Nissan, Honda, Chrysler report US sales increases

DETROIT — Falling gas prices improved buyers' moods and boosted U.S. auto sales in October.

GM, Chrysler, Nissan and Honda all reported sales gains last month. Ford's sales fell 2 percent as it cut back on F-Series pickup sales ahead of the launch of a new F-150 later this year.

The early reports Monday were a strong sign that the auto sales boom would continue at pre-recession levels through the rest of the year. Industry analysts are expecting a 6 percent sales gain for October.

The national average price of gasoline fell 33 cents to end October at $3 a gallon and dropped to $2.98 Monday, according to AAA. That marks the first time in four years that gas has been cheaper than $3 a gallon, and it helped boost sales of SUVs and pickup trucks.

GM said its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks both posted gains above 10 percent. The company sold nearly 50,000 Silverados alone.

But GM's overall U.S. sales rose just 0.2 percent to 226,819. Chevy Cruze compact car sales were up 51 percent, largely due to increases in fleet sales to governments and rental car companies. But other high-volume cars faltered. The midsize Chevy Malibu was off 29 percent, while Impala sales fell 9 percent.

Ford's car sales declined 11.5 percent to 188,654, but SUV sales were strong. Sales of the Escape small SUV jumped 12 percent while sales of the Explorer midsize SUV rose 6 percent. Ford's truck sales were flat compared with last October.

Chrysler said its U.S. sales rose 22 percent to 170,480 for its best October since 2001, while both Nissan and Honda posted their best October ever. Nissan sales were up 13 percent over a year ago, while Honda's rose nearly 6 percent.

Nissan said low gas prices and high consumer confidence pushed up sales across most of its model lineup. The University of Michigan said Friday that consumer confidence reached a seven-year high in October.

"We expect that these factors will continue to boost auto sales for the last two months of 2014." said Fred Diaz, Nissan's U.S. sales and marketing chief.

The Japanese automaker said its Nissan and Infiniti brands sold just over 103,000 cars and trucks last month. Nissan sales rose almost 15 percent while the Infiniti luxury brand was down 1 percent. Nissan was led by the Rogue small crossover SUV, with sales up almost 14 percent.

At Chrysler, the red-hot Jeep brand led the way with a 52 percent increase over a year ago. The company sold nearly 16,000 Cherokees as the small SUV again unseated the Grand Cherokee as the brand's top seller. Ram pickup sales continued to be strong, up 33 percent for the month.

Honda said its sales rose to 121,172. Honda brand sales were up 5.5 percent, while luxury Acura brand sales rose 8 percent on thanks to demand for the new TLX sedan.

Sales of Honda's best-seller, the CR-V small crossover SUV, jumped 30 percent to 29,257, while sales of the recently redesigned Fit subcompact were up 83 percent. But sales of the Civic small car dropped 12 percent as buyers generally sought bigger cars and crossovers.

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Red Lobster goes back into its shell

NEW YORK — It turns out people go to Red Lobster for the seafood.

The struggling chain on Monday plans to announce another revamped menu that removes dishes including Spicy Tortilla Soup and a Wood-Grilled Pork Chop, while tacking on more dishes featuring lobster. The non-seafood dishes had been added by the chain's previous owner, Darden Restaurants Inc., in hopes of attracting people who don't like seafood as sales declined.

But the new management thinks that was a mistake.

"At the end of the day, we believe that seafood is really why people come to Red Lobster," said Salli Setta, Red Lobster's president, in a phone interview.

The revamped menu is 85 percent seafood, up from 75 percent. Red Lobster says the menu will be easier to navigate and features more photos of the food. Four of the five new dishes include lobster, and it's increasing the amount of shrimp in the popular "Ultimate Feast" platter by 50 percent. The price of the dish, which also includes lobster and crab, will go up by a dollar to $26.99.

The reversal comes after Red Lobster was sold off to investment firm Golden Gate Capital by Darden this summer. Darden, which is based in Orlando, Florida, and owns Olive Garden, had failed to turn around the chain's declining sales and blamed a variety of factors such as the growing availability of shrimp at other restaurants and price-sensitive customers.

For its last fiscal year, Darden had said Red Lobster's sales declined 6 percent at established locations, following a 2.2 percent decline the previous year. Red Lobster, which is still operating out of Darden's offices until it moves into its new home, no longer has to disclose its sales figures because it is privately held.

Whether its new menu will win back customers remains to be seen, with people increasingly heading to chains like Chipotle where they feel they can get high-quality food without paying as much.

Other changes had already been in the works.

CEO Kim Lopdrup, who is back at Red Lobster after serving as its president from 2004 to 2011, has said steep discounting like "30 shrimp for $11.99" was a mistake. The chain this summer also started changing the way it plates its dishes, with fish piled over rice instead of having foods spread out on a dish. Red Lobster says that presentation is more visually appealing, while also helping retain the food's heat.

