#2012

Thankfully the world didn’t end last month like Mayan soothsayers erroneously predicted centuries ago. Clearly prophecy wasn’t their major at Yucatan Community College. From an automotive perspective, the year-end news was quite good, with the Detroit Three each posting modest gains.

The numbers have been tallied and the data compiled in Consumer Reports’ latest Auto Reliability Survey. Toyota has a lot to be happy about but Ford has taken a tumble.

If you’re wondering how to sell the controlling stake in a major car company for 4.5 billion euros and leave the tax collector hanging without legal worry, just ask Porsche.

Ford Motor Company has announced a recall of 140,310 model-year 2012 Ford Focus vehicles built through Oct. 18 in the Wayne, Michigan Assembly plant over a potential windshield wiper defect.

Every year in Spain, the biggest members of the telecommunications industry get together to show off the latest in technology. This year, Ford Motor Company executive chairman, Bill Ford spoke about his vision of mobile technology and how it fits in with  Ford’s plans.

The European Union has just announced that it wants to improve emissions by 20% in 2015, and to achieve that goal, it is tightening emission regulations starting from 2012.

In Maybach‘s last full year of sales before the hyper-luxury brand will be shuttered for 2013, Daimler has increased the MSRP of Maybach’s 2012 line-up.

The rally started back in 1978 and was originally called the Paris-Dakar rally due to its geographic location. However, due to safety concerns, the event was moved to South America in 2009, where it has remained to this day. The event is now simply called the Dakar rally, and for the 2012 event will cover 8000-kilometers (4968-miles). The route for the 2012 event will start from the Atlantic coast in Argentina to across South America and ending the event in Peru.

The Volkswagen CC will debut its updated styling for the 2012 at the LA Auto Show in just a few weeks time.

Toyota has announced today that the made in the U.S.A. Toyota Sienna minivan will soon be sold in South Korea.

34,000 units of GM’s 2012 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain crossovers are recalled due too improperly calibrated tire pressure monitoring systems.

The only natural gas production car to be manufactured and sold in the United States, the all-new 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas will be available at 200 dealers across 38 states beginning on October 18th.

The 2012 Honda CR-V Concept was just unveiled earlier this week at Anaheim, California’s Orange County International Auto Show.

Mercedes-Benz unveiled its second-generation B-Class at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show along with a concept for an E-Cell version of the front-wheel drive compact sport tourer.

The new B-Class is almost two inches shorter than the previous version yet has more leg room thanks to a lowered floor. The seats are also more upright but still offer a lot of head room.

European customers will have the choice of two new gasoline and two diesel options, all with ECO start/stop. The turbocharged 1.6 liter B 180 offers 122 hp while the B 200 version offers 156 hp. The 1.8 liter diesel options include the B 180 CDI with 109 hp and the B 200 CDI with 136 hp. B-class models will come with either a 6-speed manual transmission or a new 7-speed dual clutch transmission.