Korean Sedan a good drive, great value. Kia Optima a Real Deal By Jim Bray TechnoFile.com Kia definitely seems to be throwing down the gauntlet, and if they keep making cars like the new Optima, other manufacturers had better be looking over their shoulders. The Optima really knocked my socks off when I drove it for a week recently; it not only looks great, it drives well and has just about every technological toy and/or tool you can imagine, short possibly of the ability to drive itself. Maybe they're holding that back for 2012? All new for 2011, the Optima is Kia's top of the line sedan. It's billed as midsize, but it's longer, wider and lower than its predecessor. Not only that, there's a whole lot of room inside; even rear seat passengers are treated to plentiful leg and knee room. Optima's sleek and athletic exterior makes it one of the more attractive sedans on the market right now, though I could have done with wheels that were a little less "out there:" my test unit, a top-end

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The fast, easy ride is about to end for owners of hybrid cars in California.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The fuel efficiency of European cars advanced last year, with exhaust carbon emissions falling 3.7 percent, provisional European Union data showed on Wednesday.

SHENZHEN (Reuters) - A pioneering electric taxi project in China's southern economic powerhouse of Shenzhen seems a success by most accounts. Riders are enthusiastic, there have been no accidents and drivers are termed "gracious," not a term usually applied to mainland drivers.

A weekly look at personal finance tips and insights others are offering.. A weekly look at personal finance tips and insights others are offering.

The US Supreme Court agreed on Monday to decide whether police can attach a GPS tracking device to a suspect's vehicle without obtaining a search warrant.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Obama administration is considering requiring all new cars and trucks sold in the United States to get an average of 56.2 miles per gallon by 2025, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

MIAMI/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Going lightly on the gas pedal, getting a few dollars of gas rather than filling up, cutting out the cruising, and swapping the BMW for a Dodge Caliber -- those are ways Americans are coping with gasoline prices well above $3 a gallon.

Volvo, owned by China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, will invest $708 million to build a second plant in China, the world's biggest auto market, the environment ministry in Beijing said.

DETROIT (Reuters) - Trouble with new technologies including a clunky control system for its radios pounded Ford Motor Co's <F.N> ranking in a closely watched quality ranking, just a year after the U.S. brand led its mass-market rivals.

DETROIT (Reuters) - Trouble with new technologies including a clunky control system for its radios pounded Ford Motor Co's <F.N> ranking in a closely watched quality ranking, just a year after the U.S. brand led its mass-market rivals.

DEARBORN, Michigan (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co will expand the use of its on-board smartphone applications for the 2012 model year, the automaker said at a safety and technology show for reporters.

While a lithium batteries maker powered higher on a Chrysler contract Tuesday . Stockhouse Canadian Small and Micro-cap Stock Report for Tuesday, June 14, 2011

MADRID (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co <F.N> announced a big boost for its European plants with a plan that included investment of over 800 million euros ($1.2 billion) in Spain and the launch of two new models there.

A lucky Liberty High School student won a new car at a Clark County School District event Thursday to recognize more than 500 high school seniors for academic excellence and attendance records.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge has chosen a Utah crash that killed two people as the first bellwether trial in nationwide litigation over whether Toyota Motor Corp made defective vehicles that sped up unexpectedly.

Ford said Thursday it will triple production of hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles by 2013 as it challenges industry leader Toyota and prepares to meet tough new fuel efficiency rules.

LONDON (Reuters) - Formula One great Stirling Moss announced his retirement from motor racing at the age of 81 on Thursday.

German car maker BMW said on Thursday it planned to build a new models of its Mini brand in Britain, in a further boost to the country's auto manufacturing industry.

India's largest passenger car maker Maruti Suzuki was Tuesday facing losses of at least $22 million, company sources said, as talks continued to end a strike at its factory in the north of the country.