Carz Arena

Nissan has unveiled a sketch of a compact car that it plans to sell around the world.

The carmaker released few specifics, but the vehicle will be sold in more than 150 countries and is set to launch first in Thailand in March 2010.

The car will qualify as Thailand's first “eco-car,” which is a government policy to help promote energy-efficient vehicles.

The sketch shows a catchy design with a prominent lower grille, wheel arches and snazzy headlights. A Nissan spokesman declined to say whether the car is coming to the U.S. market and did not want to reveal other details.

The car reportedly is the next generation of the March/Micra small car, but Nissan would not comment on that.

A picture of Ferrari 458 Italia
The Ferrari 458 Italia made its public debut in Frankfurt in September. A spider version is on tap as well, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said.
Ferrari

The Ferrari 458 Italia will get a spider version, company president Luca di Montezemolo told Italian reporters.

The Ferrari chief says work is under way on the topless 458 and that it should arrive in about two years. The 458 coupe launches early next year.

“[Deliveries of the coupe] will begin in the second half of January,” Di Montezemolo said in comments reported by Autocar in Britain. “We also plan a spider version, but not for a couple of years.”

The convertible likely will carry the same 562-hp, 4.5-liter V8 as the coupe.

The 458 Italia is the successor to the F430. The car turned heads with its more aggressive styling and was named Best in Show by at Frankfurt by Carz Arena.

Building C-class cars in Alabama could save Daimler millions in wage costs.
Daimler AG could move some production of the Mercedes-Benz C-class to the United States from Germany, a German newspaper reported Wednesday.

The Stuttgarter Zeitung said some C-class production could be transferred to the carmaker's plant in Vance, Ala., from Sindelfingen, near Stuttgart, as part of a wider production shakeup planned by Daimler to reduce costs.

In the future, the C-class sedan could be built in three locations: Bremen, Germany; Vance, Ala., and in China, the newspaper said.

Building about 80,000 C-class cars a year in Vance would save the automaker about $95 million (64 million euros) because the average hourly wage at the U.S. factory is about $44 (30 euros) compared with $74 (50 euros) in Germany, the newspaper said.

Moving some C-class production to the United States would allow Daimler to avoid swings in the value of the U.S. dollar against the euro, and save import duties and freight costs.

The Vance plant, which builds the M-, GL- and R-class models, has spare capacity. The plant built 66,710 units in the first eight months of this year, down from 136,138 the year before, according to the Automotive News Data Center.

The C-class is Mercedes' top-selling car in the United States with 34,432 units sold in the first eight months, down from 50,593 the year before, according to the data center.

Daimler told news wires that it had not made any decision on future C-class production.

Ford is continuing to double-down on its Sync technology as a way to separate itself from competitors, and in that theme CEO Alan Mulally will again deliver a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in January in Las Vegas.

He's expected to unveil the next round of Ford's Sync features at the show, which is a bellwether event for the technology industry. He also spoke at last year's show, and former GM CEO Rick Wagoner addressed it in 2008 as part of efforts by auto execs to showcase new innovations in their cars.

Mulally will detail a new docking technology for mobile devices in future vehicles, as well as further advancements in voice activation.

“Ford continues to lead by bringing together the automobile and consumer electronics industries,” Mulally said in a statement.

More than 70 percent of Fords are now sold with Sync, said Jim Buczkowski, Ford director of electronics and electrical engineering. Sync was fortified this year with traffic, directions and information features as the carmaker looks to stay ahead of other companies offering their own connectivity and advanced navigation systems.

“There's clear evidence in the Sync world that technology is helping sell vehicles,” Buczkowski said.

Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, said Ford approaches Sync and other connectivity technologies with a fresh attitude.

“What I appreciate, is Ford is thinking and acting like an electronics company,” Shapiro said.

Meanwhile, Shapiro and Ford executives reiterated they support a ban on texting while driving.

The 2010 Lexus ES 350 will start at $35,675, including destination charges, when the lightly updated sedan arrives on the market later this month.

Changes on the outside include side mirrors with integrated turn signals, revised front grille, chrome body side molding, front bumper and rain-sensing wipers. The ES 350 also gets updated headlamps, lower intake with integrated foglamps and revised taillights. It rides on standard 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels and comes in four new colors.

The interior is has a center console that has been re-done for more storage, new trim options and driver's seat memory. Lexus Enform with Safety Connect, a new telematics system, also is available

Power comes from the 3.5-liter V6 that makes 272 hp and 254 lb-ft of torque. It's paired with a six-speed automatic.

Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. will use the Prius name on more hybrid models in its U.S. lineup, the automakers' top executives told dealers.

At a meeting of the 60 largest dealers in Las Vegas on Tuesday and Wednesday, Toyota executives said the name Prius would be attached to “a family of models” using similar hybrid powertrains, veteran Toyota dealer Earl Stewart says.

“The Highlander hybrid and Camry hybrid do OK, but calling it ‘Synergy Drive' never resonated with consumers,” Stewart says. “But they can make hay on the Prius name. It's a magic name. If somebody says ‘I drive a Prius,' everybody knows what he means.”

Toyota Motor Sales COO Jim Lentz has been pushing for a multi-platform Prius lineup for a year. But this was the first time it has been openly discussed in front of Toyota Motor Sales president Yoshi Inaba and Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda.

Toyota will have a range of Prius hybrid models “but Prius won't be a separate sub-brand like Scion,” Stewart says.

Toyota executives in Frankfurt this week said the company planned to sell 500,000 to 600,000 hybrid vehicles globally by the end of 2009.