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/ 13 January 2008

US automakers face onslaught in 2008

After years of crisis, the big three United States automakers face another brutal year with demand expected to dip again due to an economic downturn threatening to snuff out 2007’s timid recovery. The world’s major automakers will exhibit upcoming models and the concept cars of the future from Sunday as media previews kick off for the Detroit motor show.

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/ 10 July 2007

Smart in US: ‘Right car at right time’?

The Smart car on Tuesday visited the city built on massive motoring muscle as part of a 50-city road show designed to demonstrate why backers say the tiny two-seater is ”the right car at the right time” for the United States. The summer road show precedes the US launch of the Smart fortwo early next year.

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/ 2 June 2007

‘Dr Death’ Kevorkian leaves prison

Jack Kevorkian, the United States assisted suicide advocate dubbed ”Dr Death”, stepped free from a Michigan prison on Friday with few words but plans for a media blitz to support his cause. Kevorkian (79) who says he assisted in about 130 deaths, had served eight years for a second-degree murder conviction.

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/ 9 January 2006

Mini grows with introduction of new model

BMW’s cult car the Mini Cooper is getting bigger with the introduction of a fourth model designed to look like a sports utility vehicle, the automaker said on Monday.
The broader, chunkier version will hit the global market in less than three years, BMW said at the unveiling of an early concept model at the Detroit auto show.

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/ 9 January 2006

Volkswagen global sales up 3,2%

The Volkswagen Group posted saw global sales rise 3,2% in 2005 to a record 5,24-million vehicles, the automaker said on Sunday. ”This development is due to our successful model initiative,” group chairperson Bernd Pischetsrieder said in a statement from the Detroit Auto Show. ”Five of our brands have achieved their best-ever delivery results.”

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/ 4 January 2006

Boxing legend Hearns charged with assault

Former seven-time world champion Thomas ”Hit Man” Hearns was charged with assault after police responded to an incident at his home involving his 13-year-old son. Hearns is expected to appear in court on Friday for a preliminary hearing in front of a judge, the Detroit Free Press reported on Tuesday.

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/ 20 December 2005

Uncertainty hounds US auto makers

United States auto makers are hoping to reverse their sliding market share in 2006 with impressive new vehicles and sweeping restructuring plans. But their efforts could be undermined by a host of uncertainties, from the ongoing bankruptcy of auto supplier Delphi to gas prices and fidgety consumers.

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/ 25 October 2005

Civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks dies

Rosa Lee Parks, whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man sparked the modern civil rights movement, has died at age 92. Parks died on Monday evening at her home during the evening of natural causes. She was 42 when she committed an act of defiance in 1955 that was to change the course of American history and earn her the title of ”mother of the civil rights movement”.