NEW YORK (AP):

It sounds like a bright idea.

Anderson, Indiana-based start-up Bright Automotive last Tuesday unveiled the IDEA, a 100-mpg (2.3 litres per 100 kilometres) plug-in hybrid electric van that it is looking to sell to fleet customers such as businesses and government agencies.

The automaker's goal is to produce 50,000 vehicles a year starting in 2013. The ultimate outcome, it hopes, will be millions of dollars in savings in gasolene and drastically reduced emissions for fleet users.

EAST LANSING, Michigan (AP):

A Ford Motor Co executive said the automaker expected to get the same deal as General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC if unions gave more concessions to its rivals.

Ford's vice-president of labour affairs, Marty Mulloy, told reporters last Thursday that "our expectation is we would not be placed at a disadvantage."

GM and Chrysler are surviving with federal government bailouts as they struggle to restructure. The three domestic automakers and the United Auto Workers agreed on concession deals in February.

Workers at Ford, which is not receiving government aid, ratified their deal.