Toyota Estima Lucida 1998 Front Left Caliper [5844360] on 2040-parts.com

Decision is near on Maybach

Daimler AG will decide the fate of Maybach by July 1. The two options: Kill the slow-selling superluxury sedan or partner with British carmaker Aston Martin on a second-generation car. At a Daimler event in Stuttgart, Germany, last week, CEO Dieter Zetsche said "there is a higher likelihood to come to a positive decision" for a second-generation Maybach if a partner is involved.

MIT researchers rethink electric-car batteries

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say a new battery design for electric vehicles could be a lightweight and inexpensive alternative. The goal for the team's three-year project, launched in September 2010, is to have a functioning prototype ready to be engineered as a replacement for existing electric-car batteries. At this point in the project, the prototype uses a “semi-solid flow” to separate the two functions of a battery--storing energy and discharging it when needed--into separate physical structures.

Ford's net profit slips to $1.65 billion for the third quarter

Ford Motor Co., hurt by accounting changes related to commodity prices, said third-quarter net profits fell slightly to $1.65 billion from $1.69 billion a year earlier. Pretax profits fell to $1.94 billion from $2.06 billion a year earlier. North American pretax operating profits were essentially flat from the year-earlier period at $1.6 billion.