Auto Sales Up in February, Helped by Cheap Gas and Easy Credit
By BILL VLASIC
Overall industry sales were expected to rise as much as 8 percent, with the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate at more than 17.7 million vehicles.
Harold Cunningham/Getty Images
A transparent Volkswagen model on display at the Geneva International Motor Show.
Automakers’ plans to use diesel to meet Europe’s tough carbon dioxide limits have been upended by Volkswagen’s admission that it cheated on emissions tests.
With a powerful Td6 3-liter turbodiesel motor, the luxury vehicle combines opera house refinement and mountain goat ability.
Rebecca Cook/Reuters
A 2014 Ford F-150 pickup on the assembly line at the Ford Motor truck plant in Dearborn, Mich.
Investigation Opened Into Ford F-150 After Brake Failure Reports
By CHRISTOPHER JENSEN
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it had received 33 consumer complaints about the pickups from the 2013-14 model years.
Toyota Adds 331,000 Vehicles to Takata Airbag Recall
By CHRISTOPHER JENSEN
Toyota is recalling 198,000 more vehicles because the airbag inflater produced by Takata could rupture.
Auto Safety Agency Resists Broader Recall of Takata Airbags
By STACY COWLEY
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that such a recall would not improve public safety, and might exceed its authority.
VW’s Crisis Strategy: Forward, Reverse, U-Turn
By DANNY HAKIM
Volkswagen made serious mistakes in its public response to the uproar over cheating on diesel emissions, and it is still scrambling to correct them.
Business Briefing
Autonomous Google Car Hits Public Bus During Test Drive
A self-driving car being tested by Google struck a public bus on a city street in Mountain View, Calif.
Wheels
Technology Problems Top a List of Car Complaints
By CHERYL JENSEN
The results of J.D. Power’s latest survey on vehicle dependability suggest there is a long way to go before self-driving cars become practical.
Audit Finds Lapses at Safety Auto Regulator
By STACY COWLEY
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration still lacks a training plan to ensure that its safety investigators have the necessary expertise, a Transportation Department report finds.
Reading This While You Drive Could Increase Your Risk of Crashing Tenfold
By NICHOLAS ST. FLEUR
Researchers found that dialing a phone was the most dangerous distraction, followed by reading or writing.
Takata Faked Test Data a Year After Airbag Recalls, Report Says
By STACY COWLEY
A Senate report showed Takata officials presenting falsified test data about the design of a new component, illustrating what investigators called a pattern of deceit.
Volkswagen Memos Suggest Company Misled U.S. Regulators
By JACK EWING
Documents suggesting VW executives knew of elevated diesel emissions in early 2014 could create problems with regulators, car owners and stockholders.
Business Briefing
Volkswagen Brand Sales Fell 3.8 Percent in January
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Volkswagen brand was hit in January by its biggest fall in European sales since it was engulfed in a diesel emissions scandal last year.
Aston Martin and LeEco Plan to Develop Electric Car
By REUTERS
Aston Martin has set up a venture with the Chinese consumer electronics group LeEco to jointly develop an electric vehicle.
The Commute of the Future? Ford Is Working on It
By DAVID GELLES
The design firm Ideo, which helped design the computer mouse, has been enlisted by Ford to shadow commuters and see how they get where they’re going: by car, bus, foot or Uber.
Takata Discarded Evidence of Airbag Ruptures as Early as 2000
By HIROKO TABUCHI and DANIELLE IVORY
A former Takata airbag engineer testified that the company’s airbags began rupturing in internal testing as many as 16 years ago.
Driven
Video Review: The 2016 MKX Aims Lincoln in the Right Direction
By TOM VOELK
The MKX crossover is a good move in the revival of Lincoln, a handsome, spacious crossover that should help the brand re-establish itself.
VW Says Old Memo Told Winterkorn of Emissions Irregularities
By JACK EWING
Volkswagen’s chief at the time received the information a year before the diesel scandal broke, but the company did not know if he read the memo.
SiriusXM Fights to Dominate the Dashboard of the Connected Car
By BEN SISARIO
While other music outlets struggle, the satellite-radio network is a success story. However, the Internet-connected car will pose a challenge.
Wheels
End of the Road May Be Near for Side Mirrors
By JOHN R. QUAIN
Many automakers are demonstrating video systems that replace side mirrors with cameras, but it may take drivers some time to get used to them.
Wheels
A Brassy Concept Car Comes Back From the Dead
By JIM MOTAVALLI
The Exemplar I, a ’60s auto show dream car, used brass and copper trim instead of chrome. Left in a junkyard, it’s now restored.
Wheels
Carmakers Retreat From Quirky Designs as Millennials Embrace Mainstream
By JONATHAN SCHULTZ
Automakers like Toyota are pulling back from the boxy wagons and jellybean-shape city cars they were using to attract Gen X buyers.
John J. Riccardo, Former Chairman of Chrysler, Dies at 91
By CHRISTOPHER JENSEN
Mr. Riccardo, who took over at a time of turmoil in 1975, recruited Lee Iacocca to succeed him, a bet that paid off when it helped win government aid.
Volkswagen Bank Profits May Be Endangered by Diesel Scandal
By JACK EWING
Volkswagen Financial Services, the company’s in-house bank, has been an important element in VW’s rise to become the No. 2 carmaker in the world after Toyota.
Trial Illuminates Porsches’ Rise to Power at Volkswagen
By JACK EWING
Prosecutors claim that the Porsche holding company misled investors in 2008 on its plan to take over Volkswagen, sending VW stock soaring.
Your Money Adviser
Some Auto Insurance Premiums Penalize Home Renters, Study Finds
By ANN CARRNS
Consumers pay about 7 percent more for annual premiums if they rent their home rather than own it, even if they have stellar driving records.
Takata’s Faulty Airbags Still Exact Toll as Recalls Lag
By HIROKO TABUCHI and DANIELLE IVORY
Millions of people are still driving vehicles with Takata airbags that may pose a lethal danger because they have not been repaired or, in some cases, even recalled.
The North American International Auto Show
Press previews for the Detroit auto show, which was first held in 1907, are Monday and Tuesday. Over 750 vehicles are expected to be on the floor of the Cobo Center.
New Car Reviews
