Ford Motor Company announced yesterday that sales of its hybrid SUVs rose 50 percent year-over-year in April to 2,800 units, largely on the backs of sizeable incentive initiatives.

The numbers indicate a 75 percent increase over March, which would appear to indicate that Ford is gaining some traction thanks to the zero-percent 60-month loans on its Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrids, as well as the ramping up the ‘Kermit Factor’ (read: spending more $$$ on advertising).

Ford also attributes government tax benefits and increasing gas prices for the demand uptick.

[Source: Reuters via Planet Ark; Autos.163]

Chrysler is one step closer to a new state-of-the-art plant. Employees at its Trenton Engine Plant in Michigan overwhelmingly approved provisions over the weekend that will help the automaker make a case for a new "Phoenix" V6 engine plant at the same location.

Estimated to cost $800 million, the factory could be up and running on all six-cylinders by 2011, provided DaimlerChrysler officials are able to score the necessary state and local government incentives (read: tax breaks).

The Trenton workers voted to approve new hourly provisions that shortens the work week to four 10-hour days, simplifies job classifications to two types and curbs overtime. The facility is to be built along side the existing plant, and will employ 600 workers. The older plant that keeps 1,200 in paychecks is slated to go dark by 2015.

[Sources: The Detroit News; Chrysler]

The idea of a 49-day, 8,000 mile drive  from South Africa to England would seem to suggest something rugged and roomy-- a Land Rover Range Rover, perhaps. But a trio of lightly-modified MINI Cooper S hot hatches have just completed the trek, having ventured through 10 countries (including Botswana, Egypt, and the Sudan).

In order to make the sojourn on questionable (occasionally non-existent) roads, MINI prepped the cars by boosting ground clearance to 230mm (around 9"), reworking the shock absorbers and fitting steel wheels wrapped with more durable tires. Rear seats and interior trim was jettisoned in order to free storage space for the requisite pair of spare tires, along with food and sleeping provisions.

The epic trip began March 8 in Johannesburg, South Africa, and wended its way to the MINI's plant in Oxford.

[Source: MotorTorque at AskAPrice.com]

If Ford decides to broom the company's Highland Park complex in 2008 as rumored, the Twin Cities want to be ready. Instead of Blue Ovals, local officials are thinking Olympic rings.

The truck plant is being floated as being one of the potential locations that might help entice Minnesotans make a bid for the 2016 or 2020 Olympics. The factory was part of a list pitched to city officials at the St. Paul City Hall.

Despite the earlier bid date being about a decade away, the amount of preparation and wooing needed to court the attentions of the International Olympic Committee is substantial, so the much of the groundwork would need to be laid over the next couple of months.

[Source: City Hall Scoop]

Last week, Malaysian automaker Naza unveiled their new Sutera, a well-equipped bargain basement supermini that's a veritable 'We Are the World' on four wheels. Sutera employs a 65-horsepower 1.1-liter DOHC 16-valve engine from Daihatsu (Japan), boasts a shape penned by Pininfarina (Italy) and features NVH tuning and final suspension fiddling by Lotus Engineering (England). This is a rather ambitious move for the Naza , which has previously dealt largely in rebadged Kias. Exterior styling is standard supermini fare, albeit with a good bit of flare in the triangular details-- the rear brake/turn signal lamps dominate both the rear and side aspects, and the three-pointed door pulls are an unusual element. The most unusual/controversial design element, however, would be the front turn signals, which are located at the base of the windshield (near the base of the A-pillars). Wheels are of the 14" alloy variety, and they definitely look smallish, but should be a good bet for keeping replacement costs down for the tires.

Inside the five door, standard equipment includes power steering, dual airbags, power windows/locks/mirrors, 60/40 split fold rear seats, underseat storage and an MP3-compatible CD stereo. Gauges are of the love/hate center console capping variety, which should enable easier RHD/LHD configurations. As Naza expects to assemble about 30,000 Suteras a year, with plans to sell them everywhere from Malaysia to Malta, Cyprus, India, Brunei, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, and interestingly, the United Kingdom.

Learn more about the Sutera by checking out Naza's site here.

