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BMW is to build different versions of its new 1 series car for Europe and the USA. The European model will appear first in late 2004, will be a 5 door hatch back, while the US version due in 2005 will be a traditional 4 door saloon to compete directly in the mass market segment dominated by the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. Initially both versions will be built in Regensburg, Germany.

DaimlerChrysle expects its sales, revenues and profits from buses to rise this year, helped by a gradual stabilisation in the market and cost cuts. The company expects unit sales and revenues of its Mercedes-Benz, Setra and Orion buses to be up 10% from last year. In 2002, DaimlerChrysler produced 25,100 buses and it has a global market share of about 14 %. The business had revenues of about $3.3 billion last year.

Gibbs Technologies of London, England has announced a high-speed amphibious car. The Aquada is designed to reach 100 mph on land and more than 30 mph on water. It is a 2-wheel drive 175bhp vehicle which runs on unleaded petrol and generates a tonne of thrust to blast out of the water on to a road. The first 100 cars are due to go on sale later this year at $200,000 each.

Fiat Auto is said to have reached a preliminary agreement with Martin Leach to take over as their CEO. However, the timing of the move remains in doubt. Ford is concerned that Leach will take important information on Ford's strategies with him to Fiat. Fiat is stepping up its efforts to have Leach released from a non-compete clause said to be at least six months long.

GM are offering a free Dell PC worth $800 to US customers who buy, or lease, a 2003 Saturn car. Under GM's "Buy a Saturn, Get a Dell" program, customers who buy a Saturn Ion, L-Series mid-size car or Vue SUV will receive a certificate for a Dell Dimension 2400 PC, in addition to zero percent financing or $2,000 cash back. .Last month, Saturn promoted its cars on the QVC home-shopping television network in an attempt to lure more women buyers.

GM will replace the Daewoo brand name with the Chevrolet name as it enters new markets in central and eastern Europe. The change will be made first in Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Turkey starting at the end of this year. Chevrolet may eventually replace Daewoo in western Europe as well at the time of new vehicle launches.

Johnson Controls and Philips Sound Solutions have developed a new car speakers that will no longer have to be integrated into the doors. The new speakers are flat and can be placed virtually anywhere within the cabin, and can remain invisible to the occupants. Not only is the new speaker technology very flexible, but it also saves a considerable amount of weight.

Honda has now produced 50 million vehicles worldwide during its 40 years in existence. It took 20 years to build the first 10 million, 7 years to build the next 10 million, 5 more years to build the next 10 million, 4 years for the next milestone to be reached, and just 4 years for the last 10 million. Approximately 33.8 million units were produced in Japan and 12.6 million in North America. The Civic comprises 15 million units and the Accord 13 million.

Isuzu it was the third biggest manufacturer of medium/heavy trucks in the world and was actually leader for Medium Trucks in 2002. The data released by Isuzu shows that DaimlerChrysler were the world's leading truck manufacturer, but with output down 8.8% at 77,959 from 85,528, Freightliner moved into second place with output up 9.1% to 68,723 from 62,996 whilst Isuzu dropped to third with a 4.0% increase to 66,868 from 64,267. When it comes to Medium Trucks, however, Isuzu builds more than twice as many as its nearest competitor and led the field with 56,779 built from 56,739 in 2002.

Masserati and Audi have agreed to collaborate on technical and commercial activities, including joint development of vehicles for both brands. The companies say they will also share some supply and purchasing activities.

Price remains the main reason why US buyers choose one vehicle over another, according to the JD Power and Associates 'Escaped Shopper' Study. The top 10 reasons cited for rejecting a particular model were 1. Price, 2 Monthly payments, 3 Exterior design, 4 Insufficient rebates, 5. Fuel economy, 6. Reliability, 7. Low-rate financing, 8. Interior design, 9. Sales staff, 10, Vehicle too small.

Raba Motor Gyarto of Gyor, Hungary, plans to bring Russian Kamaz trucks back to the local market. The Hungarian company will equip the Russian truck with its own 10-litre turbodiesel engine and a German-made 16-speed gearbox. The 20 tonne truck will be 30% less expensive than similar models made in western Europe. The new KAMAZ-Raba truck will be exported to Romania, Poland and Serbia and Montenegro.

