The automaker will post a one-time gain of about $13 billion after it eliminates a tax reserve created in late 2006 when Ford was in the early stages of a turnaround under Chief Executive Alan Mulally.

The tax-related boost may push Ford’s 2011 net income to more than $20 billion, its best annual profit since 1998, when it earned more than $22 billion during the SUV boom and after it spun off its stake in Associates First Capital Corp, a consumer and commercial lender.

The elimination of the tax reserve, known as a valuation allowance, reflects Ford’s confidence that its financial prospects have improved markedly under Mulally, who is credited with steering Ford from collapse.

Excluding the one-time gain, Ford is expected to earn $1.84 per share for 2011, according to the average analyst estimate provided by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. This would mark Ford’s third straight annual profit under Mulally.

Analysts, on average, expect Ford to report an adjusted profit of 25 cents per share for the fourth quarter. Revenue is expected to be a little more than $32 billion.

“The quarter will shed light on the sustainability of, or potential for improvement in, North America automotive pretax profits,” Barclays Capital analyst Brian Johnson said in a research note.

In late 2006, Ford created the valuation allowance because it forecast losses in its North American, Jaguar and Land Rover operations that made it impossible to take advantage of some deferred tax assets. Eliminating the valuation allowance also means Ford will pay taxes at a higher rate.

Now nearly six years into its comeback, Ford has reached a new juncture in its recovery that centers on preserving the value and profitability of top-selling models like the Fusion midsize sedan and finding a successor for Mulally, now 66.

Superior Court Commissioner Douglas Carnahan said he was aware of “a media blitz on this case,’’ and wanted to be clear on all of the issues raised by Honda owner Heather Peters.

Peters told the court she was anxious to get the matter resolved and did not want to waste the court’s time.

The GMC’s new guidance Raising and acting on concerns about patient safety makes it clear that doctors must not sign any type of contract or agreement that contains clauses designed to prevent them from raising concerns about poor quality of care. GMC chief executive Niall Dickson said: “These clauses are totally unacceptable. Doctors who sign such contracts are breaking their professional obligations and are putting patients, and their careers, at risk.”

Doctors are reminded in the GMC guidance that they are duty-bound to take action if they think that a patient’s safety is being jeopardised, or if they believe that patients’ care or dignity is at risk. The guidance elucidates when doctors should report their concerns, and also explains what help and support are available when they do so.

Further GMC guidance released today advises doctors on their responsibilities regarding patient safety and wellbeing when working in non-clinical and managerial situations. Leadership and management for all doctors covers employment matters, teaching and training, and planning, using and managing resources.

Niall Dickson said: “Being a good doctor involves more than simply being a good clinician. It means being committed to improving the quality of services and being willing to speak up when things are not right – that is not always easy but it is at the heart of medical professionalism.

“Healthcare today is seldom an isolated affair and using the eyes and ears of health professionals can be the most effective way of protecting patients and ensuring high quality care.

“Our new guidance also makes clear that doctors must not sign contracts that attempt to prevent them from raising concerns with professional regulators such as the GMC and systems regulators, such as the CQC. Nor must doctors in management roles promote such contracts or encourage other doctors to sign them. Those who promote or sign such agreements are breaking their professional obligations and putting their careers at risk.”

During a 90-second video called “The Duel,” the M leaves the Panamera in a cloud of dust and beats it to the finish line. Infiniti lists an 11.5-second zero-to-100-mph acceleration time and a quarter-mile time of 13.4 seconds for its hybrid. The automaker says a third-party testing company confirmed the results, which have also been certified by Guinness World Records.

Infiniti didn’t say how much gas was wasted in racing these two hybrids, however.

Winterkorn’s praising a small hatchback that starts at €15,490 ($19,990) in Germany—10 percent less than VW’s best-selling Golf—says a lot about the aggressiveness of Hyundai’s strategy. The Seoul-based company has made its name selling quality cars that are priced less than the competition. Hyundai has used that combination successfully in the U.S., where it and Kia Motors, the sister brand it has controlled since 1998, have leapt to the No. 2 spot among foreign carmakers. In the U.S. last year, Hyundai and Kia sold 1.13 million vehicles—more than triple Volkswagen’s 324,401.

