Toyota Says it Sold More Prius C in Three Days than the Volt and Leaf Combined in a Month

According to Toyota, the newest member of its Prius family of hybrids, the Yaris-sized Prius C, is off to an extremely good start since going on sale in the States on March 12.

In its first three days on the market, the Prius C sold 1,201 units, with Toyota making it a point to note that it surpassed the combined sales of the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf for the entire month of February. In other related news, our local grocery disclosed that it sold more apples in an hour than Prius C in a day.

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Chevy Volt and Opel Ampera win 2012 European Car of the Year Award

The Chevrolet Volt and its sister model, the Ampera, which is sold as under both the Opel and Vauxhall nameplates, have won the 2012 European Car of the Year (COTY) Award with 330 points.

Coming into second place was the Volkswagen Up! city car with 281 points while the new generation of the Ford Focus finished third with 256 points.

The other cars that made it to the final round of the competition were the Range Rover Evoque (186 points), Fiat Panda (156 points), Citroen DS5 (144 points) and the Toyota Yaris (122 points).

The competition brought together votes from 59 automotive journalists in 23 European countries.

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GM to Halt Chevy Volt Production for Five Weeks Because of Low Sales

Dismal sale numbers and a rising inventory which at the end of February, stood at 6,300 vehicles, enough to cover 154 days at the current rate it sells cars, are to blame for General Motors decision to stop production for both the Chevy Volt and its European cousin, the Opel Ampera, for five weeks until April 23.

"We need to maintain the right inventory levels and continue to meet demand," GM spokesman Chris Lee told Automotive News.

On Thursday, General Motors told the 1,300 workers building the Volt at its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant in Michigan that the shutdown would take place on March 19.

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