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EV maker Coda trims staff

Not much more could go wrong for electric-car maker Coda, which has struggled to sell its four-door EV in the United States since officially launching it here in March. But Web reports, first seen at www.plugincars.com, say the company laid off 50 employees, or 15 percent of its workforce, last week, mostly in the sales and marketing departments. Efforts by Autoweek to contact Coda have not been successful.

Chrysler announces high school design competition

Chrysler has launched its ‘Autorama High School Design Competition 2013'. The competition calls for high school students currently attending a Detroit Public School to design a future luxury Chrysler brand vehicle they picture for the year 2030. Students must submit their designs on one sheet of 14" x 16" paper using pencils, markers or paint and include their name, school, grade level and contact information.

Toyoda says company is ‘grasping for salvation', fears big sales loss

Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda said his money-losing automaker is “grasping for salvation” as it struggles to return to profit. The world's largest car company was once targeting annual sales of 10 million vehicles but now expects sales of 7.3 million this year, down from 8.97 million in 2008, Toyoda said today at a news conference.