News About Automobile Technology 06-JAN-09 en-us Beijing (AFP) Jan 4, 2009 - Nearly 73,500 people were killed in over 265,000 road accidents in China last year, a 10 percent reduction in traffic fatalities over 2007, state press said Sunday.]]> Tokyo (AFP) Jan 5, 2009 - "Please erase your image of electric cars being like golf carts," a spokesman for Japan's fourth-biggest automaker said before taking a zero-emission vehicle out for a spin.]]> Beijing (AFP) Dec 30, 2008 - China's Beiqi Foton Motor Co has launched a five-billion-yuan (730-million-dollar) design and production base for clean energy vehicles in Beijing, the company said Tuesday.]]> Shanghai (AFP) Dec 25, 2008 - China's top economic planning agency is drafting a stimulus package to save the automotive sector from a US-style crisis, state media reported Thursday.]]> Arlington, Va. Dec 23, 2008 - Like Ebenezer Scrooge awakening on Christmas morning to the error of his ways, U.S. President George W. Bush has belatedly discovered the danger of relying too much on market forces.]]> Shanghai (AFP) Dec 28, 2008 - The first road tunnel beneath the Yangtze River opened to traffic on Sunday in central China, state media reported.]]> Beijing (AFP) Dec 27, 2008 - China plans to offer incentives for car owners to scrap their old models in favour of new ones, in a bid to lift the auto industry as it enters a period of crisis, state media said Saturday.]]> Seoul (AFP) Dec 26, 2008 - The Korea Development Bank (KDB) said Friday it would not provide Ssangyong Motor Co. with new loans unless its Chinese parent company helps the ailing automaker first.]]> Beijing (AFP) Dec 26, 2008 - Japanese carmaker Toyota Friday began a recall of nearly 122,000 cars in China due to defects that could lead to steering failure, the Chinese government and the automaker said.]]> Seoul (AFP) Dec 23, 2008 - The Chinese owner of South Korea's Ssangyong Motor has threatened to abandon the ailing automaker if its union rejects restructuring, a senior MP said Tuesday.]]> Nagoya, Japan (AFP) Dec 22, 2008 - Toyota Motor Corp. on Monday forecast its first-ever operating loss this year as the global slowdown creates "an unprecedented crisis" for the long profitable automaker.]]> Seoul (AFP) Dec 22, 2008 - South Korea's Ssangyong Motor said Monday it would be unable to pay workers on time this month, as other local automakers announced fresh production cuts amid a slump in demand.]]> Washington DC (UPI) Dec 20, 2008 - The White House unveiled a $17.4 billion bailout plan for U.S. automakers Friday, eliciting sighs of relief from the companies, which are currently teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. ]]> ]]>