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Follow Candice Choi at www.twitter.com/candicechoi

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Hyundai-Kia to pay US $100M for overstating mpg

WASHINGTON — Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia will pay the U.S. government a $100 million civil penalty to end a two-year investigation into overstated gas mileage figures on window stickers on 1.2 million vehicles.

The penalty, announced Monday by the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, is the first under new rules aimed at limiting the amount of heat-trapping gases cars are allowed to emit. Those regulations are a cornerstone of President Barack Obama's plans to combat global warming and are achieved largely through improving vehicle fuel economy.

The payment could also serve as a precedent for other automakers who overstate mileage in violation of the Clean Air Act.

Under the settlement, Hyundai-Kia will forfeit greenhouse gas credits worth more than $200 million because the 13 affected vehicles will emit about 4.75 million more metric tons of greenhouse gases than the automakers originally claimed. The credits could have been sold to other automakers who aren't meeting emissions standards.

Hyundai-Kia must also audit test results on current models, and set up an independent group to certify future test results, at a cost of around $50 million.

"Businesses that play by the rules shouldn't have to compete with those breaking the law," EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said in a statement. "This settlement upholds the integrity of the nation's fuel economy and greenhouse gas programs."

The companies, which are both owned by Hyundai and generally sell different versions of the same models, denied allegations that they violated the law. Hyundai blamed the inflated mileage on honest misinterpretation of the EPA's complex rules governing testing. Both companies said they are paying the penalties — $56.8 million for Hyundai and $43.2 million for Kia — to end the probe and potential litigation.

All automakers do their own mileage tests based on EPA guidelines, and the agency does audits to make sure they are accurate. In the past two years, the EPA has stepped up audits of automaker tests. Just two weeks ago, the agency told BMW to cut mileage estimates on four of its Mini Cooper models. Ford and Mercedes-Benz also had to cut numbers on their window stickers.

In November of 2012, the EPA ordered Hyundai and Kia to redo the window stickers on cars that made up about one-third of their model lineup. Generally, gas mileage was overstated by one or two miles per gallon. But the EPA's tests found the highway mileage of one vehicle, the boxy Kia Soul, was 6 mpg too high. Both automakers started a program to reimburse automakers for the difference between their mileage tests and the EPA's lower numbers.

The EPA and Justice, in an agreement filed in federal court, clearly said the automakers violated the law. But the agencies said they reached the agreement because it was fair and in the public interest. The government alleged Hyundai and Kia "chose favorable results rather than average results from a large number of tests."

But in a statement, Hyundai blamed the problem on the EPA's regulations.

The company said that some EPA mileage tests are done on a dynamometer, which is a treadmill for cars. To calculate wind drag, friction in the engine and transmission, and tire rolling resistance, automakers do tests on a track, measuring how long it takes for cars to "coast down" to a stop. That test yields a number that is programmed into the dynamometer.

But Hyundai said automaker interpretations of the tests vary because regulations don't specify exactly how to do the tests. Tire rolling resistance, engine warm-up, winds and other factors can vary between EPA tests and those done by automakers, the company said.

"It was our regulatory interpretation within this broad latitude that was responsible for the ratings restatement," spokesman Jim Trainor said.

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Mystery drones fly over French nuclear sites

PARIS — French security officials are investigating a spate of mysterious and illegal flights by drone aircraft over more than a dozen nuclear power stations in France, raising security concerns in a country that largely lives off atomic energy.

In what environmental activists call a worrisome development, authorities have tallied at least 15 overflights of nuclear sites since early October, culminating Friday with five at separate sites, government and utility officials said Monday.

Authorities insist that France's nuclear facilities are designed to handle seismic and security risks. State-controlled power company EDF — which has had 13 sites flown over by drones — said the overflights have not affected plant operations in any way.

Environment and Energy Minister Segolene Royal told French media on Sunday that investigators have no leads about who was behind the flights.

"We don't underestimate these incidents, we don't overdramatize them either," Royal told i-Tele TV, saying France's nuclear sites have been prepared for possible earthquakes or plane crashes and suggesting drones were a lower risk.

Drones have vaulted into public awareness in recent years, ranging from ones as large as planes used by the CIA to bomb terrorist suspects, to small ones bought by hobbyists and media organizations for fun or news-gathering activities.

The drones used at the nuclear plants were small, ranging from ones about the size of a large pizza box that can fly only a few meters in the air, to one about 2-meters (6-feet) wide that can go higher, one official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Greenpeace has in recent years led peaceful incursions into French nuclear facilities to expose security vulnerabilities, but it denies any connection to the drone flights.

Sylvain Trottier, a spokesman for Greenpeace France, said that while France's nuclear reactors are relatively well-protected, behind 1.5-meter (5-foot) thick concrete walls, there is a risk that a medium-sized bomb on a drone could hit cooling pools that hold radioactive material.

