Toyota Camry again like consumer reports.

The Toyota Camry is back on a list that it traditionally each year featured - consumer reports list recommended.

It lost this status in October, since it had poorly done on a critical crash test Insurance Institute for highway safety.

On Thursday, the Institute published its annual report on the safest cars and was known under 39 models of the Camry a top safety pick. This designation can it back its place on the list recommended by consumer reports.

"We are collecting the bar with this list of top safety picks," said IIHS President Adrian Lund. "The new list shows State of the art security in 2014."

This year the Institute has been harder for vehicles to earn this distinction there.

The criteria include the minor overlap-crash test, which measures how well vehicles protect driver and passenger, meets the front end on the driver's side of a barrier at 40 mph. It is a test that has added to the Institute in recent years because small overlap collisions, which are the most frequently - and often deadliest - crashes on the road.

"There are enough models that have been tested and car manufacturers have improved the design of the models that we feel that this is part of the basic top safety Pick Award, should" Lund said.

Collision avoidance systems rewarded

The Institute has a new name - top safety pick plus - for these models, which do not only well in crash tests, but also as collision avoidance systems. These systems warn drivers and automatically brake features the car to stop, before it enter another vehicle rear ends.

Collision avoidance systems have become a popular feature in new vehicles, so that the Institute now test is how well these systems work with 25 km/h.

The popularity of systems is one of the reasons, there are top safety pick plus vehicles as a regular top safety more 2014 pick vehicles.

20 Of the 22 models plus awarded top safety pick marks are foreign. Honda and Acura, the luxury line have the most for all automakers, with six models on the list.

"Honda is way ahead of their competitors, when it comes to changes to the protection of the occupants in a crash and also add front crash-technology of prevention, to avoid collisions in the first place," said Lund.

Camry recommended status

After the loss of their consumer reports recommendation in October, Toyota Camry has made adjustments so that it performs better in small overlap crash tests.

The Camry had previously on the consumer reports list of model almost every year recommended been featured.

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Automakers report sales in November

NBC News staff and wire reports
It was thanks Superstorm Sandy a dark and stormy late October, but which does not cease to buy more vehicles consumers heading to dealerships in November.

Pent-up demand due to aging U.S. supports car sale car for months doing. November was no exception. Rising consumer confidence and low interest rates have also helped.

Chrysler, majority owned by Fiat, said Monday that sales rose by 14 percent to 122.565 cars and trucks, the strongest result since 2007 before the recession pushed the U.S. automaker and General Motors co in the bankruptcy.

Ford sales rose 6.5 percent, thanks to strong demand for its popular F-series trucks and its new C-Max hybrid. Ford also said that it would increase production in the first quarter by 11 per cent in the character, which she is confident that the sales pace would continue.

GM, the nation's largest automaker, reported an increase of 3 percent compared to the previous year by an increase in car sales up 19 per cent. Sales of trucks slid 11 percent however.

Toyota said U.S. sales rose 17 percent. Hyundai has its revenues by 8 percent in the past month more than a year earlier. And Nissan reported U.S. sales rose by 13 percent compared to the previous year earlier to 96.197 vehicles.

Chrysler predicted that industry-wide sales is therefore the best month in more than four years would run at an annual rate of 15.3 million in November. Several analysts expect U.S. sales of new cars and trucks to rise 11 percent to 13 percent in November, with the annual sales rate for the month in the range of 14.7 million to 15.3 million vehicles production.

Car sales are a leading indicator of U.S. consumer demand every month.

"We a strong December expected as the industry continues to recover from the East Coast hurricane," said Chrysler sales Chief Reid Bigland in a statement U.S..

SuperStorm Sandy injured the last days of sales in October, when completed the results below expectations. In addition, the average age of cars on the roads rose to just over 11 years old, and industry officials say that the demand will be stopped.

"The Black Friday period, nor even a strong boost," said Dave Zuchowski, executive Vice President of sales for Hyundai, in a statement, referring to the day after Thanksgiving.

"We were very encouraged by the strong sales recovery experienced in the northeastern regions, which were plagued by Sandy Superstorm and expect further impulses are for the balance of the year", he added.

Associated Press contributed to this report.

