BRIEFS: F-150 recall

DETROIT (AP):

Under pressure from government safety regulators, Ford Motor Company is expanding a recall of the popular F-150 pickup truck to include nearly 1.2 million vehicles that may have defective airbags.

The wider recall, announced Thursday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, covers all F-150s built for the 2004 and 2005 model years, as well as part of the 2006 model year. Also included are 16,000 2006 Lincoln LT pickups.

An electrical short can cause the airbags to deploy unexpectedly, in some cases injuring drivers.

In February, Ford agreed to fix 150,000 F-150s, but resisted the government's wishes to recall nearly 1.2 million trucks that may have the problem.

No holiday for Nissan

TOKYO (AP):

Nissan Motor Company says it will maintain output at two auto plants in Japan for three days during the upcoming Golden Week holidays to make up for production losses.

Last Thursday, Nissan spokesman Mitsuru Yonekawa said the company was still struggling to secure enough auto parts amid a supply crunch following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

The two domestic plants will operate at limited capacity from April 28 to 30. Japan's Golden Week holidays stretch from late April to early May. During the period, businesses and factories normally close.

Toyota warns of summer shortages

DETROIT (AP):

Toyota Motor Corporation is telling United States (US) dealers that new vehicles
could be in short supply this summer because of production slowdowns in Japan and North America.

In
a memo to dealers obtained Monday by The Associated Press, Toyota's US
general manager Bob Carter said Toyota is producing cars and trucks at
significantly reduced levels in April and hasn't set its production
schedule for May through July.

"The potential exists that supply of new vehicles could be significantly impacted this summer," Carter said in the memo.

Production
has been hampered by parts shortages after hundreds of suppliers were
damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Even paint
colours have been affected. Carter said in the memo that the company is
changing exterior colours on some vehicles because of shortages of a
chemical produced by a supplier.

Toyota's
North American plants are facing a series of one-day shutdowns starting
this Friday because of parts shortages. All 13 of its plants will have
some downtime, though the duration may vary at a few.