Tokyo  - Toyota has developed the first cen

Geneva  - Getting in and out of the car could be become much easier soon if some of the ideas seen on concept cars at the recent Geneva Motor Show find their way into production vehicles.

The back seat passengers of some sports cars will find it a welcome relief as they will no longer have to clamber in through the front door and squeeze around the front seats to sit down in the rear of the vehicle.

Cologne, Germany  - The medium-sized Ford Mondeo can be ordered with liquid petroleum gas drive (LPG) based on the Flexifuel version that can also be driven with petrol or ethanol, making it a triple-fuel vehicle, Ford Germany has announced.

The Mondeo is fitted with a two-litre Duratec engine with an output of 107 kW/145 hp when driven with petrol. In the LPG mode, power is slightly reduced to 104 kW/141 hp.

The LPG tank is fitted in the spare wheel compartment with the vehicle retaining its normal 70 litre petrol tank, giving it a total range of more than 1,000 kilometres using both fuel modes.

Washington  - General Motors Corp is keeping open the option of bankruptcy in order to restructure the flagging US carmaker, GM's new chief executive Fritz Henderson said Tuesday.

Henderson, who took over the top job from Rick Wagoner Monday as part of a White House-forced shake-up, said he was confident the company could make the necessary changes to survive either way.

"If we're not successful doing it out of court, we will do it in court," Henderson told reporters in his first press conference from Detroit.

Stuttgart  - German sports carmaker Porsche reported Tuesday that its first-half profits rose more than threefold, mainly as a result of gains in Volkswagen shares.

The company said net profit for the first six months of the financial year ending in July climbed to 5.62 billion euros (7.41 billion dollars) from 1.3 billion euros a year ago.

At the same time sales declined by 27 per cent to 34,000 vehicles, causing turnover to plunge 12.08 per cent to 3.04 billion euros, the company said.

Washington  - Struggling US carmaker Chrysler LLC and Italian maker Fiat Motor SA said Monday they had reached a deal in principle on a new partnership, less than two hours after the US government said the merger was the only way for Chrysler to keep its emergency loans.

Chrysler chief executive Bob Nardelli, announcing the agreement, said the alliance would help the US carmaker preserve jobs and build more fuel-efficient cars.

"Chrysler has consistently said that the alliance with Fiat enhances its business model (and) expands its global competitiveness," Nardelli said in his statement.