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Toyota hands over small-car development to its European unit

Toyota Motor Corp.'s European division next month will take charge of global product planning for small cars as the Japanese automaker expands model research and development in the region. The change, announced Dec. 17, means that Toyota will count on Europe to develop future products in the minicar, subcompact and compact segments, something that Ford Motor Co.

GM covers partial repair cost for defective fuel-level sensors

General Motors has said it will cover half the cost for repairing defective fuel gauges in 2005- through 2009- model-year Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Saab 9-7X sport-utility vehicles. GM's agreement to pay half the repair costs puts an end to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's probe, opened earlier this year. NHSTA was checking into reports that the gauges showed there was more gas in the tank than there actually was.

The Toyota FT-1 sure does look like the Bertone Mantide

We really liked the Toyota FT-1, which caught us off guard in the best possible way when it emerged at the Detroit auto show. In fact, we liked Toyota's “spiritual pace car” enough to call it the most fun new thing on the floor -- and we're hoping the automaker's execs take notice. Reader Dennis Liu certainly noticed the car, which seemed rather familiar to him: He feels that, coincidentally or not, it looks a lot like the Bertone Mantide.