Ford now has had over a year to campaign its Flex crossover as its family-friendly SUV/crossover alternative. Critics – like us, of course – have generally praised the boxy wagon for its utility, comfort, space and, uh, flexibility. But where the Flex has been nicked was on its power-to-weight ratio: Tipping the scales, this big beast always needed a boost in power.

To combat looming ever-stricter fuel economy standards in North America, Mazda recently began offering its CX-7 crossover with a naturally aspirated four-cylinder in addition to the existing turbo four. Now, according to a new report, the Zoom-Zoom brand is contemplating importing the CX-7 with its upcoming Sky-D diesel four-cylinder.

Although several selling days remain in the month, March auto sales are expected to return to levels not seen since 2008. March is expected to post a seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate (SAAR) of 13.2 million units, which would be the highest level – excluding cash for clunkers months – since August 2008.

With the North American auto market finally showing signs of recovery, analysts are expecting stronger production numbers for at least the next two quarters. North American automobile production is expected to steadily increase over the next six months.

Leftlane first reported months ago that Chrysler was hard at work developing a new V6 – first codenamed the Phoenix, later changed to the Pentastar – some months ago. Now, Chrysler makes it official with the announcement of the first application, production site and official specifications.

The Volkswagen New Beetle has carried on relatively unchanged since its market launch in 1998, but big changes are on the way for the retro tow-door as the German automaker is planning to launch an all-new model by early 2011.

Although previous reports indicated Ford’s plan to sell its Volvo brand to Geely was progressing as scheduled, a new report suggests the deal has hit a bump in the road. Geely’s chairman has revealed his company’s plan to acquire Volvo has “hit a snag.”

Germany and Switzerland: Not that far apart, right? While we were over the pond for the Geneva Motor Show earlier this month, we couldn’t pass up a chance to visit BMW’s still fairly new Museum and its customer education center, the BMW Welt (BMW World) in Munich.

Complaints against Toyota for unintended acceleration have nearly doubled in the last two weeks, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s latest findings could explain that phenomenon. After an initial report suggesting a hoax, the NHTSA has learned that a crash in New York involving an alleged runaway Toyota Prius was actually the result of driver error.

Although Hyundai’s product renaissance is ultimately responsible for the automaker’s current strength, it would be impossible for us to ignore its heavy marketing efforts – and apparently Nissan noticed, too. The Japanese automaker lured Hyundai’s Vice President of Marketing, Joel Ewanick, to its Nashville headquarters as its new Nissan brand marketing chief.

Following an earlier announcement, Chevrolet has released more images of its latest Z06-based, limited-edition Corvette. The 2011 Corvette Z06 Carbon Limited Edition, which the automaker says is a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the model’s first outing at Le Mans, includes the carbon ceramic brakes seen on the exotic Corvette ZR1.

Ford announced that it has secured a crucial contract with the Canada Post that will replace its aging fleet of postal service delivery vehicles. Ford won the contract after an open request for proposal process.

In what may come as little surprise to many, a new report suggests that the number of complaints of unintended acceleration on Toyota vehicles has nearly doubled in the last two weeks. Many of the complaints come from owners of vehicles that have already been serviced by Toyota in adherence to recent recalls – raising questions about the cause and offered solutions.

The Volkswagen GTI has long stood as the standard in the hot hatch segment, but Alfa Romeo will look to challenge the GTI’s supremecy with a hotter version of its all-new Giulietta model. The new Alfa Romeo Giulietta made its world debut at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.

Ford has been fairly hush-hush in regards to what type of sport variant may be in the pipeline for its Fiesta – due to hit U.S. showrooms in just a couple months. Despite Ford’s silence, our spies have managed to capture some incriminating photos of a 3-door Fiesta complete with an intercooler.

Leasing can be a viable option for those looking to keep monthly costs down, but any kind of value can be thrown out the window when it comes to the Lexus LFA. The Japanese automaker announced a leasing program for the LFA on Thursday, with the supercar’s payments equating to a Hyundai Accent per month.

Jerry York, a long-time figure in the automotive world, has passed away at the age of 71. York most recently sat on the board of General Motors, but also held positions at Ford and Chrysler. York succumbed to a brain aneurysm on Thursday.

British luxury car manufacturer Bentley has followed Aston Martin’s lead by opening up its first modern South American dealership. While Aston Martin moved into Santiago, Chile, Bentley chose to start things off in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

ABC News is on the verge of facing a lawsuit from Toyota over a news report that it has since admitted to modifying footage in a way that was misleading. Toyota has notified ABC News that they are seeking a retraction of the story and apology for misleading the public in the report by Brian Ross.

Although rumors ran rampant that General Motors was considering a mid-engine layout for its seventh-generation Chevrolet Corvette, the automaker’s precarious financial situation has assured the C7 Vette will retain the C6’s front-engine setup. However, with finances steadily improving, the C8 Corvette could end up with the long-rumored mid-engine layout.