Detroit - Sales volumes at General Motors continued to drop rapidly in the first nine months of 2008, the ailing carmaker reported Wednesday.

The company reported sales of 6.66 million vehicles, almost 6 per cent less than during the same period last year. In the third quarter alone, the company's sales fell by 
11.4 per cent to 2.11 units.

GM, recently lost its title as the world's leading carmaker to Toyota, which is also battling with declining demand. Its sales fell 4 per cent in the last quarter to 2.23 million units.

Brussels - The European Union's top industry official threw his weight Wednesday behind a call to give the bloc's carmakers cheap loans worth up to 40 billion euros 
(51 billion dollars) to develop eco-friendly cars through the financial crisis.

"We are in a situation where it is getting harder for big European businesses to get credit. We must make sure the higher costs they face to develop climate-friendly cars should also be financed," EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said after talks in Brussels with European automotive industry representatives.

"It is not a question of hand-outs, it's a question of the European Investment Bank making available a low-interest credit programme," he said.

Brussels - Europe's biggest carmakers were holding emergency talks with the European Union's industry commissioner in Brussels on Wednesday to call for more EU support during the financial crisis.

"In today's difficult operating environment ... the European automotive industry more than ever requires a stable and predictable policy framework to ensure competitiveness and employment, while sustaining safety and environmental progress," a press release from umbrella auto organization ACEA said.

At the talks, EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen was set to meet ACEA head Christian Streiff, together with the heads of major manufacturers such as Daimler, Fiat and Volvo.

Hamburg - A wind of change is blowing through the supermini segment and following hard on the heels of the new Mazda 2 and the Seat Ibiza is Ford's contribution, the revamped Fiesta, now in its seventh generation.

The Blue Oval badly needs to win back customers in this market which it once dominated. After all, the Fiesta was the best-selling car in its class for a decade. The latest Fiesta is a truly global vehicle to be sold in dozens of markets around the world, from Asia to Eastern Europe.

Paris - Only weeks after celebrating its world debut at the Paris Motor Show, the Renault Laguna Coupe goes on sale in Europe at a starting price of 30,300 euros (40,715 dollars).

Renault is offering the choice of three petrol and three diesel engines in the range 110 kW/150 hp to 175 kW/238 hp.

The 3.5-litre V6 petrol and 3.0 V6 turbo diesel engines equipped with six-speed automatic transmission are new and will in future also be available in other models, the manufacturer announced.

Marseille, France - Five models of the Nissan luxury brand, Infiniti, will be available in Europe from 2009 including the new G37 and the EX and FX Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs).

The G37 line-up will include the convertible which is scheduled for sale late in the year and celebrates its world debut at the upcoming Los Angeles Motor Show, featuring a retracting steel roof.

The G37 is powered by the same 320 hp V6 engine as the sedan and coupe versions. The basic model will sell for around 40,000 euros (53,876 dollars), according to the company.

The Crossover EX 37 will sell for 46,000 euros (62,000 dollars) with the longer FX costing an additional 9,000 euros (12,123 dollars).