
By JEFF KAROUB
As Detroit struggles to climb out of bankruptcy, another Michigan city with strong ties to the auto industry may be about to fall into the same hole.

By JEFF KAROUB
As Detroit struggles to climb out of bankruptcy, another Michigan city with strong ties to the auto industry may be about to fall into the same hole.
Audi’s A3 compact and Mercedes-Benz’s S-class flagship helped the two German automakers narrow their sales gaps with global luxury-car leader BMW in the first half.
Six-month auto sales by BMW’s namesake brand exceeded Audi’s deliveries by 16,997 vehicles compared with a difference of 23,760 a year earlier, according to figures released by the manufacturers this week. BMW’s lead against Mercedes shrank 6 percent to 102,827 cars.
By Shirley Li
Ford issued six recalls today of 100,566 vehicles in North America for safety defects, adding to this year’s ever-increasing list of auto recalls.

Porsche reported an almost 8% increase in sales during the first half of 2014 to 87,800 units. In the first six months, the new Panamera Gran Turismo was especially in demand with around 13,500 units were delivered—a rise of 28%. Also, almost one in ten customers opted for the Panamera S-E plug-in hybrid model.

By GREGORY KATZ and MATTHEW KNIGHT
They are rolling symbols of wealth and excess, starting at $263,000 a pop, with many buyers choosing custom options that can easily double the price. And they are more popular than ever before.