Toyota's recent recall woes may have pushed its U.S. sales lower during the past year, but they haven't stopped one popular model from setting a new milestone: The fuel-efficient Toyota Prius hybrid recently surpassed 1 million sales in the U.S.
UAW delegates will gather next week in Detroit, as the union works out a strategy to negotiate with domestic automakers for a new four-year contract. The current pact expires in September, and with auto sales rebounding the UAW is eager to win back some concessions.
Toyota, Nissan and Honda, among other companies, have shut down plants temporarily in Japan in the wake of Friday's earthquake and tsunami. While many of their factories were undamaged, crippled nuclear plants are causing power shortages, and there has been damage to parts makers and transportation infrastructure.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally and Executive Chairman Bill Ford, have been awarded $56.5 million and $42.4 million in stock, respectively, in recognition for the company's stunning turnaround, which resulted in the automaker raking in $6.6 billion last year -- its best performance in more than a decade.
Three top automakers are recalling vehicles for items ranging from steering problems to stalling engines to faulty tire-pressure monitoring systems. The largest involves 35,000 Honda Civic hybrid models to fix electrical components that could cause headlights to shut off or the engine to stall.
Toyota is recalling another 22,000 trucks and sport-utility vehicles, this time so that it can repair faulty tire pressure monitoring systems. Vehicles affected by the recall include the Toyota FJ Cruiser, Land Cruiser, Sequoia, Tacoma and Tundra from the 2008 through 2011 model years.
Last week's fire at auto parts supplier Magna International continues to echo through General Motors' supply chain. The automaker shut down the Lordstown plant where it makes the Chevy Cruze for another day Monday. Five other GM plants have also seen shortened and canceled shifts.
Chrysler is recalling nearly half a million popular minivan and crossover models because the engines may unexpectedly turn off while driving, increasing the risk for a crash.
Ford Motor is recalling nearly 32,000 recent-vintage pickup trucks and crossover vehicles in two separate actions to fix fuel leaks and electrical shorts that may lead to fires, according to a notice posted Wednesday on the National Highway Traffic Safety site.
Ford reported Tuesday that its sales in February rose 14% compared to a year ago, in part due to strong sales of the revamped Ford Explorer sports-utility vehicle, the Fusion midsized sedan and the Ford Escape compact SUV. Total sales for the month hit 156,626.
GM models sold smartly despite the steadily rising price of gas. GM says it sold 207,028 vehicles during the month. The increase was driven largely by a 70% jump in retail, or individual consumer, sales.
Major automakers are set to release February sales figures on Tuesday, and analysts expect the reports will show sales improved 20% compared to a year ago. Consumers continued to warm to the slowly improving economy -- so far, despite surging oil prices.
A slowly brightening economy combined with low financing rates and generally stable fuel prices have put consumers in a buying mood. New models, particularly from Ford and GM, are also helping to keep U.S. auto sales on a positive trajectory as 2011 starts.
Back in 2009, General Motors applied to the Department of Energy for $14.4 billion in loans to help it manufacture more fuel-efficient vehicles. Today, with the automaker making big strides in turning around its business, GM said it no longer needs or wants the money.
Analysts forecast that Ford will announce a profit of 48 cents a share on revenue of about $30.6 billion when it releases earnings on Friday. That translates into an expected pretax profit of $8 billion in 2010, the best Ford has seen since 1999.