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News watch December 2011: today's auto industry news

Welcome to CAR Magazine's news aggregator as we round up the daily stories in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hourFriday 30 December 2011• Fisker has recalled all 239 Karma plug-in hybrids manufactured between 1 July and 3 November this year to fix a glitch in its battery. Supplier A123 Systems says the problem affects the battery's cooling system, but Fisker is adamant no customers have complained and this is a precautionary step (Automotive News)• Supplier Continental says business looks brisk in the first quarter of 2012, thanks to strong demand in the US and Asia (Automotive News Europe)• Toyota chief executive Akio Toyoda is gradually changing the culture at Japan's biggest car maker, according to the Detroit News.

VW to announce Italdesign takeover on Tuesday

Volkswagen will announce Tuesday that it will take a 90 percent stake in Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A, people familiar with the matter told Automotive News Europe. The Giugiaro family will retain 10 percent in the Italian design house that is famous for styling cars such as the first-generation VW Golf. VW plans to acquire control of Italdesign to help reach its goal of becoming the world's largest automaker by 2018 with sales of 10 million vehicles a year.

Poll: Spouses rank as worst backseat drivers

Spouses beat out mothers and children as the worst backseat drivers, according to 500 drivers recently polled by Insurance.com. For men, 40 percent said their wives were worst, followed by friends at 17 percent and mothers at 15 percent. Thirty-four percent of the women ranked their husbands worst, 18 percent said their mothers and 15 percent said their friends.