The American stock market has soared 64 percent since it hit bottom eight months ago.  And that leaves it just where it was more than 11 years ago.

The fleet of new cars and trucks sold to U.S. consumers averaged 21 miles per gallon in the 2008 model year, a modest increase over the previous year, the Environmental Protection Agency reported Friday.

Hyundai Motor Co. said Friday the 2011 Sonata sedan will lead all midsize cars in fuel economy.

German carmaker Volkswagen AG said Friday it will buy some assets of German contract carbuilder Wilhelm Karmann GmbH to create a new manufacturing subsidiary that will eventually build a new car model.

The three sit atop the insurance industry's annual list of the safest new vehicles, according to a closely watched assessment used by car companies to lure safety-conscious consumers to showrooms.

Soros Fund Management, the hedge fund run by billionaire investor George Soros, increased its holdings in U.S. stocks to $6.2 billion from $4.2 billion and bought a stake in Ford Motor.

Ford, Subaru and Volkswagen lead the insurance industry's annual list of the safest new vehicles, according to a closely watched assessment used by car companies to lure safety-conscious consumers to showrooms.

Soros Fund Management LLC, the hedge fund run by billionaire investor George Soros, increased its holdings in U.S. stocks to $6.2 billion from $4.2 billion and bought a stake in Ford Motor Co.

Ford's Fusion mid-size sedan was named Motor Trend magazine's 2010 "car of the year" Tuesday, adding to the perception that changes to the No. 2 U.S. automaker's vehicle lineup are gaining traction.

The 2010 Ford Fusion was named Motor Trend magazine's car of the year Tuesday, beating out the Toyota Prius, BMW 7-Series, Chevrolet Camaro and others in the closely watched competition.

As Congress crafts legislation to impose new oversight on complex instruments blamed for hastening the financial crisis, a major sticking point has emerged over companies that use the derivatives to hedge risk.

BOSTON (Reuters) - Billionaire investor George Soros' hedge fund reported holdings of $6.2 billion during the third quarter, an increase of $2 billion, after taking a stake in automaker Ford and boosting his holdings in communications services stocks.

General Motors, its river of red ink stemmed by a trip through bankruptcy court, reported a narrower quarterly loss and said it would start repaying billions of dollars in government loans that helped keep it alive.

Ford Motor Co. said Saturday union concerns over working conditions at its assembly plant in Kansas City have been resolved. But a union officer said members were moving ahead with a planned strike authorization vote.

Workers at a Ford Motor Co assembly plant in Missouri have started a vote that would authorize a strike as the automaker and the United Auto Workers union continue talks aimed at resolving disputes over local plant conditions.