"Toyota Halts U.S. Sales Of 8 Popular Models"

STEVE INSKEEP, Host:

NPR's business news starts with Toyota halting sales of many models.

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INSKEEP: We have more this morning from Jerome Vaughn of member station WDET.

JEROME VAUGHN: The company says it made the decision to stop sales for an indeterminate period to ensure the safety of its customers and restore confidence in the Toyota brand. The automaker has seen a string of quality problems emerge in recent months, including accidents and fatalities connected to accelerator problems. AutoPacific analyst Jim Hossack says news of this action will be painful.

JIM HOSSACK: There's a large number of high-volume cars involved. It affects sales, it affects production. It's a serious issue.

VAUGHN: For NPR News, I'm Jerome Vaughn in Detroit.

ARI SHAPIRO, Host:

And another car company has finally found a buyer for one of its brands. Yesterday, General Motors announced that it has reached a deal to sell Saab to a Dutch company. The price is $500 million. As part of GM's restructuring process, the company wants to sell several brands, but attempts to sell Saturn and the European car unit Opel both fell through. A deal to sell the Hummer brand is still up in the air.