White House pushes for Friday deal on fuel-economy regulations

The White House wants to announce as early as Friday that it has reached agreement with most automakers on a plan to raise corporate average fuel economy targets to 54.5 mpg by 2025, manufacturers' representatives said Wednesday. While no automakers have signed on to the Obama administration plan yet, most--including Ford, Toyota, General Motors and Chrysler--are generally supportive and intend to do so, the industry officials said. Each manufacturer is trying to iron out technical issues with the White House before endorsing the proposal.

Ford Focus ST & ST Estate arrive at Frankfurt

2012 Ford Focus ST arrives in Frankfurt The 2012 Ford Focus ST has debuted tonight at the Frankfurt Motor Show and came with a surprise addition – a Focus ST Estate, the first time Ford has offered a performance car with a load-lugging ability. Virtually unchanged from the endless images we’ve seen of the Concept ST both on the road and at Motor Shows, the 2012 ST gets a big trapezoidal grill, a big centre exhaust, skirts and out the back a spoiler and new bumper with integrated diffuser. And, as we’d expect, a Screaming Orange paint job.

Jaguar XF Sportbrake NOT going to the U.S. – NO V8, no 4WD

Jaguar XF Sportbrake - not going to the US The new Jaguar XF Sportbrake – revealed yesterday and heading for Geneva – will not be sold in the U.S. and there will be no V8 or 4WD versions. We finally got the reaveal of the Jaguar XF Sportbrake yesterday after months of tease, and a good-looking, well thought out estate it seems to be.