[Sources: Naza, Channel4 UK]

Could supermodel Heidi Klum be a closet gearhead? Despite parting ways with Renault F1 bigwig Flavio Briatore, the camera-friendly celebrity appears to still have a thing for motorsports, having reportedly 'coptered in to chat with the Audi DTM crew at the EuroSpeedway over the weekend. Klum talked with the team, then walked around the starting grid and took in the race from the Audi Lounge over pit lane.

Perhaps the four-ringed boys were a mote distracted, as they were unable to seal the deal on the track. Tom Kristensen (Siemens Audi A4 DTM) finished second, the only marque representative in the top seven spots. Mercedes dominated the standings, securing six out of the top ten positions, including eventual winner Bernd Schneider.

(Flavio and Klum are pictured)

[Source: PaddockTalk]

According to the Telematics Research Group (TRG), the crafty engineers at BMW are the most technologically savvy bunch selling cars in North America-- at least as far as telematics go. The upscale Bavarian marque headed the TRG Automotive Technology Index thanks to its range of available "key telematics, infotainment and driver assist technology." Composed of 30 different metrics in six categories, BMW edged Mercedes-Benz and Cadillac to take the top spot, with Infiniti and Lexus rounding out the top five.

Advances in driver assist technology like lane-departure warning systems and adaptive cruise control have largely been introduced in brand flagships like BMW's 7-Series and Mercedes-Benz's S-Class, with features trickling down to the rest of the lineup as time goes on.

That said, innovations like BMW's all-in-one metallic porkpie hat (otherwise known as iDrive) have had their share of detractors and glitches, with not everyone warming to the influx of electronics in their vehicles. Obviously, however, that hasn't deterred the brand from moving forward with various technological initiatives.

[Source: DrivingToday.com; AutoReview.ru]

General Motors' executives took a massive pay cut in 2005, after the board of directors not only voted to withhold bonuses, it also slashed base pay of some of the company's highest profile executives.

Among them, chairman and chief executive officer Rick Wagoner took  a 46 percent hit to his bottom line, from $10.1 million in 2004 to $5.5 million in 2005. Vice chairman and head of product development Bob Lutz took an even bigger percentage hit, and will take home $3 million this year (he raked in $6.5 million in 2004). John Devine, former GM vice president and CFO banked $3.9 million, down from $6.4 the year prior.

Wagoner's salary of $2.2 million didn't change in 2005, but he as part of a round of voluntary pay cuts this past February, the top executive will see his base number cut in half.

The figures came from GM's federal proxy report issued Friday, which sets the table for  discussions at the upcoming June 6 shareholder meeting. Among other things, investors will vote on six proposals, one of which calls for the repayment of executive performance bonuses awarded based upon faulty earnings reports (before accounting corrections forced a restatement). The board reportedly discounts such suggestions, arguing that antifraud legislation and rules already in place render such changes unnecessary.

Other shareholder ideas to be floated at the meeting include splitting the offices of chairman and CEO, banning the issuing of further stock options to GM employees, altering voting practices for the board of directors, and a call for a new report on the company's effect on global warming.

According to reports, the board opposes all of the above.

[Sources: The Detroit Free Press; General Motors]

As Esquire magazine appears to have forgotten to post its "10 Most Awesome Autos" feature from its May issue online, Terry Box at the Dallas Morning News has been kind enough to accommodate list fanatics. The men's magazine actually made a pretty good show of picking its 10 favorite cars under $50,000. No defining criteria other than price and editorial opinion appears to have been employed, so take these for whatever they're worth. In no particular order and without further delay, the envelope, please ...

• Lotus Elise ($42,990):
• Chevrolet Corvette ($44,490)
• Mazda 6 ($19,670)
• Infiniti G35 coupe ($33,200)
• Ford F-150 ($19,640 to $37,005)
• Audi A3 3.2 DSG ($34,700)
• Subaru Legacy GT ($28,795)
• BMW 3-Series ($30,900 to $44,900)
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution ($29,149)
• Chrysler 300C SRT8 ($42,695)

 So, did Esquire get it right, or is it missing something? 

[Sources: Dallas Morning News; Esquire; Lotus]