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VW has started launching TDI “value editions” of select models to better position diesel as a money-saving option on par with hybrids

The value Jetta starts at $22,115, including shipping, with a TDI engine and a manual transmission -- a $2,300 price cut that has bolstered its position as the least expensive diesel car on the U.S. market. That puts it squarely between the base Toyota Prius C ($19,890, including shipping) and the base Toyota Prius ($25,010, including shipping).

Vezel is the car’s Japan-market name. The U.S. name will be announced later, Honda said today.

In the United States, Juke sales have climbed 4 percent this year and Mazda CX-5 demand has surged 95 percent. Sales of the new Subaru XV Crosstrek have totaled 48,216, while Buick Encore sales are 29,195.

Honda plans to source all U.S. Vezels from its new plant in Mexico

A spokesman said Honda wants to establish the gasoline version in the market before deciding on whether to add a hybrid option to the lineup

Honda is also banking on the vehicle to fuel a big surge in U.S. sales. Honda built the new plant in Mexico with capacity of 200,000 units just to make the crossover and the Fit hatchback. More than half of the plant’s capacity will be devoted to the crossover, says Ito.

The U.S. version is expected to be sourced from Mazda’s new plant in Salamanca, Mexico, which opened earlier this year and makes the Mazda3.

The fourth-generation Mazda2, called the Demio in Japan, will go on sale here in the fall, Mazda said in a statement. It will hit American showrooms in 2015.

U.S. sales of the outgoing Mazda2 surged 42 percent to 7,957 vehicles in the first six months of the year, from 5,594 the year before, as the carmaker cleared out inventories.

But last year, sales of the aging nameplate, which is getting its first full redesign in seven years, slumped 39 percent to 11,757.

That ranked it near the bottom of the subcompact segment, way below such rivals as the Chevrolet Sonic, the Ford Fiesta, the Honda Fit, the Kia Soul, the Nissan Versa, the Hyundai Accent and the Toyota Yaris.

The next Mazda2 will also provide the basis for a new subcompact sedan from Toyota Motor Corp. That car will be made in Salamanca, where Mazda has allocated about 50,000 vehicles for Toyota from its full annual capacity of 230,000 units. While that car will get Skyactiv underpinnings, including a Skyactiv engine, it will have a Toyota-designed body. Output for Toyota is expected to begin after April 1, 2015, but before March 31, 2016.

Sales of driver assistance systems could exceed 1 billion euros as early as 2016, as cars become more sophisticated and offer new business opportunities, Bosch said.

This year the company will add 9,000 university graduates from around the world to its workforce of 281,000 staff.

By 2020 Bosch plans to double its sales in Asia, North and South America

Bosch said last year its automotive business continued to grow, particularly gasoline and diesel direct-injection systems, as well as display instruments and infotainment systems.

Another worrying trend for Toyota could be slipping owner loyalty.

Camry owners who bought another Camry stayed level, at 30 percent,

The driving force behind the trend will be new government mandates for vehicle-to-vehicle communication technologies that improve safety and enable self-driving features.

the NX is slightly smaller than the Acura RDX, and slides between the BMW X1 and X3.

The NX is derived from the Lexus CT platform with some RAV4 underpinnings and goes on sale this fall.

The NX will be manufactured at Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus assembly plant in Japan's southwestern island of Kyushu.

He added, however, that Lexus' U.S. dealer council has informed him that such an estimate is too conservative.

When Lexus launched the original RX 300 in 1998, it had the same sales estimate. RX demand quickly jumped above six figures a year, and it became Lexus' best selling product.

For its seventh generation, Hyundai says the Sonata has “evolved into a more refined premium vehicle” that “provides a luxury feel of a car from the segment above.”

The Sonata became Hyundai’s top-selling car, with sales topping 200,000 units in 2011, 2012 and 2013. But sales have slowed since fresher competing models such as the Honda Accord, Ford Fusion, Nissan Altima and Toyota Camry hit the market, with sales dipping by 12 percent last year and off another 28 percent through the first two months of 2014.

But one problem continues to hold the franchise back -- a U.S. inventory chain with a few holes in it,

"Rather than trying to assess market needs from here at our headquarters or relying on our retailers to guess, we're designing a new approach to make sure we can deliver the right car at the right place at the right time." The process will give Nissan's sales regions more voice in production planning and make it easier for dealers to find cars in the factory order banks.

At the Detroit auto show in January, VW announced plans to make a mid-sized SUV for North America as part of a $7 billion investment in the region. Osterloh lamented that a year after the CrossBlue SUV concept was unveiled, it's still unclear where the model will be built

The FCV will go on sale in Japan first, in April 2015, for the equivalent of about $70,000, with US and European launches planned for the summer.

the FCV would only go on sale in areas like California and Germany, where adequate hydrogen refueling stations and delivery infrastructure existed

cruising range of 700km (about 435 miles

compressed hydrogen’s higher energy density and its ease of storage and transport

The vehicle refuels in just three minutes and only emits water vapor.

Ford engineers saw room to improve the efficacy of knee-level airbags

"This skips a whole generation of S class -- it went into the future. It is 70 percent autonomous driving."

Available first on the S-class sedan as a $2,800 option, Intelligent Drive also is offered on the re-engineered 2014 E-class lineup. Much of the technology will trickle down to the redesigned 2015 C-class sedan that goes on sale in the fall. Some features are even available on the smaller B-class Electric Drive that went on sale last month.

The take rate on Intelligent Drive for the S-class sedan is 50 percent. It falls to 15 percent for the E class.

For Mercedes, having this edge is a competitive weapon in the luxury segment, where quality, gadgets and horsepower are no longer significant differentiators.

Hyundai with its new Genesis is the closest but the competition is probably three years behind

But with nearly 900,000 more Sonata owners on the road since the outgoing model's debut, and a chance to build a broader, more sustainable following, "We have to be more careful," Zuchowski said.

But Hyundai says the car's suspension and steering have been redesigned for better ride and handling. The interior also is new, with greater use of soft-touch materials and more countermeasures against road noise. Also, high-tech features and advanced safety equipment -- plus a starting price that Zuchowski says won't stray far from the outgoing model's sticker of just over $22,000, with shipping -- will help the Sonata retain the value image that has been a key purchase reason for the sedan, Hyundai says.

With 6.6 million Camrys on the road, Toyota understands well the delicate balance Hyundai is seeking. The Camry's large, loyal following has allowed it -- compelled it -- to stick with safe, modest designs and driving characteristics, generation after generation.

But when the current generation was launched in late 2011, mostly to yawns from auto critics, the sportier SE model became the best- selling trim package. Toyota took the hint.

Every piece of sheet metal except the roof has been changed, as have more than 2,000 part numbers. For some automakers, that constitutes a redesign.

Both products will land in a mid-sized market that has been roiled by intense competition, not only within the segment but also from fast-growing crossovers. At 2.6 million units in 2013, sales in the segment grew just 1 percent from the previous year,

No one feels this more than Toyota, which is fighting to continue the Camry's 12-year streak as America's best-selling car against a strong challenge from the Nissan Altima. Toyota has spent more on Camry incentives, yet had a lower mean transaction price, than its top four competitors -- the Altima, Honda Accord, Ford Fusion and the Sonata -- every month since November 2012, according to TrueCar.

Carter hopes the investment in the new-look Camry will allow Toyota to dial back on incentive spending. "One way to lower incentives is to increase demand, and that's what this car is about," Carter said. But if competitors should raise their incentives, Toyota won't sit still. Said Carter: "This is a competitive market. And we're going to compete."