Ford's V6 EcoBoost engine outselling 5.0 litre V8

Ford has announced that it will slash employee's summer holidays in Ohio in bid to produce more V6 powered vehicles.

Despite sales of the F-Series declining by 15%, Ford is still facing high-demand for the EcoBoost V6 engine, which in turn would mean sales of the V8 are slowing.

Think! files for bankruptcy

Norwegian electric car manufacturer Think! Global has registered for bankruptcy. The Oslo-based marque has now been taken over by a court-appointed trustee.

Think!'s battery supplier, Ener1 recently finished a four-year business deal and will slowly receive some £20m ($32m/€22m) in unpaid loans and accounts.

Kia forced to pay $40m in composation following death (U.S)

A jury in Mobile, Alabama has decided Kia Motors should reward $40m (£25m/€27.6m) to a family following the unlawful death of their daughter.

Tiffany Stabler, then 16, was killed in 2004 when her 1999 Kia Sephia (Shuma) overturned, despite observers claiming Tiffany had been wearing her seatbelt. The Stabler family sued Kia Motors after finding out the South Korean marque knew that her model had defective seatbelts, yet weren't included in a recall of 1995-1998 model year Kias for the same problem.

Toyota recalls over 100k hybrid SUV's

Japanese car giant, Toyota will recall over 110,000 hybrid SUV's globally over fears regarding the power supply circuit.

The models involved are the Highlander Hybrid and Lexus RX400h and cite mainly on the U.S, Europe, and Japan, with some recalls in Canada, South Korea, and Australia. Toyota said the models may come to a sudden halt due to an electric default, leading to a blown fuse.

Peugeot 208 spied hot-weather testing, will utilise 3-cylinder engine

Peugeot's upcoming 207 replacement has been spied undergoing hot-weather testing in Southern Spain, ahead of its launch in Summer 2012.

Caught here wearing thick plastic camouflage, it's believed the 208 will spearhead Peugeot's new design language, taking design inspiration from both the SR1 and HR1 concept vehicles, thus lending the newcomer a clean, elegant look. The interior of the 208 will focus primarily on simple style and higher-quality materials than the 207.

European driving habits revealed

Tyre producer, Goodyear Dunlop carried out a Summer survey to analyse European driving habits of 15 nations. While some of the results are unsurprising, others are eye-opening. You have been warned....

The survey shows that 48% of British drivers are nervous when driving aboard with a third set to drive around 400 miles (644km). A quarter said they will drive for five-hours before taking a 30 minute break.

Nissan Micra/March reaches 6 millionth milestone

Nissan Motors reached an all-important milestone with the Micra last month. Over 6m units have been sold since its launch in 1982, and despite no assistance from the United States, the Micra, known as March in Japan, has enjoyed popularity in its home market for around 30 years. Recently, the Micra went on sales in emerging markets like Thailand, China, and India.

Nissan puts affordability, high-quality, and drivability as the main properties that drew in consumers to the first generation Micra. Between 1982 and 1992, Nissan sold 1.65m Micra's. As of May 2011, the fourth-generation Micra sold 170,000 units in 56 countries. Initial production occurred in Japan and the UK but now the sub-compact is produced in Mexico, India, China, and Thailand.

Hyundai toying around with five-door Veloster

Hyundai's Overseas Product Planning Manager, Eunjoo Shin has disclosed that the South Korean brand is developing a conventional five-door variant of the Veloster.

While the regular model features a four door layout (two normal front doors, one small rear passenger door on the passenger's side, and the bootlid), the five-door would add slightly longer rear passenger doors to enable ample boarding and exiting.

2012 Fiat Panda spied in Italy, first interior shot and patent filing leaked

Updated: 20/06/11

The first spy images of the third generation Panda city-car have emerged from Italy. A reader for the Italian magazine, Alvolante.it, caught the prototype - in its last stages of development - entering and exiting Fiat's Mirafiori factory in Turin, although the car will be produced in Pomigliano d'Arco.

The leaked patent files reveal the Panda's external shape. Less boxier than the outgoing model, the newcomer will feature a rounder bonnet, larger, sweptback headlights, wider radiator grille, large air intake, small rear quarter window, and a sloping roofline. The side profile inherits curvy squared-off wheelarches, echoing that of the marque's larger Qubo. At the rear, squat vertical light clusters, bulbous bootlid, and a plastic insert on the bumper with reflector lights will feature.

Toyota to export British-built Avensis to Japan

Toyota will begin exporting the British-built mid-sized Avensis Tourer to Japan next month. The move comes as Toyota said Japanese consumers want European styling and engineering.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd Managing Director Katsunori Kojima said: “We are very proud that the Avensis has been selected for export to Japan. This is yet another vote of confidence for the factory and the high quality of our products.”