Sharon Carty

Lincoln showed off its new design center Thursday, the first dedicated studio for the luxury brand since the 1970s.

Electric car battery maker A123 filed for bankruptcy today, just a few hours after warning it was about to default on its loans, and will be taken over by auto supplier Johnson Controls.

Electric car battery maker A123 filed for bankruptcy today, just a few hours after warning it was about to default on its loans, and will be taken over by auto supplier Johnson Controls.

Toyota is recalling 7.5 million cars worldwide, and 2.5 million in the U.S., over a faulty door switch that could result in car fires. It's the automaker's largest recall since the sudden acceleration recalls in 2009 and 2010.

There are times when a company name is just a company name. There isn't really a gal named Victoria who's got some big Secret. Neither Mrs. Butterworth nor Aunt Jemima were real women. And Betty Crocker: Also a fraud. So when I went to rent a car from Rent-A-Wreck, I figured the name must just be a kitschy play on words, letting the company emphasize how cheap it could rent out cars by downplaying consumer expectations for what they'd be getting in a car.

Are we too fat to ever save fuel? That's a question that's come up again, after AOL Autos looked into the issue in 2011, now that AllState Insurance and Cars.com paired up to put together a pretty nifty graphic showing the rise in obesity and how it compares with the automaker's efforts to make more fuel efficient cars.

If you're a bandage maker, how do you go up against Band-Aids? Or if you're a lip balm maker, how to you challenge ChapStick? That's the question Ford faced when it decided to challenge Prius, a name which is becoming synonymous with hybrid cars, by building a car that will come only in hybrid and extended-range electric versions in the U.S. – the C-Max.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched an investigation following complaints from drivers that the sunroofs on the Hyundai Veloster are prone to spontaneously exploding.

Reports of drivers who say they heard a loud bang, and then felt a downpour of shattered glass, prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to launch an investigation into sunroofs on the Hyundai Veloster.

The village of Elmwood Place, Ohio, had a hunch drivers were speeding through a school zone, so they set up a camera to try to track violators. It's no surprise the village was right – but the sheer number of people in that town with a lead foot is surprising. In two weeks, the cameras caught 20,000 drivers speeding on one block.

Fisker CEO Tony Posawatz is a big believer in extended-range electric vehicles. In fact, he's willing to bet the technology is not simply a bridge to more powerful batteries and quicker charging stations--he thinks they're here to stay.

If you're living for the weekend, and really want to make sure you are actually alive this weekend, Nationwide Insurance suggests you try driving safer on Fridays.

Those Americans who remember using rotary phones, Atari game systems and watched the Watergate hearings live will also recall that before there was a Nissan brand in the U.S. there was Datsun.

Although plans haven't been finalized for the upcoming Fisker Atlantic (plans like, say, determining if Fisker will even have enough money to build the car) the company has already figured out what will be under the hood: an engine from the BMW 3-series.

Fisker Automotive is having a helluva time lately, what with one of its cars setting itself on fire in a California parking lot, the Department of Energy backing out on more than half of its $529 million loan promise, and Consumer Reports telling the public that the $100,000 Fisker Karma is "plagued with flaws."

Bowing to pressure from consumers and advocacy groups, major car rental companies have agreed to end the practice of renting cars that have been recalled for safety problems.

Despite a spike in gasoline prices, car sales are on track to continue their stable growth, and this September could end up being the best September since 2007.

Bowing to pressure from consumers and advocacy groups, major car rental companies have agreed to end the practice of renting cars that have been recalled for safety problems and are supporting legislation that will end the practice.

It's been a bad two days for electric cars. First, the Congressional Budget Office skewered the government's rebate program for electric car buyers, saying the program doesn't actually do anything to boost electric-car sales. Then Toyota announced it is scrapping plans for a small all-electric car, according to Reuters, because nobody wants them.