Now the carmaker is targeting Europe just as the region’s debt crisis is making consumers more cost-conscious. Over the past five years, Hyundai has opened and expanded plants on the Continent, tailored its product line to match European tastes, and reached out to European buyers by sponsoring the World Cup and enlisting German soccer icon Jürgen Klinsmann as a brand ambassador. “It’s very important for Hyundai to be successful” in Europe, says Allan Rushforth, Hyundai’s chief operating officer for the region. “Europe is a top priority because it affects how the company is perceived elsewhere.”

Hyundai’s mix of value, reliability, and longer-than-average new-car warranties has helped it more than double global deliveries since 2004, beating VW’s 60 percent growth, according to researcher IHS Automotive (IHS). Hyundai and Kia increased their total European market share last year to 5.1 percent from 4.5 percent, putting them ahead of Toyota Motor (TM), Daimler’s (DAI:GR) Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo, and making the Korean brands bigger in the region than the combined share of Honda Motor (HMC), Mazda Motor, Mitsubishi Motors, and Suzuki Motor, which together controlled just 4.2 percent of the European car market. Volkswagen dominates the region with a 23.3 percent share, including 12.4 percent for the VW brand.

It’s the first time that Kia has produced a three door version of its Rio model, with the new car available to order now. Prices for the three-door version start from £9,995-with savings of £600 compared to five door models whatever trim and engine you choose.

A five door model went on sale back in September, when it became the cleanest non-electrified model available with emissions from as low as 85g/km CO2 and fuel economy as strong as 88.3mpg on a combined cycle.

The Rio three-door is available with a choice of four engines-two petrol and two diesel. The 1.1 CRDi is the lowest emission engine, in three-door guise, this engine features emissions from just 94g/km CO2.  There is also theh 1.4 CRDi which develops 89bhp and 220Nm of torque yet achieves upt 70.6mpg combined and emits just 105 g/km of CO_2.EcoDynamics technologies, such as Intelligent Stop & Go, are a standard feature with both diesel engines.

The two petrol engines are the 1.25-litre Kappa engine and the 1.4-litre Gamma engine. Both engines exceed 50mpg, with CO₂ emissions below the below 130g/km. Even the 1.4-litre automatic version of the Rio is capable of 44.1mpg on a combined cycle drive.

Rio 3-door is offered in the same four trim grades– badged ‘1’, ‘1 Air’, ‘2’ and ‘3’ –  as the five door version.

Even on entry level ‘1’, standard features include daytime running lights, body-coloured bumpers, headlamp levelling, front electric windows, 15-inch steel wheels, a height-adjustable driver’s seat, two-way steering column adjustment on the petrol model (height-adjustable only on the entry level diesel), a tachometer and trip computer, split folding rear seats, a 12-volt power socket and an MP3-compatible RDS radio and CD player with USB and AUX ports.  Bluetooth is also standard on the petrol entry model, and on all versions with other trim grades.

The ‘1 Air’ grade is for buyers who want the comfort of air conditioning without upgrading to level ‘2’.

The new Kia Care-3 package is also available for the Rio for just £259 including VAT, which covers the first three services – either 36 months or 30,000 miles or the Care-3 Plus package is just £499 including VAT which covers the first five services – either 60 months or 50,000 miles.

“This very important investment will generate 20,000 thousand new jobs for Mexican people, either direct or indirect jobs, and that will be, of course, great notice for Mexican people,” Hinojosa said in a statement.

The announcement was made on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2012 annual meeting here. Nissan already has an about 25 per cent market share in Mexico.

According to him, Nissan exports its products not only to the American market, but also to the South American market. “And these kinds of decisions imply a quite important increase in the foreign direct investment in our country,” he said.

