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Dearborn— The bulk of Ford Motor Co.’s second-quarter profits once again came from North America, but financial results in other regions have Ford executives the most excited.

The Dearborn automaker beat analysts’ expectations as profits rose to $1.23 billion during the second quarter, the company said Wednesday. Abroad, Ford nearly broke even, despite a tumultuous European market, high infrastructure costs in Asia and unfavorable exchange rates in South America.

It looks like Chrysler is going a little further with its eco-friendly ways than merely selling Fiat 500 EVs. The US automaker recognized 30 US dealerships for their eco-friendly ways, giving out awards for its second-annual Dealer Environmentally Conscious Operations (ECO) Program to 30 Chrysler dealers in 21 states.

FLINT, MI – General Motors officials announced Tuesday that it completed the purchase of the historic Durant-Dort Carriage Co. Factory One in Flint last week.

GM North America President Mark Reuss announced the company’s plan to purchase the 133-year-old facility on May 1, 2013 at an event in Flint.

Ford Motor is dramatically stepping up its hiring of engineers, software workers and other salaried employees to meet the increased demand for a new high-tech era in the auto industry.

Ford said it will increase white-collar hiring by 36%, or 800 jobs, to a total of 3,000.

About 80% of the new hires will be engineers and information technology workers needed to design the next generation of vehicles that will succeed the Fusion, Focus, F-150 and other models on the road today.

The hallways at Ford Motor Co.’s world headquarters are about to get a little more crowded.

The automaker, which shed 13,000 U.S. white-collar jobs during the auto crisis, is in the midst of its largest salaried hiring spree in more than a decade. Most of the 3,000 new workers it is hiring will set up shop on the automaker’s Dearborn campus. About half of the new positions already have been filled.

Ford Motor Co. (F) said it will hire 3,000 salaried employees this year, 800 more than originally planned, as it moves to fill positions in engineering and other technical areas.

Of the new hires, 2,400 will be professionals for product development, manufacturing, quality, purchasing and information technology, according to an e-mailed statement.

A senior House Democrat wants Japan to earn any further reductions on auto tariffs by opening up its market to U.S. auto imports.

House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Sandy Levin (Mich.) called for a "new and more assertive approach to the problem" of solving Japan's longstanding restrictions on imports of foreign cars.

"Negotiations to open the Japanese auto market have repeatedly and totally failed in the past," he said Tuesday during a trade event at the Peterson Institute.

A senior U.S. lawmaker on Tuesday urged the Obama administration to push for tough rules on opening the U.S. market to more Japanese autos and to take a firm line in free trade talks against currency manipulation, as Detroit automakers and workers turned up the heat on the White House.

The demand from Representative Sander Levin, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, highlighted the difficulty President Barack Obama may face in getting the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership pact through Congress, unless he responds to concerns about the agreement among many of his own party members.

More than 80,000 hourly and salaried U.S. auto workers signed a petition urging Congress to oppose approving a free-trade deal including Japan without significant changes on auto policy and currency by the world’s third-largest economy.

The petitions arriving at Capitol Hill offices Tuesday from employees at General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC strongly urge Congress to oppose completing the Trans-Pacific Partnership with Japan unless currency manipulation and non-tariff barriers are addressed.