Yoshimura 070bg14200 Fender Elimnator H2 on 2040-parts.com

Acura finds sales, still seeks luxury identity

As Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and BMW battle for luxury brand sales leadership this year, Acura has been flying below the radar -- as usual. Honda's upscale division has had a solid year. Sales are up 24 percent over 2009, outpacing the gains made by luxury's big 3.

Volkswagen 'will build the XL1' - Piech

Volkswagen will build the radical 313mpg XL1 eco cigar in 2013, Ferdinand Piech revealed at the Qatar motor show. In an interview with Automotive News, the VW chairman said: 'We want to go into series production with this car starting in 2013.' He insisted it would go on sale to real people, not just as media demonstrators. And VW chief exec Martin Winterkorn added the XL1 would be sold in Europe first, then be rolled into the US and Chinese car markets.

Recall is last linked to fire hazard, Ford says

Ford Motor Co.'s new recall of vehicles that pose potential fire hazards will be its last because the latest action covers all remaining cars and trucks with cruise-control switches made by Texas Instruments, even if those switches don't pose safety risks, a Ford spokesman said today. "We did this to reassure customers and make sure there will be no future actions connected to this," spokesman Wes Sherwood said in an interview. "We've gone to extra lengths to include both vehicles with risks and those that don't show risk." Yesterday, Ford announced a recall of 4.5 million vehicles--its eighth in the past decade involving cars and trucks with faulty cruise-control deactivation switches.