Toyota Motor Company has announced that it will decide tomorrow (Wednesday March 16th) whether or not it would resume production after halting production due to shortages caused by Tier 1 and Tier 2 supply companies.

The 2011 NCAA Men’s College Basketball tournament begins tonight and as the top 64 teams set off to figure out who is #1, the Buick brand will feature the new Regal and LaCrosse through commercials and branding efforts during the extensive television coverage.

Auto leases represented nearly19 percent of all auto deals during 2010, a 5.8 percent increase over 2009’s lease levels, according to Polk. "OEMs began to increase their leasing activities in 2010, and consumers have increased confidence in the market and in turn are beginning to lease vehicles again," said Stephan Gallon, PolkInsight Advisor.

Cars are outselling trucks for the first time since September of last year due to concerns over the price of gas, according to TrueCar.com. Based on fuel economy and cost of gas, per 15,000 miles driven annually, they have compiled a list of hybrids with mileage ratings over 40 mpg and gas powered cars getting 30-mpg or more.

General Motors announced this morning that their GM Foundation has approved an immeadiate donation of $500,000 to the American Red Cross as a part of the relief efforts in Japan following the earthquake, tsunami and string of nuclear explosions.

Nissan has issued a pair of statements covering their part in aiding relief efforts, an update on their facilities and employees, and a forecast on the company’s ability to ship vehicles to other markets including the United States.

Japanese automakers have been keeping the world well updated as to their damages stemming from the recent earthquake and ensuing tsunami and Toyota is the latest company to issue a statement, with the largest of the country’s automakers coming out relatively unscathed.

The news of the Japanese earthquake and ensuing tsunami has been full of discussions about the impact on the auto industry but Honda Motor Company has issued a grim statement addressing the damages caused in the Tochigi which, sadly, includes the loss of at least one life and injuries to dozens of others.

Since the massive earthquake and following tsunami hammered Japan, even the American automakers may face shortages throughout their supply chain but the Japanese automakers have obviously been hit the hardest by Mother Nature over the past week.

Ford announced Friday their new solar energy partnership with DTE Energy and one of the largest solar power generation projects in the state. The system is already delivering 500 kilowatts of power to the Michigan Assembly Plant where various models of the Focus are built.