—On the up and up: Mercedes-Benz plans to increase its U.S. sales by 30 percent over the next five years, and execs seem to think they will need to expand downmarket to do it, according to Autoblog.com. Ernst Lieb, CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, feels that the bringing in the B-Class hatchback and introducing additional C-Class derivatives will provide the best possibility for growth since opportunities for the E-Class and S-Class are likely limited. Mercedes’ sales are increasing, with sales through April growing by 26 percent to 68,826 units. In 2009, Benz dealers sold just more than 190,000 units.
—Stepping on the gas: President Barack Obama has signed a policy calling on the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to develop national standards for fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions for medium and heavy trucks, according to TruckingInfo.com. “This will bring down costs for transporting goods, serving businesses and consumers alike,” Obama said. “We estimate that we can increase fuel economy by as much as 25 percent in tractor-trailers using technologies that already exist.”
—Safety first: The new Subaru Legacy has been officially named “Japan’s safest car” after being awarded the “GRANDPRIX 09/10” in Japan’s New Car Assessment Programme (JNCAP), taking top honors for the third straight year, according to Autochannel.com. The Legacy was rated as the safest passenger car in the collision safety performance tests for drivers and front passengers. It also got the highest rating in the pedestrian head protection performance test.