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NYT > Automobiles

• Behind the Wheel | 2008 Ford Focus: Same Small-Car Stew, Stirred and Reheated
  The new Ford Focus is a warmed-over version of the one that’s been around since 2000, rather than Europe’s vastly fresher version.
• Design: How Ugly? Put a Bag on That Car
  Designed to maximize safety, the Aurora is known among some auto historians as the ugliest car of all time.
• Technology: For Those Who Text and Drive, You Can Stop Now
  Keeping your eyes on the road while a nice lady reads your incoming messages back to you.
• Motoring: Holiday Gifts for the Family, and Someday a Car for You
  Carmakers are increasingly turning to co-branded credit cards that give customers points for every dollar they spend.
• Porsche and VW: One Happy Family?
  The Beetle and 911 Turbo in one garage: What seems a mismatch is really the closing of the circle for a dynasty.
• But Does It Have iDrive?
  DesignworksUSA, the BMW studio that conceives products as well as automobiles, has come up with a new espresso maker.
• A Tiny Brain for Your Tire
  Engineers have developed electronic tire-tracking systems that log important information that stays with the tires.
• As Cars Hit More Animals on Roads, Toll Rises
  Rural roads are being traveled by more and more people, leading to an increase in fatal wildlife-related crashes.
• Market Place: With Detroit Downbeat on 2008, Its Suppliers Are Singing the Blues
  Carmakers expect 2008 to be challenging, but hundreds of automotive parts suppliers are anticipating the year ahead to be one of the ugliest ever.
• Europe Proposes Binding Limits on Auto Emissions
  E.U. officials told leading automakers to make deep cuts in emissions or face fines that could reach billions of euros. But automakers promised a fight.
• Roads: A Shift, but for Some Drivers, a Vicious Circle
  Drivers in central Monmouth County find themselves facing yet another configuration of roads: the roundabout.
• Detroit Revival Vies With Industry’s Decline
  Even as Detroit shows encouraging signs of life, the automobile industry, the city’s life force, faces further declines in the coming year.
• India’s Automaker of Many Faces May Land Jaguar
  The luxury brand Jaguar is poised to join Tata Motors, a widely diverse Indian auto company that makes tractor-trailers, full-size S.U.V.’s and the world’s cheapest car.
• Behind the Wheel | 2008 Volvo XC70: A Wagon Survives the Slippery Slope
  While many manufacturers are ditching station wagons, Volvo is offering a rugged edition of its XC70.
• Collecting: Frugal, Before Americans Cared
  The efforts of Powel Crosley Jr. followed a path taken by many automaker start-ups: creating a car for the masses, whether the masses wanted one or not.
• Design: Getting an Early Start on Drawing the Future
  A design competition for elementary school students pushes them to stretch creatively and build team skills.
• Glory of Cars, Even Parking
  Contributing writers provide a handful of book recommendations, all related to automobiles but most of them of interest to the general reader.
• High Beams: Unfold and Ride
  To help solve the problem of overcrowded streets, a group at M.I.T. designed a folding electric scooter that can be placed throughout cities for rental.
• Rust In Peace: Whoops! There Goes the Trunk
  When Buick was designing its 1939 models, a cost reduction of 10 percent led to an unfortunate shortcut.
• For China and Vietnam, a Highway Link Means Speedy Growth
  Construction workers from Vietnam and China will soon join forces to build a highway that promises to bring new wealth to their once heavily guarded border regions.
• European Automakers Likely to Build Plants in United States
  The dollar’s falling value is making European automakers eager to build more vehicles in the United States, even as American car companies continue to shift production to other, lower-cost countries.
• Greentech: Hydrogen Car Is Here, a Bit Ahead of Its Time
  The recurring theme of Honda’s highly polished FCX fuel-cell car is normalcy, a sign that the company is confident the vehicle is ready for the road.
• Greentech: G.M.’s Fuel-Cell Test: 100 Cars, No Charge
  General Motors is preparing to test its Equinox Fuel Cell crossover wagons by providing no-cost, three-month tests to 100 consumers in select markets.
• Behind the Wheel | 2007 Suzuki XL7: It’s a Stretch: Small-Car Specialist Hits the Big Leagues
  Suzuki, best known for little cars with great mileage, had a surge in American sales last year, and brought out its largest vehicle ever.
• Living the Hydrogen Life
  For two years, a Southern California family has been driving the earliest version of Honda’s FCX Clarity fuel-cell vehicle.
• Greentech: A Microbrewery for Hydrogen
  In the standoff between hydrogen supply and hydrogen demand, home refueling stations are one option.
• Handlebars: Electric Glide: Passing Pumps on a Scooter
  Instead of a conventional maxi-scooter’s 250 cc-to-400 cc gasoline engine, the Vectrix scooter’s brushless electric motor gets the job done using household current.
• Teenagers and Cars: A Deadly Mix
  States are grappling with ways to reduce a st