AUTOS

Ford Loses Week of Production: The auto maker has suffered another setback in the U.S. launch of its “world cars,” losing the production time on Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique sedans because of a strike at a seat maker’s plant. A month ago, the company had to stop the Contour-Mystique line at its plant near Kansas City, Mo., for a week to deal with a recall that required replacement of flawed fuel tank parts in 28,500 cars. The current shutdown, which has caused the temporary layoff of about 2,500 Ford workers, began Nov. 10 when the factory ran out of seats made by Douglas & Lomason Co. at a plant in Excelsior Springs, 30 miles northeast of Kansas City.