Yamaha Motor Corp

A federal judge gave final approval Wednesday to a plan restricting sales of off-road all-terrain-vehicles (ATVs), which have been blamed for 880 deaths and thousands of injuries in the last six years. U.S. District Judge Gerhard A.

IN the world of cruisers, there are Gingers and there are Mary Anns -- bikes that like to gussy up and make a grand entrance, and more understated models that can leave the house without double dipping the mascara. Star Motorcycles' new 1300 cc V Star is definitely a Mary Ann -- unintimidating, low maintenance and just as happy to grab a burger as dine on filet mignon. New for 2007, the 1300 is a big step up from its mid-size metric sister, the V Star 1100.

Yamaha Motor Corp. USA suspended sales of its Rhino off-road vehicles Tuesday and launched a repair program after the Consumer Product Safety Commission determined that they had been involved in more than 50 accidents resulting in 46 deaths and hundreds of injuries. About 145,000 Rhinos have been sold since the two-seat "side-by-side" vehicle, which looks like a small dune buggy, was introduced in 2003.

In his mind and heart, Quenton Olson, 23, has always been a mechanic and an engineer. He's always liked to tinker. "I've rebuilt just about everything in my car," he said. Now, through a course at California State University, Northridge, Olson is taking what he's learned from years of fiddling with cars, motorcycles, airplanes and dune buggies and putting it to work.

As a rebellious youth, Jim Wyand would hop on his Yamaha motorcycle to get away for the weekend. Now that he has settled into adulthood, Wyand is more likely to be found riding his Yamaha lawn tractor in the back yard of his New York home. Once only a maker of powerful machines for daring roadsters, Cypress-based Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A. is attempting to grow up along with its audience by entering the lawn-tractor market. Buyers like the 31-year-old Wyand, who mows a three-acre tract in Plattsburgh, N.Y., are convinced that the high-tech, high-powered lawn tractors introduced by Yamaha last year are better products than the more established Lawn Boys, Toros and John Deeres of the industry.

Manufacturers of all-terrain vehicles on Wednesday hailed a San Diego jury verdict that cleared the Honda Motor Co. of blame for an accident involving one of its three-wheeled cycles, but safety experts and attorneys warned that the ruling would not quell the controversy--or other lawsuits--over the vehicles. Spokesmen for the manufacturers said the 10-2 verdict, reached Tuesday, validated their belief that the machines are safe if ridden properly.

TELEVISION No Repercussions: CBS News President Eric Ober gave a vote of confidence Tuesday to the news department at KCBS-TV Channel 2, which admitted last Friday that it had erred during coverage of the O.J. Simpson murder case. Ober said that the station's mistake in reporting that Deputy Dist. Atty.

Japanese motorcycle makers were the first Asian motor companies to open distribution and marketing headquarters in Orange County when they came here in the 1960s. Since then, several Asian car companies have made Orange County their American home. Although no cars are made here, one industry analyst describes the county as "Motown on the Pacific." The largest Japanese motor companies--Toyota, Nissan and Honda--are in Los Angeles County, where they settled more than 25 years ago.

Alarmed by a rising number of injuries and deaths, attorneys general in 23 states Monday asked the nation's largest manufacturer of all-terrain vehicles to meet with them to discuss ways of making their machines safer and avoiding possible legal action. Texas Atty. Gen. Jim Mattox said he and the other top law enforcement officials, including California Atty. Gen. John Van de Kamp, invited executives from Gardena-based American Honda Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

What until a decade ago was a strawberry patch, has evolved into a burgeoning commercial center in Cypress. Beset by an image as a bedroom community and a high tax rate, the Orange County community in the 1970s approved a zoning initiative that designated 700 acres of undeveloped land for commercial and industrial use--an area previously earmarked for single-family homes.