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GM, Ford report lackluster July sales

Steven Senne / AP file

2011 Chevy limousines are reflected in the grill a Chevy truck at a dealership in Norwood, Massachusetts.

By NBC News staff and wire reports
Updated at 11: 15 am ET: General Motors and Ford said Wednesday its sales slipped in July, but smaller U.S. said its revenues rival Chrysler increased by 13 percent during the month.

GM said that US sales last month fell more than 6 percent a money back-guarantee offer to attract many buyers.

The company reduced sales to rental car companies blame much of the decline from the previous year. But retail sales to individual buyers fell by 3 percent.

"It's the economy." There are around no way, "said George Magliano, senior economist with IHS automotive."

"In this kind of environment, it is very difficult for light vehicle sales traction, get" Magliano added, pointing out that the lack of jobs and confusion about government policy on tax cuts and spending tempered sales in July.

GM and Magliano forecast of annual revenues would be auto-rate between 13.80 million and 14 million in July. Average analyst forecast was 14 million.

Kurt McNeil, US Vice President of sales at General Motors, said CNBC, which provides automakers headwinds ahead for the industry, including the "hard" jobs data. But, he added, housing "has some positive signals us" and fuel prices are "in a pretty good place."

GM left behind growth in the overall market.

Ford's sales fell 4 percent in July, when it lost ground, low inventories had it as its Japanese rivals last year won.

Ford best seller, the F-series pickup truck, was flat compared to last July. Sales of small SUV escape was 12%, to the latest version for security issues was recalled.

Ford's best performer in July was the fusion sedan, which saw sales 21% climbing. The Ford Explorer SUV was 15 per cent.

But these increases could not make major reductions elsewhere. The Fiesta small car was 23 per cent and Ford Lincoln luxury brand was reduced by 11 percent.

Ford said that it was violated because on Government and rental revenues decreased in July fleets. Fleet sales by 16 percent.

Chrysler bucked the trend and said an increase of 16.2% increased its sales to 13 percent in July, and Nissan Motor Co posted, as better funding and need to catch up lured consumers into dealer of showrooms last month.

Chrysler, majority owned by Italian automaker Fiat SpA, sold 126.089 cars and trucks last month, its best July in five years.

The smallest U.S. automaker sales fell short of some analysts estimates. Chrysler, 129.453 vehicles, had Barclays Capital expects to sell, while RBC capital markets projected 127.889 had.

US car sales for Japan's Nissan rose by 16.2 percent to 98.341.

Toyota said that its monthly sales + 36.6 percent in July sale prices daily and 26.10% on basis of unadjusted raw volume.

Car monthly sales are an early indicator of US consumer demand. According to a Reuters poll of annual sales of auto-rate is likely to be seen 14 million in July about on par 41 economists with 14.10 million rate in June.

Better last month financing moved offers to consumers, which had been closed since the recession of the automotive market. That, combined with pent-up demand and increased construction investments, can offset weak consumer confidence and high unemployment, analysts said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Kurt McNeil, VP of sales at General Motors, GM July sales figures, with Phil LeBeau of CNBC to discuss.

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Feds look into report Hyundai air bag sliced ear

DETROIT — Federal safety regulators are investigating a complaint that a car owner's ear was cut in half when a side air bag inflated in a Hyundai Elantra.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday on its website that it's investigating to see if the problem will recur in about 123,000 Elantras from the 2012 model year.

In a complaint filed with the agency, the Elantra owner said the driver's side curtain air bag inflated in a crash on April 7, and a metal bracket came with it, slicing the owner's ear. The owner gave the agency photos showing a metal component sticking out from the car above the driver's seat.

"It appears that the metal component caused a laceration to the driver's ear/face," the NHTSA documents said.

The agency said it will evaluate the compact cars to see if there's a safety problem. No recall has been ordered.

Hyundai spokesman Miles Johnson said in an e-mail that the incident appears to be isolated. "Hyundai has no other reports of injury from side curtain air bag deployment in 2012 Elantras," he wrote.

The company is cooperating with NHTSA in the probe, but neither the company nor the government has had a chance to look at the owner's car, Johnson wrote.

Hyundai has sold more than 164,000 Elantras in the U.S. since June of last year, the first full month that the 2012 model was on sale. Some of those sales likely were from the 2011 model year.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Report: GM to drop all Facebook advertising

Updated 4:40 P.M. EDT: In what could speak to Facebook’s viability as advertising medium just days before what is shaping up as a possible record initial public offering, General Motors says it will drop all paid advertising on the site, the Wall Street Journal is reporting.

