The Chrysler Town & Country is on pace to regain the sales crown for 2010 in the minivan segment that Chrysler has largely dominated since the first magic wagon rolled off the line in 1983.
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As the Northeast digs out of one of worst snowstorms in recent memory and a large snowstorm looms over the upper Northwest, we figured it’s a good time to give our readers some tips for driving on snow and ice.

According to a NBC’s “Today Show,” snow and ice magnify poor driving techniques. The No. 1 mistake people make in snowy driving conditions is braking and turning at the same time. You should only do one or the other for more controlled driving. If your car has antilock brakes, don’t pump them when braking. Instead, apply steady pressure to them. Braking takes four to 10 times longer on ice and snow, so be sure to watch your speed and the traffic situation. For more tips on winter driving, watch the “Today” video below.

According to AAA, you should keep a shovel, ice scraper, flashlight, a first-aid kit and a cell phone charger in your car in case of an emergency. You should also keep kitty litter, sand or ice melt in your car in case it gets stuck in the snow.

According to “Today,” nearly 64,000 injuries and 1,400 deaths are caused by snowy conditions. The most important thing to do is pay extra attention to the road this time of year.

For more winter safety information, check out our Cars.com Advice story.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
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GM is working to reduce the weight of its future full-size pickups by 10 to 20 percent over the next decade to meet new federal fuel economy standards.
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General Motors Co. stock could climb as high as $42 to $50 a share by the end of 2011 with industrywide auto sales on the upswing and the automaker reaping the benefits of last year’s bankruptcy restructuring, Wall Street analysts predict.
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The 2011 Panamera is a four-door hatchback that’s designed to compete with full-size luxury sedans. This luxurious hatch has two bucket seats in the second row, so don’t get any ideas about carpooling with this car.

For the Car Seat Check, we use a rear-facing infant-safety seat, a convertible child-safety seat and a high-back booster seat, all made by Graco. The front seats are adjusted to a comfortable position for a 6-foot driver and a 5-foot-8 passenger. The child seats are installed in the second row and, if available, third row. The booster seat sits behind the driver’s seat, and the infant seat and convertible seats are installed behind the passenger seat.

Here’s how the 2011 Panamera scored in MotherProof.com’s Car Seat Check:

Latch system: The Panamera has two sets of lower Latch anchors that sit under slits in the leather seats. The tether anchors are midway down the seatbacks. To access them, you’ll need to remove the cargo area’s tonneau cover, but once done, the anchors are easy to use.

Booster seat: The backseat’s head restraints are fixed, but they didn’t get in the way of our high-back booster seat. The bolstered bucket seats cradled the booster from all angles. The seat belt buckles aren’t floppy but are deeply embedded in the seats, which could be hard for kids to use on their own.

Convertible child-safety seat: To get the rear-facing convertible to fit, we had to move the front passenger seat forward a lot. This would cause an adult passenger sitting in the front seat to have his or her knees pushed into the glove box. The forward-facing convertible fit well.

Rear-facing infant-safety seat: This seat fit well in the backseat. We didn’t need to move the front passenger seat forward at all to accommodate it.

Do two car seats fit? Yes

Do three car seats fit? No
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Christmas is a big deal in Germany, but auto workers there are taking shorter winter holidays this year as German carmakers churn out more premium cars for booming export markets. German automakers have trimmed the traditional Christmas holidays, and Daimler AG and BMW are keeping some plants running between Christmas and New Year’s.
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Ford Motor Co. will give the all-new 2012 Ford Focus greater stability in turns with technology usually found in more expensive cars — or in action on a ski slope.
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into concerns that 2000-2002 Mercedes Benz M Class vehicles have a defective warning light that could result in drivers being unable to disengage the cruise control.
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Ford is expanding the use of technology that shuts off the engine when a vehicle is idling to more vehicles starting in 2012.
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Los Angeles— Toyota Motor Corp. agreed to pay $10 million to the family of four people killed in a runaway Lexus crash that led to recalls of millions of the automaker’s vehicles, an attorney said Thursday.
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