Ford Focus

Chrysler Group will recall more than 200,000 of its vehicles, including its Ram pickup truck,  Dodge Challengers and Chargers and Jeep Liberty and Patriots for a variety of problems. In the biggest recall, the automaker will inspect and fix about 120,000 Chrysler 300s, and Dodge Challenger and Chargers sedans from the 2011 and 2012 model years because of an airbag problem. The wrong-sized crimps were used in building the airbag wiring harness, and that can can cause the airbag warning light to illuminate.

Ford and Toyota -- two of the biggest automakers in the world -- are in an ego contest over which car sells the most globally, the Focus or the Corolla. Earlier this week Ford Motor Co.  trumpeted how its Focus compact car is the bestselling vehicle in the world. Toyota says it's not true. Toyota Motor Corp. says it sold 1,160,764 Corolla nameplate vehicles globally in 2012, including sedans, wagon and liftbacks. Photos: Top 10 cars with lowest cost per mpg That's more than the 1,020,410 Focus models sold worldwide last year.

An American automaker has the top-selling car in the world -- the Ford Focus. Research firm R.L. Polk & Co. said Ford Motor Co. sold 1,020,410 Focus models worldwide last year. About a quarter of the sales were in the U.S. The Focus beat out the second-best seller -- Toyota's Corolla with sales of 872,774  -- by a wide margin. Including the F-series truck and Fiesta compact car, Ford had three of the 10 top-selling vehicles internationally, the firm reported. “Ford has been among the leaders in Europe for a long time and the Focus and the Fiesta have traditionally done well there,” said Tom Libby, an analyst at Polk.

An American automaker has the top-selling car in the world -- the Ford Focus. Research firm R.L. Polk & Co. said Ford Motor Co. sold 1,020,410 Focus models worldwide last year. About a quarter of the sales were in the U.S. The Focus beat out the second-best seller -- Toyota's Corolla with sales of 872,774  -- by a wide margin. Including the F-series truck and Fiesta compact car, Ford had three of the 10 top-selling vehicles internationally, the firm reported. “Ford has been among the leaders in Europe for a long time and the Focus and the Fiesta have traditionally done well there,” said Tom Libby, an analyst at Polk.

Shelby American Inc. has long been known to turn out fire-breathing autos with powerful turbo-charged engines, but with its diminutive new “pocket rocket,” the car company has changed things up a bit. At the 2013 Detroit Auto show, Shelby American unveiled a souped-up version of a Ford Focus. The company took the four-cylinder compact car with front-wheel drive and wrenched in a new turbo-charged Ford EcoBoost engine the cranks out more than 300 horsepower. Named the Shelby Focus ST, the hot hatchback was designed at Shelby American's skunkworks division in Las Vegas and tested extensively at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The "cash for clunkers" program is set to get its tank refilled with another $2 billion today after Senate Democrats and Republicans reached an agreement allowing a vote on extra money to keep the immensely popular rebate program going through Labor Day. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and other supporters of the program said there was enough support to approve the funding, which the House passed last week.

Ford Motor Co.'s Focus car is under investigation by U.S. regulators for engine stalls and loss of power, the second problem in three months for the No. 2 auto maker's compact car. The investigation may result in the recall of 574,700 vehicles. The National Highway Traf- fic Safety Administration's monthly report also said it is looking at complaints that steering can lock up without warning on 1997 and 1998 model General Motors Corp. cars and minivans, possibly causing drivers to lose control.

When executives at American Honda Motor Co. in Torrance look in the corporate rearview mirror these days, they're likely to spot a Ford -- closing fast. Honda's wildly popular Civic is being pressed in the U.S. sales race by Ford Motor Co.'s new entry-level Focus, whose European roots and fresh design are combining to capture buyers' cash and critics' raves. Executives at the U.S. arm of Honda Motor Co.

Ford and Toyota -- two of the biggest automakers in the world -- are in an ego contest over which car sells the most globally, the Focus or the Corolla. Earlier this week Ford Motor Co.  trumpeted how its Focus compact car is the bestselling vehicle in the world. Toyota says it's not true. Toyota Motor Corp. says it sold 1,160,764 Corolla nameplate vehicles globally in 2012, including sedans, wagon and liftbacks. Photos: Top 10 cars with lowest cost per mpg That's more than the 1,020,410 Focus models sold worldwide last year.

