June sales get a pick-me-up from pickups

If there's a bright spot in June's tepid light-vehicle sales, it came from an unlikely segment. After slumping for several years as the economy tanked and gas prices spiked, pickup demand is rising faster than the overall sales gains of most automakers--serving as a pillar once again during the industry's fledgling recovery. And most of the buyers returning to showrooms are pickup enthusiasts, automakers say.

AW Design Forum: Nissan design boss challenges cookie-cutter design

Using provocative words such as “guilty” and “fearful,” Nissan Design America chief Bruce Campbell was blunt in his assessment of the current state of car styling: There's too much sameness. Speaking at the AW Design Forum on Thursday morning in Detroit, Campbell pulled no punches, pointing to the bad economy, global design--and fear--as reasons for blandness in sheetmetal. “We are guilty of this sameness.

Honda Accord hybrid unintended-acceleration claim under review

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary investigation into whether some Honda hybrid vehicles are prone to unintended acceleration. The federal auto safety regulator said Monday it had agreed to look into a complaint stemming from a fatal July 2005 crash. The driver of a 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid said she was driving over rumble strips on the side of a freeway when she tried to apply the brakes.