Reuters Autos

March 9 (Reuters) - Japan's current account balance swung to its largest deficit on record in January, with the income surplus tumbling about a third from a year earlier, adding to pressure on an already falling yen. Here are some details of the new records being set: * BUDGETS: -- Japan had a current account deficit of 172.8 billion yen ($1.8 billion) in January, its first time in the red since January 1996 and much bigger than a forecast of 15.3 billion yen. The deficit came as the global financial crisis dried up demand for Japanese exports. -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Feb. ... Read Full Story

* Overall US Feb auto sales down over 41 pct vs prior year * Ford, GM slash Q2 production plans * Results point to deeper recession, need for aid - execs (Adds Japan share prices, detail on GM/Delphi talks) By Kevin Krolicki DETROIT (Reuters) - U.S. auto sales dropped by more than 41 percent in February to the lowest level in almost three decades as deepening economic uncertainty drove Americans away from big purchases and new debt despite aggressive discounts from major automakers. General Motors Corp, which is racing to complete a restructuring plan this month to keep it from bankruptcy, led the sinking ... Read Full Story

DETROIT (Reuters) - America's largest automaker has been left dependent on the kindness of strangers -- its fate in the hands of bureaucrats as much as car buyers. But as the Obama administration weighs whether and how to proceed with a request from General Motors Corp for up to $30 billion in federal aid, some experts and even consultants who have worked for the automaker, say a massive cash injection now may not cure everything that ails GM. What GM needs, they say, is a radical shake-up of an inward-looking century-old corporate culture dominated by financial executives focused on chasing the next deal in ... Read Full Story

DETROIT (Reuters) - America's largest automaker has been left dependent on the kindness of strangers -- its fate in the hands of bureaucrats as much as car buyers. But as the Obama administration weighs whether and how to proceed with a request from General Motors Corp for up to $30 billion in federal aid, some experts and even consultants who have worked for the automaker, say a massive cash injection now may not cure everything that ails GM. What GM needs, they say, is a radical shake-up of an inward-looking century-old corporate culture dominated by financial executives focused on chasing the next deal in ... Read Full Story

* Opel board approves restructuring plan * Opel, including Vauxhall, to be made independent unit * No decisions yet on extent of job cuts or plant closures (Adds report on potential government aid) By Christiaan Hetzner RUESSELSHEIM, Germany, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The European unit of U.S. carmaker General Motors said it planned to spin off its German arm Opel and needed 3.3 billion euros ($4.2 billion) in state aid to avert job cuts and site closures. Following weeks of speculation about Opel's fate, GM Europe President Carl-Peter Forster told a news conference the German carmaker would be split off into a separate unit ... Read Full Story