Autoline Daily

Employees at GM’s plant that makes batteries for the Chevrolet Volt decided to join the United Auto Workers union. The CUV segment is the most popular in the American market for the second consecutive year. Ralph Nader questions R&D spending claims Toyota made in some of its advertisements. All that and more, plus a look at the design of the 2011 Kia Optima.

Car sales continue to decline in Europe, falling over 9% last month. Formula 1 is headed to Russia and the country must pay $40 million a year for the rights to host the event. A look at Ford's new engines for the 2011 F-150. All that and more, plus Autoline Daily hit two important milestones, our two-year anniversary and episode number 500 and to celebrate we'll show you some of the hilarious, unaired clips from the past two years.

Former GM CEO Ed Whitacre speaks out about GM's IPO. We hate to say we told you so, but it looks like Steven Rattner's in hot water again. Continental develops a brilliantly simple mechanism for triggering under-the-hood airbag systems. All that and more, plus a preview of this week's Autoline Detroit coming to you once again from Paris.

The US Environmental Protection Agency took a step closer to approving E-15, but so far it's limiting that approval to cars built since 2007. The Chinese government confiscated seven of BYD’s factories saying it built them on land that was zoned for agriculture. Researchers successfully hacked into a car by intercepting wireless tire-pressure monitoring signals. All that and more, plus John answer's your questions about the Chevy Volt and the Ford C-Max in "You Said It!"

General Motors is caught in another flaming controversy, this time over the Chevrolet Volt's drivetrain. New-vehicle sales in China are slowing down, but some analysts say they could hit 17 million units this year. Nissan released a sketch of its next-generation Versa, which is a lot more stylish than the current model. All that and more, plus John comments on the attention the media are paying to Steven Rattner.

Google says it has equipped a fleet of cars with autonomous technology that have logged 140,000 miles driving on roads in California. Disgruntled union workers are going to picket the UAW’s headquarters because of wage concessions. In an attempt to help alleviate "range anxiety", Nissan is considering offering Leaf customers a free car loan for at least one week a year. All that and more, plus a look at the Ford Grand C-Max.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers doubled its sales forecast for the year. Fiat may bring its compact Doblo to North America because sales of the Ford Transit Connect jumped 76% last month. GM announced it’s pouring $145 million in its Orion Assembly plant to make small cars but could this lead to discontent between the company and the union? All that and more, plus a look at a 2-cylinder engine Fiat just introduced in Europe, in a preview of this week's Autoline Detroit.

GM just announced details on household charging units for the Chevrolet Volt. Toyota is expanding its Prius lineup with two new models that are expected to debut by the end of 2012. Not surprisingly, China's booming car sales are giving its overall economy a big boost. All that and more, plus the inside scoop on the new V-8 engines Ford is putting in the 2011 F-150.

Smart USA signed a memorandum of understanding with Nissan Americas, which will build it a 5-door, 5-passenger B-size car. Toyota says that plug-in hybrids are the top alternative vehicle, not hydrogen powered fuel cell cars. Chrysler released new details about the 2011 Dodge Charger. All that and more, plus John answer's your questions in the "You Said It!" segment.

Allstate, the giant insurance company, is suing Toyota because of damages it had to pay to customers when their Toyota’s were damaged due to unintended acceleration. BMW has confirmed that it plans to introduce a line-up of compact, front-wheel-drive cars. Ford is cooking-up an extra-special Mustang for the 2014 model year, which is the 50th anniversary of the pony car. All that and more, plus John shows you around the city of Turin, a place that's referred to as the Detroit of Italy.