DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co.'s 2010 Fusion Hybrid will get 41 city miles per gallon and 36 mpg on highways, based on final certification figures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the company said Monday. The move is one of the final steps in getting the vehicle to dealerships next spring. Certification of the vehicle was recently completed at the company's testing laboratories in Allen Park. Ford said that the Fusion Hybrid tops Toyota's Camry hybrid -- its main competitor -- by 8 mpg in the city and by 2 mpg on the highway. The Fusion can travel up to 47 miles per hour using only battery power. After 47 miles, the car's four-cylinder engine turns on to power the car and recharge the battery.

Ford Motor Co.'s lawsuit seeking $445 million for interest on overpayment of U.S. income taxes should be dismissed, the federal government said in a response to the July complaint. The automaker doesn't state a claim upon which relief can be granted, the government said in its 78-page filing in U.S. District Court on Dec. 19. Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans didn't have an immediate comment. The second-largest U.S. automaker has said that the overpayments occurred from 1984-89, 1992 and 1994, and that the interest amount was as of April 30 this year. Ford sued after negotiations with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service broke down last year.

CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP -- Workers at a Troy-based auto supplier have held a rally, as they fear the company won't emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Workers from Cadence Innovation LLC' s plant in Macomb County's Chesterfield Township told WXYZ-TV Monday more than 1,000 employees could lose their jobs in Michigan. They say the plant will likely close, since Cadence lost a contract to make dashboard controls for General Motors Corp.

Penske Automotive Group Inc.'s credit outlook was cut to negative by Moody's Investors Service , which said it may also lower ratings on competing vehicle retailers Sonic Automotive Inc . and Asbury Automotive Inc . The outlook for Penske was revised from stable because the decline in auto retail sales is expected to persist well into 2009 in the United States and in the U.K., Moody's analyst Scott Tuhy said Monday. Moody's has Bloomfield Hills-based Penske at B1, four grades below investment status. Ratings on Sonic, now three steps into junk status at Ba3, and Asbury, currently at B1, are being reviewed for possible downgrades, New York-based Moody's said.

Canadian autoworkers don't feel pressure to agree to further wage concessions to bolster General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC , union President Ken Lewenza said. "I resent the fact that wages are even getting any discussion because, in Canada, 7 percent of the cost of a vehicle is related to wages, the Canadian Auto Workers chief said Monday on Bloomberg Television. The CAW represents 27,800 active Ford, GM and Chrysler workers in Canada. The governments of Canada and the province of Ontario agreed Dec. 20 to lend the domestic units of GM and Chrysler C$4 billion ($3.3 billion), a day after President Bush said the automakers would get $13.4 billion in loans.

SEOUL, South Korea -- Hyundai Motor Co . and Kia Motors Corp . cut their joint 2008 sales forecast 12.5 percent Monday and said they would freeze pay for managers amid slumping vehicle demand. Separately, SsangYong Motor Co. , South Korea's smallest automaker, said it may not be able to meet its December payroll. Hyundai and Kia said they now expect total sales to reach 4.2 million vehicles this year, compared with an earlier forecast of 4.8 million. Overseas inventories, meanwhile, are expected to reach 1.06 million vehicles, the statement said. The two companies, which dominate the South Korean car industry, form the world's fifth-biggest auto group. Kia is a Hyundai affiliate.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The mayors of Marion and Kokomo say they hope the federal bailout of U.S. automakers can rescue the industry and safeguard the jobs of thousands of autoworkers in their communities. Marion Mayor Wayne Seybold and Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight joined about 130 people, including UAW representatives and owners of auto dealerships, in a round-table discussion Monday of the U.S. auto industry. Goodnight told the gathering that people are starting to realize the auto industry goes far beyond autoworkers and includes thousands of workers at auto suppliers, dealerships, auto repair shops and other jobs.

Michelin & Cie ., the world's second-largest tiremaker, will cut back production at most plants after demand declined in all markets, leading to 150 million euros ($211 million) in exceptional costs in the fourth quarter. The company aims to cut inventories after a sharper decline in global tire sales in November, Clermont-Ferrand, France-based Michelin said Monday.