"Officials are caught in this logic of 'move along, there's nothing to see here,'" Trottier said. "They are in denial about the risk."

Authorities open legal cases for every suspected violation and those convicted could face fines of up to 75,000 euros ($94,000) and a year in prison, said the prime minister's general secretariat for defense and national security, known as SGDSN.

"The objective apparently sought by this type of organized provocation is to disrupt the chain of surveillance and protection at these sites," it said.

Other officials are increasingly quiet about France's response to the incidents. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on French radio last week that authorities had ways to "neutralize" drones, but didn't elaborate. On Monday, he told RTL "the best way to be effective in this area is not to say what we're doing."

French law prohibits individuals from operating drones in crowded areas, near airports, and near sensitive sites like military bases or nuclear plants, said Eric Heraud, spokesman for France's civil aviation authority.

"There are lots of fantasies about drones" and the risks that they could pose, Heraud said. Some are no more than remote-controlled toys used at times with digital cameras to get bird's-eye vistas overhead.

Concerns about nuclear plant security were revived most recently after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan. France gets more than two-thirds of its electricity from nuclear power — the highest proportion in the world — and stepped up nuclear security measures after the Japan debacle.

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GM sales rise slightly on pickup truck gains

DETROIT — General Motors says its October U.S. sales rose slightly as pickup truck sales jumped while some top-selling car models faltered.

The automaker's 0.2 percent increase ran counter to other automakers, with several reporting double-digit sales gains.

GM was led by the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks, which both posted gains above 10 percent. The company sold nearly 50,000 Silverados alone.

Chevy Cruze compact car sales were up 51 percent, but other high-volume cars faltered. The midsize Chevy Malibu was off 29 percent, while Impala sales fell 9 percent.

Even with GM's results, the auto industry is expected to post strong numbers for October. Analysts expect a 6 percent sales gain over last year.

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Sony Pictures Animation to fund Youtube animated comedy shorts, teaming with toon guru Fred Seibert

Sony Pictures Animation and Fred Seibert's Frederator Networks have launched a contest to find new toon talent, with the winner to be granted a deal for a series that will run on Frederator's Cartoon Hangover channel on YouTube.

Under the companies' new Go! Cartoons incubator project, Sony Pictures Animation will fund 12 five-minute animated shorts, one premiering every month on Cartoon Hangover's YouTube channel starting in the fall of 2015. One of those shorts will then be picked to become a limited series for the channel, which has more than 1.3 million subscribers.

"This is a great opportunity for Sony Pictures Animation to find new talent that might not emerge from more traditional platforms," said Bob Osher, president of Sony Pictures Digital Prods.

Osher called Fred Seibert "a force of nature in animation," noting that Seibert has developed multiple series from similar incubator projects including "The Powerpuff Girls," "The Fairly OddParents" and "Adventure Time." In addition, Genndy Tartakovsky, director of Sony's "Hotel Transylvania," was also discovered through one of Seibert's incubator initiatives, when Tartakovsky pitched the idea for series "Dexter's Laboratory."

With Go! Cartoons, Sony Pictures Animation and Frederator said they're looking for character-driven comedy toons between four and five minutes, appealing primarily to a family audience. Entries should be stand-alone shorts, not a series or pilot. Go! Cartoons is a "great way to shake the trees for new talent thanks to the involvement of a major animation studio like Sony Pictures Animation -- and we'll continue to fund and produce content our own unique way," Seibert said.

Seibert, who has a film-development deal with Sony Pictures Animation, is an industry vet who helped launch MTV in 1981 (creating the network's mutating logo) and later ran Hanna-Barbera. Frederator Networks, Seibert's media division, launched Cartoon Hangover in October 2012 and the channel's "Bravest Warriors" series became one of the most-watched scripted series out of the YouTube funded-channels project.

Cartoon Hangover's most recent incubator lab, Too Cool! Cartoons, resulted in new series including "Bee & PuppyCat" from Natasha Allegri, which has more than 4 million views. Frederator Studios launched a Kickstarter campaign for the series and 18,209 fans contributed $872,000 to bankroll the animated series.

Sony Pictures Animation's movies franchises include "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" and "The Smurfs." The studio will be releasing "Hotel Transylvania 2" next fall, once again directed by Tartakovsky, and a fully animated, yet-untitled Smurfs feature in August 2016.

© 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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High court won't hear crisis pregnancy center case

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is leaving in place a portion of a New York City law aimed at regulating crisis pregnancy centers that are run by anti-abortion organizations.

The court rejected a free-speech appeal Monday in which the centers argued that the law's requirement that they disclose whether a licensed medical provider works at the facilities is unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

City officials said the 2011 law protects consumers and demands truth in advertising.

