* Ford unveiled a curvy, more fuel-efficient...

* Ford unveiled a curvy, more fuel-efficient Focus as the long-awaited replacement for its boxier Escort, Ford’s most successful model ever. Focus, which will become Ford’s new entry-level vehicle at the budget end of its lineup, is to be sold in the United States in the fall of 1999.

* Chrysler Corp. said U.S. vehicle sales rose 3.1% in February, beating estimates, with a surge in truck sales offsetting a decline in car sales. Honda Motor Co. said its sales rose 8.3% in the month and Toyota Motor Corp. reported a 5.7% increase. But Nissan Motor Corp.’s sales plunged 28%.