their lead in electric vehicles by making Japanese recharging technology the global standard and bringing it to the United States. A coalition of manufacturers, including Nissan and Toyota, is teaming with Japan's biggest electric company and the government to make it happen. They aim to corner the market on one of the technologies that will be key to the eventual acceptance of electric-powered cars: the high-speed charging points that will act like gasoline stations of the future and enable drivers to recharge and keep driving after their batteries run low.