Major automakers today endorsed a ban on texting and using hand-held mobile phones while driving, ahead of a Transportation Department summit next week on distracted driving.
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German automaker Daimler AG will see more cost-cutting and a reduced dividend this year after it warned Wednesday it won’t pass through the worst of the recession until the second half of this year.

“In 2009, the global economy will shrink for the first time since World War II,” Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche told Daimler’s shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in Berlin.
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California-based electric car manufacturer Tesla announced that it has reached a deal with German automaker Daimler AG to sell 1,000 battery packs for use in electric versions of the Smart minicar. Daimler, parent company of Smart, says it is planning to bring the Smart EV to market in the near future.
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