71.   Neither company would confirm the sale, but the German automaker for the first time Friday confirmed its interest in acquiring Rolls-Royce from the British group Vickers PLC.

72.   On Thursday, the local subsidiary of German automaker Volkswagen said it will suspend production for two days at the end of the month.

73.   Porsche and Audi would follow fellow German automakers BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which recently built plants in South Carolina and Alabama, respectively.

74.   Shares of German automakers and other big exporters tumbled Wednesday on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

75.   South Carolina also hopes another German automaker, DaimlerChrysler, will employ thousands making the Sprinter van at a new plant in Berkeley County.

76.   The British engineering group Vickers PLC said Sunday it has sold its engine-making subsidiary Cosworth to German automaker Audi.

77.   That impressive record was what appealed to the German automaker as it sought to further expand in the United States.

78.   The autobahn currently has no general speed limit, and building cars to handle those conditions is a selling point for German automakers.

79.   The Brazilian subsidiary of German automaker Volkswagen on Friday said it would study ways to eliminate child labor from the chain of production used to manufacture its vehicles.

80.   The bidding war over Rolls-Royce comes as German automakers make huge strides toward globalization.