BRIEFS

Supercar show in China

MACAU (AP): That's what the makers of world's most exotic and expensive sports cars are hoping as they gather in Macau this week for the first Asian edition of Monaco's annual Top Marques show that began eight years ago.

The supercar companies are chasing growth in China, which is churning out scores of new millionaires each year and is home to the world's biggest auto market.

Ferraris and Lamborghinis sat alongside rare and beautiful automotive works of art from lesser known marques like Italy's Pagani, West Richland, Washington-based SSC and Sweden's Koenigsegg. Sales staff were hoping to sign deals with some of the 20,000 expected visitors.

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Top Latin American sellers unsafe

SAO PAULO (AP): Some of Latin America's top-selling cars pose high risks of life-threatening injuries and are two decades behind the best safety standards in Europe and North America, a safety-assessment agency said Thursday.

Tests show cars produced by four automakers in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico are unsafe to drive, the Uruguay-based Latin New Car Assessment Program said in a report released in Sao Paulo.

"The frontal impact tests carried out at 40 mph (64kph) reveal that poor structural integrity and the absence of air bags are putting the lives of Latin American motorists at risk," an assessment group statement said.

The group tested Chevrolet's Celta, Corsa Classic and Cruz; Fiat's Novo Uno; Ford's Focus hatchback and Ka; and Nissan's March and Tiida hatchback.

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US buyers go small

DETROIT (AP): You can't drive far in the US without seeing a Toyota Camry, Honda Accord or Ford Fusion.

Midsize sedans have been America's favourite cars for decades. That's changing. More people are choosing small cars like the Chevrolet Cruze and even smaller ones like the Honda Fit because they're worried about gas prices and car payments. There's another reason, too: Small cars are no longer the cramped econoboxes of the 1980s and 1990s, and they have many of the same features as larger cars.

Compact cars will outsell midsize ones as early as this year, forecasts J.D. Power and Associates, a marketing-information firm. That hasn't happened in at least two decades.

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Wealth Auto Show

The Wealth Auto Show is on at the National Arena, Independence Park, St Andrew today. Over 50 new cars will be on display from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is $600 for adults, while children under 12 will enter free.

The main sponsor is Scotiabank, with Jamaica International Insurance Company slated to be on hand. Among the model to be displayed are Mazda, Hyundai, Isuzu, Peugeot, Audi, Land Rover, Range Rover, Volkswagen, Jaguar and Honda.

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Drifting in May Pen

Drifting in May Pen, a memorial event for Rohan Carl Rickman, who was popularly known as 'Square', is at the Regency Strip, May Pen, on Monday, December 26. Gates open at 8 a.m., and activities start at noon.

The show will feature car drifting, show trucks (including the famed Excuse Mi) and an after party.

Square died on December 24, 2001, when the vehicle he was travelling in was hit by a truck while overtaking a line of traffic on the highway near Miner