Volvo AB, the world’s second- largest truckmaker, will eliminate about 1,400 jobs at factories in Belgium and Sweden as the financial crisis accelerates a slowdown in European demand for commercial vehicles.

Volvo will initiate other cost-cutting measures in the face of declining sales and higher raw material costs, the Gothenburg, Sweden-based manufacturer said today in a statement. The company has begun talks with unions regarding the job reductions at plants in Gothenburg and Umea in Sweden and in Ghent, Belgium.

Ford Motor Co.’s credit arm will no longer provide financing for customers buying vehicles in the U.S. from Mazda Motor Corp., Ford’s Japanese affiliate.

The lending arm for Ford told investors last month it is substantially scaling back the number of vehicles it expects to lease and warned that if market conditions continue to deteriorate, further losses could place Ford Credit’s lending plan at further risk.

Ford has earned more “Top Safety Pick” ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) than any other automaker with a total of 16 to date.
Ford surpassed its closest rival Honda this week when four of its 2009 models — Ford Flex, Ford Fusion, Lincoln MKS and Mercury Milan — achieved “Top Safety Pick” ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

They say the middle child faces the most challenges in life. In autos, however, the midpoint may be the best position to hold. Take the Volvo S80 T6. It now seems to be selling the best of the three versions of the S80 available here.

Of course, this middle model of Volvo’s flagship luxury sedan was also the last to be introduced, so perhaps it is really the youngest that does well.

UK buyers thinking of investing in a used car should take note: Ford has been voted tops by two separate panels of used car experts this week.

What Car? put the Ford Focus and Ford Mondeo top of their respective categories (”Small Family Car” and “Family Car”), and put the popular Focus ahead of the opposition to become overall Britain’s the best used car of 2008.

No one will be killed or injured in a Volvo vehicle in the year 2020. That is the mid-term goal for employees, designers and engineers at Volvo Car Corp. Ambitious, for sure, but the company is actually reaching even further: one day, all vehicles simply will not crash.

Impossible? Perhaps. But it’s a vision that we’re working toward to address a problem of pandemic proportions. The World Health Organization estimates 1.2 million people are killed and more than 50 million are injured in automobile collisions every year.

The average fuel efficiency of the fleet of new cars and trucks rose only slightly in 2008, but the government said Friday an increase in the sales of smaller vehicles due to high gas prices could push the numbers higher.

U.S. auto sales were hobbled in the first half as gasoline prices jumped to record highs. Now, a financial crisis that pushed Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. into bankruptcy has toughened new-vehicle loan terms and may further depress sales.

“The panic over fuel prices this year brought the quickest shift from trucks and SUVs to cars I’ve ever seen,” said Dave Zuchowski, vice president of sales for Hyundai Motor Co.’s U.S. unit, in an interview yesterday. “The new story is access to credit. That will impact us more in the second half.”

Subway Hawaii has switched advertising agencies, opting to go with a California-based agency for its 126 sandwich restaurants in the state.

J. Stokes & Associates was selected as Subway Hawaii’s agency of record effective Sept. 1, said Ted Davenport, Subway’s development agent for Hawaii.

Bill Ford Jr. came to Capitol Hill Tuesday to make sure that lawmakers don’t confuse the loans that U.S. automakers are seeking with discussions of bail outs for the companies in the troubled financial services sector.

Ford, the executive chairman of the auto company founded by his great grandfather, met with several members of the Michigan House delegation, as well as members from the five other states the company has factories in.