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.

The Ford Mondeo Ghia and Titanium models are getting a touch of exclusivity with Ford Europe’s new Individual program. First introduced on the S-Max, the Individual program is making its Mondeo debut in Paris following a well received design study at 2007 Frankfurt Show, reported Worldcarfans.

The most prominent feature of the package is the luxurious leather trim on the seats, armrests, door panel inserts, gear shift gaiter and handbrake gaiter. The leather consists of high quality nappa and grained leather with ‘hand-stitching’ effect or an eye-catching cross-stitch, for additional style and embossed with the Ford ‘Individual’ signature.

Save the hot hatch for last. That’s what we kept telling ourselves as we wandered the Belgian countryside looking for Ford’s Lommel Proving Ground. As it turns out, the facility, located next to an air force base – restricted airspace, you know – is so secret, our hosts at Ford could hardly find it. So we had a little extra time to repeat the mantra: save the hot hatch for last.

Automaker Ford Motor Co. (F: News ) is reportedly eliminating about 500 jobs at its Canadian facility in Oakville, Ontario, as a part of its effort to reduce the vehicle output by 30% due to continuing sales drop.

The company is reportedly offering retirement incentives at its Oakville facility, which produces three crossover models namely Lincoln MKX, the Ford Edge and the Ford Flex.

The Metropolitan Taxicab Board released a report yesterday by a well-known auto engineer blasting the vehicles and also filed a lawsuit to stop the city’s mandate requiring all new taxis hitting the street after Oct. 1 have a rating of at least 25 miles per gallon. The Taxi and Limousine Commission did not adequately test the safety of new vehicles, the group charges.

“Hybrids were designed to be personal cars for driving 10,000 miles a year, not 100,000 miles a year, like taxis,” said Michael Woloz, spokesman for the trade group.

A taxi industry group filed a lawsuit in federal court on Monday seeking to block a city requirement that all new taxis meet stringent fuel efficiency standards that would make most cabs hybrid vehicles, a key part of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s push to cut pollution and make city policies more sensitive to environmental concerns.

The city’s new taxi rule, which is set to go into effect on October 1, requires that all new taxis have a fuel efficiency rating of at least 25 miles per gallon for city driving, a standard that is currently met mostly by hybrid vehicles.

Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally said that more legislators are “in our corner” as the three U.S. auto makers prepare to lobby the government for as much as $50 billion in low-cost loans.

“I think last year was a real turning point,” Mr. Mulally said following a speech in Dearborn, Mich., on Monday. “I think a lot of people [in Washington] believe in the industry.”

Ford Motor Co. will keep investing in new fuel-saving technology even if it doesn’t get any government loan guarantees, but the loans will help the automaker get the technology to market more quickly, Executive Chairman Bill Ford said Friday.

Congress reconvenes next week, and the auto industry plans an aggressive campaign to get lawmakers to guarantee up to $50 billion in low-interest loans. Auto executives say the money would help modernize assembly plants and develop next-generation vehicles.