A boy was killed by a hit-and-run driver on Imperial Highway about 1 a.m. Sunday, authorities said. The crash occurred near Crenshaw Boulevard. The driver did not stop and continued west, witnesses told police. The victim, described only as a "male juvenile," was pronounced dead at a hospital. Police were looking for the car, which witnesses described as a red or dark red compact sedan with tinted windows, perhaps a Ford Focus. It is believed to have extensive front-end damage. Anyone with information is urged to call the traffic division at (310)

After eight years of watching Europe have all the fun with small, fast cars, we're finally getting our piece of the hot-hatch action from Ford. Consider the 2013 Focus ST the spiritual successor to the SVT Focus, the sleeper Ford made from 2002 to 2004. The ST targets well-established pocket rockets including the MazdaSpeed3, Volkswagen GTI and Subaru WRX. The Ford carries plenty of firepower to the fight: 252 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque, directed through a six-speed manual transmission to the front wheels.

Shelby American Inc. has long been known to turn out fire-breathing autos with powerful turbo-charged engines, but with its diminutive new “pocket rocket,” the car company has changed things up a bit. At the 2013 Detroit Auto show, Shelby American unveiled a souped-up version of a Ford Focus. The company took the four-cylinder compact car with front-wheel drive and wrenched in a new turbo-charged Ford EcoBoost engine the cranks out more than 300 horsepower. Named the Shelby Focus ST, the hot hatchback was designed at Shelby American's skunkworks division in Las Vegas and tested extensively at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Toyota will be bringing to the 2013 Detroit Auto Show a sedan concept called the Furia. If the name is unfamiliar, perhaps a more common name will ring a bell: the Corolla. Toyota hasn't explicitly said the Furia concept it will debut is the next Corolla. All the company has allowed is that it's an "exciting new sedan. " But only a quick look at Toyota's lineup is needed to see the Corolla is the oldest model around. The current Corolla has been with us since 2008, and features such as its four-speed automatic transmission reflect its age. Competitors such as the Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra, Chevy Cruze and Ford Focus use five- or six-speed automatic transmissions or CVTs for increased fuel economy.

NEW YORK--Leslie Martin was never so happy to be odd. If only she'd known how to pump her own gas on the first day of rationing in New York and suburban Long Island. Still, Martin made do early Friday after waiting for hours in line as the state tries to manage the gasoline shortage resulting from station closures and fuel delivery problems in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Because Friday, Nov. 9, is an odd number, only people like Martin, driving cars with license plates ending in odd numbers or characters, were allowed at the pumps.

The overall quality of new automobiles has improved, according to a consumer survey by J.D. Power & Associates, although complaints about complicated onboard audio, entertainment and navigation systems were on the rise. Overall, owners of 2012 vehicles reported 5% fewer problems during the first three months of ownership, compared with last year's survey. Michelle Krebs, an auto industry analyst at Edmunds.com, said the industry is paying more attention to potential problem areas.

A new ranking of auto brands and models placed Ford Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. at the top. Total Car Score ( www.totalcarscore.com ) looked at auto review and ratings sites and measured which brands and vehicles received the most kudos.  The idea was to develop a comprehensive evaluation that takes advantage of expert opinions and ratings of autos, said Karl Brauer, founder and chief executive of Total Car Score. Ford earned the most Total Car Score awards with a top-scoring vehicle in five of 20 categories.

A woman speeding through Los Angeles and Gardena crashed into two other cars late Friday night, killing one person and injuring several others. A Nissan Maxima driven by Glenda Jamerson, 37, struck a Ford Focus at Rosecrans Avenue in Gardena shortly before 11 p.m., according to Gardena police. Jamerson's car then hit an SUV that had entered the intersection, flipping it onto its side, police said. The driver of the Focus, Kierra Kevon Bolton, 20, of Los Angeles was pronounced dead at the scene, and Jamerson was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, police said.

Ford Motor Co., the world's No. 2 auto maker, will open a $150-million factory here next week in an effort to cut car prices that are inflated by import duties. The factory will make 8,000 Ford Focus vehicles this year, with production rising to about 10,000 cars in 2003, said Oksana Khartonuk, a spokeswoman for Ford in Russia.

When Ford Motor Co. set out to redesign its Focus, it did so with a laserlike intensity. Improved fuel economy was the No. 1 priority in replacing its 12-year-old compact -- a car that is Ford's global bestseller, even if its U.S. popularity has been on the wane. Overhauled for the 2012 model year and available this spring, the Focus, like Ford itself, is staging a comeback. With a sportier body shape and what Ford estimates will be an EPA fuel economy rating of as much as 40 miles per gallon on the highway, depending on the version, the Focus is aimed at value-conscious consumers hoping to avoid the pocketbook pummeling of volatile fuel prices that are now creeping well above $3 a gallon.

2012 Ford Focus Base price: $16,270 Price as tested: $24,385 (including destination charge) Powertrain: 2.0-liter, inline-four, direct injection, DOHC, four valves per cylinder, twin independent variable camshaft timing, six-speed PowerShift automatic Horsepower: 160 at 6,500 rpm Torque: 146 pound-feet at 4,450 rpm Wheelbase: 104.3 inches Overall length: 178.5 inches Curb weight:...