Clayton man dies in head-on collision

tool name

tool name

Maker of Toyota recall part gets unwanted notice

Like most companies that make thousands of parts in automobiles, CTS Corp. was virtually unknown to the average car buyer. That was until its gas pedal was blamed for big problems with some very popular cars.

The Elkhart, Ind.-based company found itself the focus of intense scrutiny Wednesday after Toyota halted sales of eight of its car and truck models over problems with gas pedals made by CTS.

The move followed Toyota's recall of 2.3 million vehicles such as late-model Camrys and Corolla sedans, RAV4 crossovers and Tundra trucks last week over fears that gas pedals could get stuck and cause unwanted acceleration. CTS made the accelerators at a plant outside of Toronto.

Thirsty SUVs hurt auto sales

Sales of sport utility vehicles took a dive in September, dragging down U.S. automakers who already were expecting a consumer payback after a summer of employee-pricing discounts.

Asian brands, which didn't offer employee discounts, felt less pain.

Several automakers reported strong car sales Monday, but SUVs took a hit industrywide in the U.S. market as gas prices climbed after Hurricane Katrina. Sales of the GMC Envoy and Chevrolet Tahoe fell more than 50 percent compared to September 2004. Sales of the Cadillac Escalade, Mazda Tribute, Ford Explorer, Ford Expedition, Toyota Sequoia and Nissan Armada fell by 18 percent or more. Dodge Durango sales were down 11 percent.

One person is killed as car, truck collide

One person was killed in a collision involving a FedEx truck outside Clayton on Wednesday afternoon, according to the state Highway Patrol.

A car collided with the truck, killing one of the car's occupants, said Sgt. J.A. Stallings, a patrol spokesman.

The accident occurred at 12:26 p.m. at 3127 Hood Farm Road, off Little Creek Church Road, the patrol reported.

Toyota sales fall; GM, Ford gain

Toyota's auto sales fell 16percent in January, a month when it recalled millions of vehicles and halted sales of several models. Most other automakers reported higher sales and looked for opportunities to snatch sales from the Japanese automaker.

January is typically a weak month for U.S. auto sales, but automakers expected an improvement over January 2009, when sales were at a 26-year low.

General Motors said its January sales rose 14 percent, crediting higher fleet and crossover vehicle sales. Crossovers are SUV-like in size but sit on a car frame instead of a truck frame. Ford also saw sales rise 25 percent on higher fleet sales, while Nissan's rose 16percent because of higher demand for sedans such as the Versa and Maxima. Hyundai's sales rose 24 percent as sales of the newly redesigned Tucson SUV doubled.

Prius problems put spotlight on car electronics

Your most expensive piece of electronics probably is not your flat panel TV or your computer. More likely, it's your car, which can pack 50 microprocessors to control everything from the fuel mix to the rearview mirrors.

The recalls and other technical problems besetting Toyota in the last few weeks highlight the risks of relying on electronics instead of the mechanical rods and cables that controlled vehicles for most of the 20th century.

Such advancements bring many benefits, but the worry is that the car is a computer on wheels that could freeze up and potentially crash. No less a computer celebrity than Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak has said his Toyota Prius sometimes accelerates on its own.