According to the report, the auto giant's marketing executives "determined their paid ads had little impact on consumers."

GM marketing chief Joel Ewanick told the Journal that the automaker "is definitely reassessing our advertising on Facebook, although the content is effective and important."

The automaker will continue to use free options on Facebook.

The largest American automaker spends about $40 million to maintain Facebook presence, the Journal reported, with about $10 million in paid ads.

GM, the country's third-largest advertiser behind Procter & Gamble and AT&T, spent $1.11 billion on U.S. ads last year, according to Kantar Media, an ad-tracking firm. About $271 million of GM's total ad spend last year was for online display and search ads excluding Facebook advertising.

The move raises a question mark about Facebook's current business model as the social network stands at the brink of going public. A new AP-CNBC poll released earlier Tuesday showed that 57 percent of Facebook users never click on ads or other sponsored content when they are on the site.

A mere 4 percent of users said they often click on ads. That's slightly more than the 2-3 percent experts use as the benchmark for effective banner ads, CNBC said. Of course, with Facebook's massive user base, even that amount makes for a lot of eyeballs on an ad.

Facebook raised the price range on its IPO Tuesday from $34 to $38 a share in response to strong demand, a source familiar with the situation said, giving the social network a valuation exceeding $100 billion.

The company is scheduled to price its shares Thursday, and they will begin trading Friday on the Nasdaq stock market.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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General Motors might report a record profit

GM employees of Maurice Vauss checks the fit and eco finish one Chevy Malibu 2013.

By msnbc.com staff

Only three years after the automaker is in the bankruptcy driving government-run, require a massive bailout by the taxpayer-funded to keep in business, General Motors his sights on more than $10 billion per year, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper reported that GM is already on the way to achieve this goal, citing company sources the magazine said seen have, that the company in the fourth quarter 2011 results, which will be reported next week. GM is net profit of around $8 billion, the highest ever, and almost twice the previous year's $ 4.7 billion figure, the newspaper said.

Growth in China and strong profits in North America, where GM has to shed billions of dollars in costs and was capable of higher prices, command is the improved quarterly profit, reported the magazine.

On top of the quarterly gain, GM also to his Gewinnspanne--the part of revenue left after the payment of Aufwendungen--currently 6 percent to 10 percent in the next few years, Daniel Ammann, chief financial officer, said the magazine. It would be the highest profit margin in the automotive industry.

In the year 2009 billion of dollars to lose before dying out, GM had to take a rescue by the Government of about $50 billion and go through a Government run bankruptcy.

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Report defects probed by Nissan, Chrysler, GM

DETROIT - U.S. safety regulators have opened preliminary investigations into complaints about vehicles that could influence of Nissan Motor Co Ltd, Chrysler LLC and General Motors co, the more than 700,000 cars.

A preliminary study is the first step in a process that can cause the callback, if regulators determine that a security aspect of a manufacturer needs to be addressed.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the probe in an estimated 440,000 Nissan Altima in 2007 and 2008 concerns a possible leak in the master cylinder cars from model years, which could reduce the effectiveness of the brakes.

NHTSA said that it had received 20 complaints from Altima drivers. Of these supposedly two reducing brake effectiveness while 18 only lighting of the stop lamp warning reported.

The Agency said that it in 2007 and 2008 potentially affect 222,500 vehicles Wrangler from model years also Chrysler's Jeep, of airbag light lighting, indicating an airbag Clockspring error was investigated.

A Clockspring is a coil under the steering wheel, the an electrical connection to the managed the air bag on the driver's side. A broken circuit can mean that the air bag is not inflated.

NHTSA said it 29 complaints of jeep drivers had received. Of these cabling Assembly identified as the cause of the problem, while only the airbag light said the other six was been illuminated 23 Clockspring.

14 Holder contacted six belonged said the right hand drive versions by postal carriers used.

A third probe covers that GM 2007 aura, 65,105 cars, via a gear shift cable that could fail causing Saturn not to fully to engage the park equipment, potentially affect.

The Agency said it eight complaints claimed that the transmission shift cable which the vehicle roll away, move, or speed up with the shifter in the park or in the opposite direction as the driver determined to speed up failed to.

NHTSA no crashes or injuries in the context of the reported problems open.

Spokesman for the three companies said that the car manufacturers were fully cooperates with the investigation.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters.

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