Neil Young: Detroit's Dinosaurs Can Go Electric

Swap at SUV plant shows how fast industry is adjusting to fuel costs, demand

(NEWSER) - Toyota plans to start producing its super-popular Prius hybrid in the US, Wired reports. With inventories overwhelmed by demand, the firm will move production lines to a Mississippi plant intended to produce SUVs. The factory won’t make its first Prius until 2010, but with no sign of abating gas prices, Toyota is betting hybrid demand will be even higher then. More»

1 in 5 vehicles sold in April was compact or subcompact

(NEWSER) - Facing ballooning gas prices, many Americans are turning to smaller cars, with about one in five vehicles sold in April a compact or subcompact, the New York Times reports. That compares to one in eight 10 years ago. “It’s easily the most dramatic segment shift I have witnessed in the market in my 31 years here,” said Ford’s chief sales analyst. More»

(NEWSER) - The Cash for Clunkers program should never have left the lot, Michelle Singletary writes in the Washington Post. The premise is fine: Give people a financial incentive to trade in old gas guzzlers for new gas sippers. It's the details that smell like a lemon. "The law does not apply to the purchase of used cars, encourages people to take on more debt, and doesn't require the new cars to get substantially better gas mileage." More»

Rebates up to $4,500 would go to buyers of more efficient vehicles

(NEWSER) - The House has passed legislation to give people who trade in gas-guzzling vehicles for more efficient new models rebates up to $4,500, the Detroit News reports. The $4 billion "cash-for-clunkers" bill, aimed at giving the auto industry a boost, passed 298-119, and its backers will now try to get it attached to legislation in the Senate. More»

(NEWSER) - After years of big cars and even bigger sales numbers, forces are conspiring to turn the US auto market into something much more like its European counterparts, the LA Times reports. Fashion statement SUVs are giving way to more efficient, more reliable cars, analysts say, which people are expected to drive longer. After sales averaging 16.9 million a year since the millennium, under 10 million are expected to move this year. Even post-recession, some think they'll rebound only to about 14 million. More»