Tokyo  - To help drivers improve fuel efficiency, Honda is offering a new Ecological Drive Assist System in the new Insight family hybrid car which goes on sale in early 2009.

The system combines three different functions. The ECON Mode controls the engine, transmission and other components. A guidance function helps the driver to drive more economically and a scoring function provides instant and long-term feedback on driving technique.

Hamburg  - Car factories from Detroit, to Tokyo and Munich are grinding to a halt as the car industry faces its biggest shake-up in decades with millions of unsold, new cars standing idle in the parking lots of dealerships and storage depots.

But while analysts are asking themselves whether big names such as General Motors, Chrysler and Ford will survive the winter, engineers are looking at nothing less than re-inventing the car for a new era of sustainability.

Paradoxically, the crisis in the industry comes at a time when car makers are announcing almost weekly, new innovations in clean-drive technology and dealerships are offering special discounts. Cars have never been safer, more efficient and versatile.

Los Angeles  - Hyundai is developing a new hybrid technology using lithium polymer batteries which the car maker claims are lighter, require less space and are 10 per cent more efficient than current hybrids which use either lithium-ion or nickel-metal hybride.

In addition, the car maker presented special fuel-efficient models called Blue Drive at the Los Angeles Motor Show. These are fitted with a 30 kW electric motor, an improved 2.4-litre petrol engine and regenerative brake energy and a start-stop system.

Stuttgart, Germany  - Repairing a defect in your car not only means expensive costs, but you may find that the part that needs replacement is unavailable or costs a small fortune. Motorists tend to overlook that in many cases, recycled or reconditioned car parts are a real alternative.

Reconditioned parts are not as risky as used parts and not as expensive as an original, new replacement part. Reconditioning of defective or used parts is often undertaken by professionals at the firms that originally manufactured the accessory.

"Our experience is that more and more workshops are asking for just such parts," says Ulrich Dilchert from the German auto industry association (ZIV) based in Bonn.

The country's biggest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India suffered a sale decline of 27 per cent in November. It sold 47,103 units as compared to 64,885 units in the same month last year. The automobile sector is facing the heat of the global slowdown and the data posted by Maruti Suzuki vindicates the fact. Low demand due to global financial crisis has forced the companies to cut their sale targets and employ cost cutting measures, including retrenchment of staff.

Country’s third largest two-wheeler maker, TVS Motor Company on Monday reported a 12.7 per cent decline in the sale of two wheelers in November, 2008 at 98,402 units compared with 112,766 units in the corresponding period last year.

In a statement released by the company, the sales of the motorcycle dropped 20.7 per cent in November to 45,276 units from 57,113 units a year ago.

“General inflationary trends, liquidity crunch and the continuing adverse impact of high interest rates with restricted availability of retail finances affected sales,” added the company release.