(General Motors)
Volt safety
The government has ended its safety investigation into the Chevrolet Volt, concluding that the Volt and other electric cars don't pose a greater fire risk than gasoline-powered cars. GM announced earlier this month that it will add steel plates to about 12,000 existing Volts to protect the batteries in the event of a crash.
— The Associated Press
(Audi)
Diesel sales
Sales of new "clean" diesel autos in the U.S. increased by 27.4 percent in 2011 over 2010, according to HybridCars.Com and market-research firm Baum and Associates. Baum expects diesel-car sales to grow to 6-6.5 percent of the U.S. market by 2015, compared to just over 3 percent today.
— NWautos staff