TRAVERSE CITY -- Ford Motor Co. is expected to outline a new strategy for selling small cars profitably in the United States today, one that will rely on improved quality, comfort and new cutting-edge technologies.

The throaty rumble of a V-8 engine seems poised to fade away from American roadways as consumers opt for cars and trucks with smaller -- and more fuel efficient -- engines and for quieter hybrid vehicles. But technology could change that and a German auto supplier has created a system that could help the 8-cylinder sound survive.

BANGKOK, Thailand -- General Motors Corp. said Wednesday it will invest $445 million to build a diesel engine plant in Thailand and upgrade its existing assembly operations.

SHANGHAI, China -- China is raising its sales tax on big cars to as high as 40 percent, and drastically cutting taxes on small cars, in its latest attempt to combat emissions that contribute to heavy blankets of smog over most of its cities.

TRAVERSE CITY -- Chrysler LLC Vice Chairman Tom LaSorda says his company will invest $1.8 billion into a Detroit assembly plant, retooling it to make a new car-based sport utility vehicle.

TOKYO -- Nissan reported a big jump in fiscal fourth quarter profit Tuesday compared with the previous year. But like other Japanese automakers pinched by a strong yen and soaring oil and material costs, it forecast a tough year ahead.

SEOUL, South Korea -- Hyundai Motor Co. shelved plans to build pickup trucks in the United States as soaring gas prices chip away at demand for trucks, a company official said Tuesday.

The 2009 Ford Focus coupe will debut on "American Idol" Wednesday night, Ford officials said Tuesday.

TOKYO -- A Toyota subsidiary will stop making commercial trucks at one of its U.S. plants because surging oil prices and the credit crisis has squelched demand.

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration, in support of the auto industry, has urged a federal appeals court to set aside a ruling by a federal judge in Vermont that said states could regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.