Toyota outsold the Chrysler group for the first time in the United States last month. In the same month Ford Motor Co. reported a 14.9 % drop in sales. GM increased its third-quarter production, but sales were still down 4.2 % compared with last August's strong results. Many analysts expect the Big 3 to lose market share to foreign automakers, especially Japanese makers, despite incentives on domestic brands averaging roughly $4,000 per vehicle.

Toyota will offer a self-parking feature for the Japanese version of its next-generation Prius hybrid car. The optional $2000 system uses electric power steering and object sensors to parallel-park automatically with no driver input. The system requires Toyota's DVD-based G-Book navigation technology which is available only in Japan.

Mitsubishi is looking into setting up joint ventures with two Chinese automobile companies to produce trucks in China. Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp, which is owned 43 % by DaimlerChrysler AG, has already begun the limited outsourcing of production of large trucks to China's Anhui Xingma Auto Co. The two are considering the joint establishment of a production company in order to take aim at the rapidly growing Chinese truck market.

Volkswagen have gained agreement from the mayor of Wolfsburg city council to rename the town. For the period of 6 weeks ending October 6th, Wolfsburg will be known as 'Golfsburg' in honour of the new 5th generation Volkswagen Golf. Mayor Rolf Schnellecke wants to go further, and is even suggesting that local fast food chains produce 'Golfburgers' for hungry customers.

Volvo AB has announced a new medium-duty truck for South America. Volvo AB predicts that the new VM will capture 10% of the South American market within a year. The new truck is the first of its size to be developed and built by Volvo outside Europe and is being manufactured in Curitiba, Brazil with about 80% of its components being locally made.

On the lighter side .... some strange but true stories.

A mysterious crate labelled "Wild Animals" and blasting out lions' roars in a Darmstadt Germany had locals running scared and animal lovers up in arms. Police came to investigate after two women complained about the treatment of the animals apparently locked in the crate. But instead of discovering wild beasts, they saw a promotional video for Land Rover vehicles intercut with shots of roaring lions. A Land Rover spokeswoman said "We've generally only had positive feedback on it so far. We've never had this kind of response before."

Police in Durban, South Aftrica called on the services of a witch doctor to end a spate of thefts from lorries. He pinned voodoo dolls to the trucks and the thefts stopped immediately.

Car salesman Robbie Mills from New York was so dedicated to his job that when he went into hospital for an operation, he sold a car to his surgeon.

A thief who stole a car in Italy returned it with an apology, and an invitation to dine free at an expensive restaurant at a specific time. While the car owner was out enjoying the meal the thief burgled his house.

Thieves smashed their way into a car showroom in Hamburg, Germany. Instead of stealing a car, the only thing they stole was the Rottweiller guard dog. Owner Karl Geil, loves the dog so much he is now offering a free car as a reward for its safe return.

Traffic police in Russia have been issued with tape recorders to record drivers who offer bribes to get off tickets. Meanwhile motorists are claiming that its actually an official attempt to crack down on corrupt policemen.

Staff at Toyota City, near Nagoya, have been ordered to stop driving to work as they are causing traffic jams. The company is now offering free buses instead.

An Austrian man was stopped by police who saw him playing a flute with both hands as he drove at 80 mph on a German motorway. In his defence he told police that he had not actually been blowing the instrument and was only 'practicing holding it'. He was fined $50.

A loophole in Sweden's law enables a car to be registered in a 'non-driving offspring's' name. Most impressively, one 10 year-old girl has run up 286 parking fines worth $35,000 and she cannot be prosecuted because of her age.

Italy's high court has ruled that sex in a tiny Fiat 500 is not a crime but 'part of the Italian way of life', as long as it occurs under 'reasonable darkness'. In some Italian cities 'car parks of love' have semi-official status.

A court in Paraguay has confirmed that shaving while at the wheel of a car or truck is legal, as long as the shaving occurs on the face or chest and rear-view or side view mirror is used as opposed to an auxiliary mirror.