Japanese archrivals Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. have just found something else to disagree about: sports cars. At the Tokyo Motor Show today, Toyota took the wraps off the Lexus LFA, a two-seater supercar with a roaring 4.

  Fiat S.p.A. said it might write off some past investments as it turned in a better-than-expected trading profit for the third quarter and confirmed year targets.

  Chrysler's Ram line of 2010 heavy-duty pickups, the first new vehicles to debut since the automaker emerged from bankruptcy in June, will begin arriving in dealerships within three weeks.

  Mazda Motor Corp. is studying diesel engines for the U.S. market. Vehicles running diesel engines are being tested on U.S. soil, said Seita Kanai, head of Mazda's randd effort. A minimum annual volume of 10,000 U.S.

  Geely Holding's attempt to buy Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo car unit is in danger of stalling over disagreements about intellectual property rights, a source close to the talks said today.

  Nissan Motor Co. expects its North American business to be profitable if the total U.S. market has annual sales of 10.5 million vehicles, Executive Vice President Carlos Tavares said.

  Toyota may need to spend about 40 billion yen ($440 million) to fix the accelerator pedals on 3.8 million cars being recalled in the United States, the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper reported today.

  As hybrid and electric vehicles get nearer to production, the focus on lithium-ion batteries is starting to shift from safety to affordability.

  Automakers facing new U.S.

  Nissan Motor Co. plans to bring a new global small car to the United States after 2010 that will be positioned below its current entry-level product, the Nissan Versa. Speaking at the company's headquarters here today, officials said the U.S.