The President pointed out that even without this investment, Mexico is already the sixth-largest exporter of vehicles in the world.

“We are and we will be partners with Nissan and other companies investing in Mexico. We realise that we have the infrastructure, the geographical positions, the engineers — young and smart engineers, that are able to make a great success in this investment and any other investment in the automotive industry,” he said.

Toyota has been aiming for a comeback and had said in December that it plans to sell 8.48 million vehicles in 2012.

The Japanese automaker behind the Lexus luxury car and the Camry sedan sold 7.95 million vehicles in 2011, down 6 percent from 2010.

Even with the improved forecasts, Toyota is unlikely to be back as the world’s top automaker. Last year, General Motors Co regained that spot, selling 9.03 million vehicles, the crown it had for seven decades before losing it to Toyota in 2008.

Toyota finished fourth in 2011 with 7.9 million vehicles sold. Its sales were hurt last year because the March earthquake in Japan slowed its factories, and dealers ran short of cars to sell.

Auto industry analysts predict a tight race this year between GM, Volkswagen AG of Germany, Toyota and the joint venture between Nissan Motor Co and Renault SA.

In 2011, Volkswagen took second place with record global sales of 8.16 million, up 14 per cent from the year before. The French-Japanese alliance of Renault and Nissan was third, selling 8.03 million vehicles.

Toyota’s Prius gas-electric hybrid and other ecological cars have been a hit with Japanese consumers despite a languishing auto market overall because of government-backed subsidies. The Prius was Japan’s top-selling vehicle in 2011 for the third straight year.

“If that could come into the market at some point in the future, that would be great,” Jonathan Browning, VW’s U.S. chief executive officer, said Thursday in an interview at the auto show in Washington. There is as yet no plan to bring it to the U.S., or a mid-priced sport-utility vehicle he said he’d also like to import.

Volkswagen, which has its U.S. headquarters in Herndon, Va., introduced a Bulli electric concept vehicle last year.

“Our first focus is very much making sure we expand the footprint of the existing products,” said Browning, who said there is a “high probability” of the company making its 500,000-vehicle sales target in the U.S. this year. “We’re growing the business with Passat right now.”

The carmaker sold 444,178 vehicles in the U.S. last year, up 23 percent from 2010, according to Autodata Corp., the industry researcher based in Woodcliff, N.J.

Volkswagen, based in Wolfsburg, Germany, sees the Jetta and Passat, which it is building in the U.S., as the “pillars” of U.S. sales growth, Browning said.

NASCAR officials worked with representatives of its four auto manufacturers to try to make the Sprint Cup car more closely resemble each manufacturer’s production cars.

Ford’s Fusion was a joint project between the Ford Design Center and Ford Racing.

“We wanted Fusion to be the car that helped return ‘stock car’ to NASCAR,” said Jamie Allison, director of Ford Racing. “I think fans, when they see the car, are just going to smile and cheer. It is going to re-engage them with the sport and make the sport better because there is just something natural about seeing race cars that look like cars in their driveways.”

The 2013 Ford Fusion mirrors its production car. It is the third time Ford simultaneously launched production and NASCAR versions of a new model. The first dual launch came in 1968 with the Torino, the second was in 2006 with the newly introduced Fusion.

The 2013 Fusion has a redesigned silhouette and an identifiable front end grill. The overall proportion of the race car now reflects proportions of the showroom Fusion, and the race car has brand and design cues in the side of the vehicle.

“It’s a pretty sexy looking race car,” said driver Greg Biffle, who was behind the wheel of the Fusion for its unveiling and turned laps in the car around Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“My blood is flowing right now. I am really excited. I can’t wait to start racing them and testing them.

Chevrolet, Dodge and Toyota have not said when they will unveil their 2013 cars. NASCAR allowed the four automakers to remodel their race cars to make them more brand identifiable, and Allison is certain the new cars will stand apart.

“The cars will not look anything like each other,” Allison said. “The car’s identity, the car’s definition, it happens at eye level. Every car will now look identifiable as its production sibling.”