Courts have blocked other parts of the law, including a requirement that centers disclose whether they provide referrals for abortion, emergency contraception or prenatal care.

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Massachusetts gas prices drop another nickel

BOSTON — The price of a gallon of gasoline in Massachusetts has dropped another nickel.

AAA Southern New England reports Monday that self-serve, regular has dropped to an average of $3.04 per gallon, which is 6 cents more than the national average.

In-state prices are have now fallen 28 cents per gallon in the past month are 26 cents lower than at the same time a year ago.

AAA found self-serve, regular selling for as low as $2.88 per gallon and as high as $3.43.

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Pace of US factory activity picks up in October

WASHINGTON — U.S. factories were busier in October, a sign that manufacturing is on sound footing despite growing concerns about the global economy.

Orders, productivity and hiring all grew faster than they did in September, according to a private survey.

The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, reported Monday that its manufacturing index rebounded to 59 last month from 56.6 in September. Any reading above 50 signals expansion.

The result matches a three-year high hit in August and reverses a September drop.

"Today's report suggests that the manufacturing sector is expanding and will likely continue at a healthy pace in the coming quarter," Bricklin Dwyer, an economist at BNP Paribas, wrote in a research note.

Sixteen of 18 manufacturing industries grew last month, and new orders accelerated. Only petroleum and coal reported a decrease in activity. Manufacturing exports grew last month but at a slower pace than they did in September.

The "weakening in overseas demand was more than offset by a strengthening in demand at home," said Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist with Capital Economics.

Indeed, the U.S. economy is showing promising strength. The Commerce Department reported last week that the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 3.5 percent from July through September. The third-quarter growth was driven by gains in business investment, exports and increased military spending.

Employers are adding nearly 227,000 jobs a month this year — on pace to make 2014 the best year for job creation since 1999. The unemployment rate has tumbled to a six-year low 5.9 percent in September from 7.2 percent a year earlier.

In a sign of increased confidence in the economy, the Federal Reserve this month ended a bond-buying program intended to push long-term interest rates lower and encourage more spending and borrowing. The Fed still plans to keep short-term rates near zero — where they've been since 2008 — for a "considerable time."

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World Trade Center reopens for business

NEW YORK — Thirteen years after the 9/11 terrorist attack, the resurrected World Trade Center has opened for business — marking an emotional milestone for both New Yorkers and the nation.

Some staffers of publishing giant Conde Nast began working at 1 World Trade Center on Monday. The 104-story, $3.9 billion skyscraper dominates the Manhattan skyline. The publishing giant becomes the first commercial tenant in America's tallest building.

It's the centerpiece of the 16-acre site where the decimated twin towers once stood and where more than 2,700 people died on Sept. 11, 2001, buried under smoking mounds of fiery debris.

"The New York City skyline is whole again, as 1 World Trade Center takes its place in Lower Manhattan," said Patrick Foye, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns both the building and the World Trade Center site.

The agency began moving into neighboring 4 World Trade Center last week.

He said 1 World Trade Center "sets new standards of design, construction, prestige and sustainability; the opening of this iconic building is a major milestone in the transformation of Lower Manhattan into a thriving 24/7 neighborhood."

With construction fences gone and boxes of office equipment in place, the company moved into what Foye called "the most secure office building in America."

Prior to the move, Conde Nast addressed any issues employees might have had about moving into the tower. The architectural firm, T.J. Gottesdiener of the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, says it took extra measures to strengthen the steel-and-concrete structure. It says it is a much stronger structure than the twin towers.

Starting Monday, more than 170 employees moved into five of Conde Nast's 25 floors, the company said. By early 2015, about 3,000 more staffers will move in.

The building is 60 percent leased, with another 80,000 square feet going to the advertising firm Kids Creative, the stadium operator Legends Hospitality, the BMB Group investment adviser, and Servcorp, a provider of executive offices.

The government's General Services Administration signed up for 275,000 square feet, and the China Center, a trade and cultural facility, will cover 191,000 square feet.

The eight-year construction of the 1,776-foot high skyscraper came after years of political, financial and legal infighting that threatened to derail the project.

The bickering slowly died down as two other towers started going up on the southeast end of the site: the now completed 4 World Trade Center whose anchor tenant is the Port Authority, which started moving in last week, and 3 World Trade Center, which is slowly rising.

The area has prospered in recent years beyond anyone's imagination. About 60,000 more residents now live there — three times more than before 9/11 — keeping streets, restaurants and shops alive even after Wall Street and other offices close for the day.

Still, it's a bittersweet victory, one achieved with the past in mind as the architects created 1 World Trade Center.

T.J. Gottesdiener of the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill told The Associated Press that the high-rise was built with steel-reinforced concrete that makes it as terror attack-proof as possible.

He said the firm went beyond the city's existing building codes to achieve that.

"We did it, we finally did it," he said.

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