FORD MOTOR COMPANY

Ford Motor Co said it is paying $3.8 billion in cash to settle a debt to a health care trust in a signal of its confidence that it remains on track to deliver solid profits this year.

Electric carmaker Tesla Motors Corp's initial public offering zoomed ahead on Tuesday with shares rallying more than 40 percent as investors bet that electric cars would define the future of transportation.

Ford Motor Co said on Wednesday it was reducing its debt by $4 billion, and has cleared $7 billion of debt from its overloaded balance sheet this quarter.

Premium-car maker Volvo, which Ford is selling to China's Zhejiang Geely, has hired the head of Volkswagen's North America business as its chief executive.

Ford Motor Co plans to invest $450 million to build a new manufacturing plant in Thailand, with the bulk of the output destined for export markets as part of its expansion in Asia Pacific.

Ford Motor Co is counting on a leaner and greener makeover of its Explorer to find new buyers for a once hot-selling sport utility vehicle that powered the automaker's profits a decade ago.

Ford Motor Co ranked No. 1 for new car quality among mass-market brands while recall-hit Toyota Motor Corp plunged in a closely watched quality survey released on Thursday.

Toyota Motor Corp is set to resume construction of car assembly plants in Brazil and Mississippi which were put on hold amid the global financial crisis, the Nikkei business daily said on Thursday.

The World Gold Council (WGC) has welcomed a new paper from researchers at MIT that demonstrates how rechargeable lithium-air batteries can be significantly more efficient by using a catalyst that consists of nanoparticles of a gold and platinum alloy. This could be a significant step toward making these high-energy-density batteries practical for use in new electric vehicles.

Chongqing Changan Automobile is in talks with partner Ford Motor to produce a mid-sized car in China using Ford technology but carrying a Changan brand, as they move to take their partnership to a new level.

Ford Motor Co will eliminate its Mercury brand which has seen sales and investment plunge in recent years, closing out a vehicle lineup created in the 1930s by Edsel Ford, the automaker said on Wednesday.

Ford Motor Co and General Motors Co posted double-digit sales gains for May that outpaced growth for Toyota Motor Corp as U.S. auto sales rose 19 percent from the depressed levels of a year earlier.

U.S. auto sales rose about 19 percent in May, a rebound from depressed year-earlier levels that still leaves the industry sputtering at the lowest sales rate since the 1980s more than half a year into a grudging recovery.

Ford Motor Co is set to announce on Wednesday plans to eliminate its Mercury brand, whose sales and investment have plunged in recent years, a source briefed on the matter said.

Ford Motor Co said on Wednesday its U.S. sales rose 22 percent in May for all of its brands from a year earlier and increased its second-quarter North American production plan by 15,000 vehicles.

U.S. safety regulators have opened a preliminary investigation into the possibility that accelerator pedals could be entrapped by floormats in Ford Motor Co 2010 Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans.

Ford Motor Co sees great options to improve its balance sheet and return to investment grade credit rating as its financial results continue to strengthen, Chief Executive Alan Mulally said on Friday.

Ford Motor Co is considering a plan to drop Mercury, a brand developed in the 1930s that has seen sales and investment plunge in recent years, a person familiar with the discussions said.

General Motors Co posted a first-quarter profit as demand steadied in the United States and sales boomed in China, a turnaround the automaker said could put it on track for its first full-year profit since 2004.

General Motors Co posted a first-quarter profit on Monday and said it is making progress toward a turnaround expected to put it on track toward its first full-year profit since 2004.

Ford Motor Co expects earnings improvement in 2011 after solid profits in 2010 as its turnaround gains traction, executives said at its annual meeting of shareholders on Thursday.