By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer Eds: UPDATES: Adds comments from CEO Jim Farley. Updates stock price in after hours trading. With AP photo. DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co.’s first-quarter net income fell 24% from a year ago as the company’s combustion engine vehicle unit saw revenue and sales decline. The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker said Wednesday it made $1.33 billion from January through March, compared with $1.76 billion a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, Ford made 49 cents per share, enough to beat analyst estimates of 43 cents, according to FactSet. Revenue for the quarter was up 3.2 ..read more

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer Eds: UPDATES: Adds Barra comments. Updates trading. Adds contributor line. ; Updates Media. DETROIT (AP) — Despite a small dip in U.S. vehicle sales, General Motors’ first-quarter net income rose more than 25% on strong deliveries of pickup trucks and other higher-profit vehicles. The automaker said that while its average sales price per vehicle was down slightly from last year at just under $50,000, pickup sales remained strong, and it’s not seeing the price erosion across its lineup that other companies have experienced. GM on Tuesday said it made $2.97 billion ..read more

By TOM KRISHER and DAVID HAMILTON AP Business Writers Eds: UPDATES: Adds analyst comment and detail from earnings conference call. Updates share price. With AP Photo. Tesla’s first-quarter net income plummeted 55%, but its stock price surged in after-hours trading Tuesday as the company said it would accelerate production of new, more affordable vehicles. The Austin, Texas, company said it made $1.13 billion from January through March compared with $2.51 billion in the same period a year ago. Investors and analysts were looking for some sign that Tesla will take steps to stem its stock’s slide ..read more

By KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press Eds: UPDATES: Adds VW saying they are exploring options for future of Xinjiang plant.; Updates Media. BEIJING (AP) — As auto giant Volkswagen AG races to catch up with upstart Chinese competitors, it has drivers like 26-year-old Ren Yiling in mind. She is young and wants to play video games in her car. The digital features of her Zeekr 001, a European-designed electric car from China’s Geely Holding Group, appeal to her. She uses her smartphone to help her parents adjust their seats and tells an animated voice assistant to open the window or pla ..read more

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP National Writer Eds: UPDATES: Updates with Jones being transported to a hospital for further evaluation. With AP Photos. TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) — So much for Michael Jordan being a jinx at the race track. The Basketball Hall of Famer celebrated as if he was still on the court after Tyler Reddick stole a NASCAR Cup victory at Talladega Superspeedway, speeding across the line after front-runner Michael McDowell — swerving back and forth in a desperate bid to hold the lead — crashed with the finish line in sight. It was another wild Talladega finish — and marked the fi ..read more

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer Eds: UPDATES: Updates with quotes, details. Adds AP Photos. Updates Media. LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Scott Dixon used mind-boggling fuel-saving strategy Sunday to win the Grand Prix of Long Beach and move closer to A.J. Foyt on IndyCar’s all-time win list with his 57th career victory. Foyt is IndyCar’s winningest driver with 67 victories — a mark the 43-year-old Dixon isn’t sure he can hit. “Still sounds like a lot,” he said. “Some years there you could knock out five, six or seven (wins). If it’s a good year, you can possibly get four or five. That’s ..read more

The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla knocked roughly a third off the price of its “Full Self Driving” system — which can’t drive itself and so drivers must remain alert and be ready to intervene — to $8,000 from $12,000, according to the company website. Tesla CEO and billionaire Elon Musk promised in 2019 that there would be a fleet of robotaxis on the road in 2020, but the promise has yet to materialize, and the system still has to be supervised by humans. The cuts, which occurred on Saturday, follow Tesla’s moves to slash $2,000 off the prices of three of its five models in ..read more

By DAVID KOENIG AP Business Writer DALLAS (AP) — The United Auto Workers’ overwhelming election victory at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee is giving the union hope that it can make broader inroads in the South, the least unionized part of the country. The UAW won a stunning 73% of the vote at VW after losing elections in 2014 and 2019. It was the union’s first win in a Southern assembly plant owned by a foreign automaker. Union President Shawn Fain said the pundits all told him that the UAW couldn’t win in the South. “But you all said, ‘Watch this,’ ” he told a cheering group of VW organizers ..read more

By BECKY BOHRER and MATTHEW DALY Associated Press Eds: UPDATES: Updates with Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat raising economic concerns, ConocoPhillips Alaska saying it is reviewing the decision EDITS: Adds background on the Ambler Road plan. JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Biden administration said Friday it will restrict new oil and gas leasing on 13 million acres (5.3 million hectares) of a federal petroleum reserve in Alaska to help protect wildlife such as caribou and polar bears as the Arctic continues to warm. The decision — part of a yearslong fight over whether and how to develop the vast oil re ..read more

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer SHANGHAI (AP) — Another Formula 1 race. Yet another victory for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The three-time defending champion won the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday starting from pole, his fourth victory in five races this season and his 23rd in the last 27 extending through last season. Only a brake failure last month at the Australian GP in Melbourne probably kept him from sweeping all five. Verstappen trailed for only a few laps following a pit stop. Lando Norris of McLaren was about 14 seconds behind Verstappen in second — the eighth time he has been No. 2 in ..read more