News Tuesday that Toyota has surpassed GM in worldwide auto sales could further embolden the push for U.S. companies to have greater access to the Korean auto market.

FORBES

Though oil is still king in this country, nearly every major auto company is making a push to develop and manufacture electric cars.

FORBES: Connect

Indeed, a new push to improve vehicle crashworthiness could complicate efforts by auto makers to persuade consumers that the lighter, smaller cars they are building to address tougher government fuel-efficiency standards and motorists' concerns about fuel prices are also safe.

WSJ: New Safety Test Puts Car Buyers in a Quandary

At the start of his first term, Obama's pick to lead the Treasury Department, Timothy Geithner, emerged from a tough confirmation fight in the wake of recession to help push through Wall Street reform as well as the banking and auto industry rescues.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Hence, MII will certainly lobby China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom (the three Chinese mobile carriers) to push handset suppliers like Lenovo and Huawei (plus other OEMs for new tablets, auto apps, TV set-top boxes) to adopt new Chinese mobile platforms.

FORBES: Baidu's Answer to Android And The Mobile Market

Auto sales have helped figured prominently in the latest rounds of economic data, helping push up CPI and industrial production.

FORBES: GM Marches On: Sales Up 18% In August As Union Talks Start

Multiple manufacturers have told us that they'll be launching initiatives in 2013 to enlist the help of outside developers and, while we're still a long way from a truly open source car, expect some auto-related APIs to launch at CES. This should, finally, help to push the selection of apps available to run in cars.

ENGADGET: 's CES 2013 Preview: Autos