GM: Recalls May Last Until Mid-Summer

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors is telling Wall Street that a recent spate of recalls may last until mid-summer as the company continues to review unresolved safety issues.

The news comes a day after The Associated Press learned that GM CEO Mary Barra told members of Congress that the company cannot make ignition switches fast enough to keep up with demand in its recall of 2.6 million small cars.

The ignition switch problem has been linked to at least 13 deaths in crashes involving Chevrolet Cobalts and Saturn Ions. Congress and the Justice Department are investigating why GM knew about the switch problem for at least a decade but only started recalling the cars this February.

Ford Names Mark Fields Its New CEO

DEARBORN, Mich., May 1 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co said on Thursday that its chief operating officer, Mark Fields, will succeed Alan Mulally as chief executive officer, effective on July 1.

Mulally, 68, is credited with transforming the No. 2 U.S. automaker from a money-loser to a company that expects to realize a pretax profit of up to $8 billion this year. He joined Ford in 2006 after a career at Boeing Co.

The naming of 53-year-old Fields as the next CEO, which the company's board approved on Wednesday, was expected. Mulally said the transition was moved up from year-end because he felt the team and Fields were ready.