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Top 10 ‘Most Popular’ News Stories Of 2008

By Manufacturing.net Staff What news stories did manufacturing managers find the most interesting in 2008? The results just may surprise you. We can tell you this much -- electric cars and China were popular themes. Click through to see the complete list.

1. Japan: Toyota Engineer Died From Overwork
Labor bureau ruled engineer died from working too many hours, the latest decision against overwork in Japan, where acceptance of extended overtime has long been the norm.

2. Chinese Factories No Longer Cheapest
Once known for low manufacturing costs, China's factories are getting squeezed by rising prices of energy, materials and labor.

3. Tata Displays World's Cheapest Car
Indian automaker unveils the Nano -- price tag $2,500 -- bringing new mobility to tens of millions of people and nightmares to environmentalists.

4. Honda Displays New 'Affordable' Hybrid Car 
Japanese automaker unveiled at Paris Auto Show the five-door Insight petrol-electric hatchback to challenge the success of rival Toyota Motor Corp.

5. Dutch Firm Plans Cheap, Powerful Electric Cars
Detroit Electric to produce affordable electric cars by the end of 2009, promising they will be much more powerful than existing models and have zero emissions.

6. Chinese Factories Causing Technology Viruses
Some of today's hottest gadgets are landing on store shelves with pre-installed viruses that steal passwords, open doors for hackers and make computers spew spam.

7. Chrysler Shows 3 Electric Cars For 2010
Automaker muscled in on Chevrolet’s Volt celebration by unveiling three electric-powered models, including a sports car.

8. Beer Drinkers Challenge Anheuser Buyout
Ten angry beer drinkers filed a federal lawsuit claiming InBev's $52 billion purchase of Anheuser-Busch would violate U.S. antitrust law if completed as planned.

9. Nissan Displays Electric Car
Set for sale in 2010, electric vehicle is packed with a battery developed by Nissan to deliver more power than the type common in today's hybrids.

10. China Tells U.S. To Fix Its Economy 
Beijing promised more currency reform to ease trade tensions but told Washington to get its own economy in order as the two sides opened economic talks.

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