Autoline Daily

The woman that took Honda to small-claims court over the fuel economy of her Civic Hybrid is in the news again. The difference between official EU fuel-economy numbers and what drivers get in the real world is growing. A company called Bracketron has developed a clever way of mounting smartphones and tablets in a vehicle. All that and more, plus John McElroy test drives the Mercedes-Benz CL-550.

Toyota announced its financial earnings for its fiscal year and it didn’t do all that well but the company is very bullish for this year. Opel revealed that the name of its new small car will be the Adam, the same name as the company’s founder. Audi outsold its luxury rival BMW on a global basis in April. All that and more, plus John McElroy responds to your questions and comments in “You Said It!”

Cadillac announced pricing for its new BMW 3 Series competitor, the ATS. An Indian company just introduced a new low-cost hybrid system that can be paired with all kinds of different batteries and engines. The electrified version of Toyota’s RAV4 seems pricier than it should. All that and more, plus John McElroy chooses a winner in the Race to Replace GM CEO Dan Akerson.

A judge dismissed class action claims in Florida and New York that unintended acceleration problems hurt the resale value of their Toyota’s. Chevy engineers ran an 11.93-second, 116-MPH quarter-mile with a showroom-stock Camaro ZL-1 with an automatic. We’ve got car sales from around the globe and the results are mixed. All that and more, plus a clever new design for an electric motor that could get around China’s chokehold on those all important rare-earth metals.

Remember, JAC’s blatant F-150 rip off? Turns out that Ford does a bang-up job protecting intellectual property. Delphi’s aluminum wiring solution can save a ton of weight over the copper alternative — find out how much. BMW’s first-quarter results are very impressive and we’ll have the breakdown. All that and more, plus Craig Cole has Autoline’s first look at the Scion FR-S!

It looks like GM is still the world's biggest automaker, but VW is nipping at its heels with massively more revenue to show for it. Volvo's hybrid semi-truck sets a world speed record. Renault-Nissan will take a majority stake in AvtoVAZ in order to polish up the Lada brand. All that and more, plus John McElroy responds to your questions and comments in this week's edition of You Said It!

After what seems like an eternity, Ford is taking orders for the hotly anticipated Focus ST, but at what price? The Aptera we thought was dead in the ground is being "zapped" back to life by a Chinese company. German scientists are developing smart tires that can change their tread to match driving conditions. All that and more, plus a full report on April car sales.

Automakers and other organizations are fighting a battle that’s reminiscent of the clash between Westinghouse and Edison. There’s lots of labor strife going on in the automotive world today. GM is laying off a huge number of workers at its tech center in Warren, Michigan. All that and more, plus a test drive of the 2012 Toyota Yaris.

Global car sales hit a world record in March with nearly 8.25 million units sold. General Motors will start selling the Chevrolet Corvette in South Korea next month. And speaking of GM, reports out of Japan say the company will take a 10 percent stake in Isuzu, to jointly develop, produce and sell pick-up trucks and commercial vehicles. All that and more, plus a look at the all-new Dodge Dart.

We’ve got the first quarter financial results for a whole bunch of automakers and the numbers are all over the place. Luxury automakers are starting to expand into Inner Mongolia because of growing wealth in the area. The EPA made it official: the brand-new Ford Escape has the best fuel economy in its segment, when equipped with an automatic transmission. All that and more, plus a preview of Autoline This Week with Carla Bailo, the senior vice president of Research and Development for Nissan Americas.