Crewe, England  - Bentley has given the Continental GTC a minor facelift and added a high-performance Speed model to bring the drophead into line with the rest of the GT range. It is the most powerful convertible ever made by the Crewe-based company.

The upgrade to the V12 engine boosts power output to 600 horsepower compared with the 552 bhp of its forerunner and with the roof down, the cabriolet can dash from zero to 100 kilometres (62 miles per hour) in 4.5 seconds, just 0.3 seconds behind the closed GTC version.

A legal notice has been received by India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki, a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corp from Honda Siel Cars, a subsidiary of Honda Motor Company, since the former claimed in advertisement that its SX4 sedan is bigger than the Honda's segment Leader City and is loaded with more features. The company received the notice on 13th January.

The ad by Maruti shows that the SX4 is bigger than City's entry-level model, and furthermore, it does not have an integrated stereo as standard equipment.

Rome/New York  - Love has little to do with this particular match: it is dire need in a severe crisis in the motor industry that has pushed Italy's Fiat and the US manufacturer Chrysler into each other's arms.

"Survival is important," Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne recently said of his drawn-out search for a partner.

Along this path, he sees the acquisition of a 35 per cent stake in Chrysler as a "milestone."

Melbourne, Jan. 20 : The Honda Accord Euro has won Australia''s most prized motoring award being named Wheels magazine''s car of the year.

The car was today declared the best new release of 2008 with the judges saying it delivered an exceptional package of driver satisfaction, passenger comfort and all-round user-friendliness.

According to Fox Sports, the judge started with 35 eligible models, short listed 18 for a week of final evaluation, including tests at Ford''s You Yangs proving ground near Geelong.

Tokyo - Toyota Motor Corp said Tuesday that its global sales in 2008 fell 4 per cent from the year before as consumption waned amid the global economic slowdown.

Despite the sales drop to 8.97 million cars, Japan's leading automaker said it still expected to become the world's top automaker by sales, overtaking General Motors Corp for the first time. In terms of global production, Toyota became the world's top auto producer in 2007.

New York/Rome  - The Italian car manufacturer Fiat and US- based Chrysler were discussing a strategic partnership, according to reports Monday in the Wall Street Journal and the trade magazine Automotive News.

Under such a deal, Fiat could gain access to the US market for its small and mid-size cars, fulfilling a long-standing wish by the Italian company to get an affordable foothold in the US, the reports said.

In particular, the Fiat 500 and Alfa Romeo are being singled out in the talks, the Wall Street Journal reported from Rome.