The former New England Mafia boss was sentenced Friday to 5˝ years in prison for his role in the shakedown of Providence strip clubs, becoming the first ex-mob leader to be locked up in a case that has ensnared nine people described by prosecutors as having ties to organized crime.

When 84-year-old Luigi "Baby Shacks" Manocchio is led away to prison, the New England Mafia will lose an "old school" former boss who came up through the ranks during the mob's heyday only to be undone in his old age over his role in the shakedown of Providence strip clubs.

(Reuters) - A house fire that destroyed a $100,000-plus Fisker Karma near Houston last week does not appear to have been caused by the plug-in hybrid's lithium-ion battery pack, Fisker Automotive said in a statement on Tuesday. Local officials and insurance companies are investigating the cause of the May 3 fire, which originated in the garage of a newly built home in Sugar Land, Texas. Two other cars in the garage were also destroyed. "There are conflicting reports and uncertainty surrounding this particular incident," Fisker said. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Japan should be required to reduce the size of its auto industry before being allowed into regional free trade talks with the United States and eight other countries in the Asia Pacific, a top Ford Motor Co official said. "Any way you look at the Japanese market, it's the most protected automotive market in the developed world," Steve Biegun, Ford's vice president for international government affairs, said in an interview. ...

(Reuters) - Vehicle sales dipped in April from an exceptionally strong month the year before, but sales of fuel-efficient cars stayed strong. Sales of cars and light trucks in Canada slipped 1.4 percent in April from a year earlier to 157,777 vehicles, the first monthly drop this year, according to data compiled by independent automotive analyst Dennis DesRosiers and released on Tuesday. There were three fewer sales days this April than in April 2011. ...

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Electric Co Chief Executive Jeff Immelt said people "may be disappointed in the adoption of the electric vehicle" but his company will continue investing in battery technology to reflect its confidence in an eventual uptick. Speaking during an automotive conference in Detroit on Tuesday, Immelt -- whose company is a key supplier to automakers producing electric cars -- said GE is "committed to long-term development" of alternative-fuel vehicles. ...

BEIJING (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co is proving that being late to the party in China doesn't have to be a handicap, and is poised to widen its lead among Japanese automakers in the world's biggest car market with speedy and aggressive expansion plans. Despite being among the last global automakers to enter the Chinese market, Nissan outsold Toyota Motor Corp to become the top Japanese light-vehicle brand there last year for the first time, according to research firm LMC Automotive. ...

(Reuters) - By Ben Klayman BEIJING, April 22 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co , seeking to tap into China's growing appetite for brawny sport utility vehicles, will quadruple its offerings in that segment over the next year. The U.S. automaker, a latecomer in the world's largest automotive market, will add the Kuga, the Chinese version of the Escape, and EcoSport small SUVs, and the larger Explorer to its sparse China SUV portfolio, Ford Asia chief Joe Hinrichs said on Sunday. ...

Strange secrets hide in numbers. For instance, an orange used car is least likely to be a lemon.

Strange secrets hide in numbers. For instance, an orange used car is least likely to be a lemon.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer prices rose modestly in March amid signs a spike in gasoline costs was ebbing, but inflation still outpaced workers' earnings and threatened to undermine spending. The Labor Department said on Friday consumer prices increased 0.3 percent last month. Gasoline prices rose 1.7 percent, a sharp slowdown from February when costs at the pump rose more than three times as quickly. Still, workers' earnings fell 0.4 percent in March after adjusting for the increase in prices. ...

(Reuters) - Alcoa Inc has raised its forecast for aerospace demand growth this year by 3 percentage points, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Klaus Kleinfeld said in an interview on Tuesday. Speaking with CNBC, Kleinfeld also reiterated the U.S. aluminum producer's 2012 demand growth forecast for the automotive and transportation sectors, with automotive demand expected to be back at pre-recession levels this year. The interview was broadcast after the company released its first-quarter financial results. ...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fisker Automotive, a maker of plug-in hybrid sports cars, may build its second model outside of the United States if federal funds intended to pay for the vehicle's production fall through, the company's chief executive said on Tuesday. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Energy froze a $529 million loan awarded to Fisker in 2009 as part of an Obama administration program to spur advanced vehicle development. The bulk of that loan was slated to help Fisker build the new model, called the Atlantic, at a former General Motors Co factory in Wilmington, Delaware. ...

DETROIT (Reuters) - U.S. auto sales are expected to continue at a strong pace in March, capping the best quarter in four years for new vehicle purchases as the overall U.S. economy improved and new car buyers found easier financing. The strong first quarter in the U.S. market could temper the impact of weak auto sales in Europe, where both General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co have lost money. "The strong U.S. data should help support first-quarter earnings and potentially offset any greater than expected softness in Europe," RBC Capital Markets analyst Joseph Spak said in a research note. ...

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co boosted Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally's total compensation by 11 percent to nearly $30 million last year, despite the automaker falling short of its targets on market share, quality and costs. The No. 2 U.S. automaker did, however, surpass its goals for annual profit and cash flow in automotive operations, Ford said in its 2011 proxy statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Mulally, 66, got $2 million in salary and $5.5 million in cash bonuses. Including stock options and equity awards, his compensation was $29.5 million, up from $26. ...