Ford Motor Co. has reached an agreement to pay Visteon Corp. more than $8 million to buy parts, raw materials and plant tooling, as well as cover some of the supplier’s costs as it closes two plants that supply parts to Ford.

According to documents filed in federal bankruptcy court, Visteon would help the automaker transfer the business to other companies. The deal would provide Ford with an uninterrupted flow of parts during the transition to new suppliers.

The pact covers electronic component plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania that are scheduled to close early next year and a lighting parts factory in Mexico. The moves are part of Visteon’s Chapter 11 reorganization plan to shed money-losing or non-core operations.

The deal is subject to approval by a bankruptcy judge. Ford, Visteon’s former parent, accounts for more than one-third of the supplier’s sales.

Chrysler Group LLC agreed in October to pay Visteon at least $31 million, and Nissan Motor Co. has reached a similar agreement. General Motors Co. agreed in September to pay Visteon $30 million as it transfers production of parts for fuel tanks, climate control systems and interiors to other suppliers by year-end.

Investor George Soros’ Soros Fund Management LLC says it has boosted its stake in Dana Holding Corp. to 7.3 million shares, or 5.3%. Dow Jones Newswires says Soros owned 1.5 million shares on Sept. 30.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York City-based fund says it does not plan to change or influence control of Dana. Soros says the shares were purchased for the account of Cayman Islands-based Quantum Partners LDC.

Dana narrowed its net loss to $38 million in the third quarter of 2009 from $256 million a year earlier. The Toledo, Ohio-based maker of axles and driveshafts doubled its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization year over year to $101 million. Dana predicted its volume would rise as its largest customer, Ford Motor Co., boosts North American production.

Dana shares rose 4% yesterday to close at $7.28. The stock price has surged 29% in the past month and increased nearly ten-fold this year.

Soros reported in mid-November that it bought a 0.2% Ford stake during the third quarter of this year.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Ford Motor Co.’s appeal of a $55 million punitive damages award in a California case stemming from a 2002 rollover of a Ford Explorer that left its driver paralyzed.

Ford had argued that the damages were unfair because the SUV met federal safety standards. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups, which argue that juries often impose excessive punitive damages imposed on manufacturers, filed supporting briefs. When Ford first appealed the verdict in 2007, the Supreme Court sent the case back to the California courts for reconsideration. This time it rejected the case without comment.

The plaintiffs argued the Explorer was prone to rollovers and its roof was too weak to withstand that force. The verdict in 2004-originally for $369 million-was Ford’s first loss of an Explorer rollover lawsuit after 11 victories and numerous pre-trial settlements of other cases.

The trial judge and a state appellate court subsequently reduced the verdict to $83 million. Ford’s Supreme Court case did not challenge the $27.6 million in compensatory damages, which it has already paid.

General Motors Co. will introduce its Chevrolet Volt plug-in electric sedan first in California late next year, according to Bloomberg News.

The news service cites a company presentation about the Volt and electric cars at a middle school assembly in Los Angeles in advance of the L.A. auto show. Analysts tell Bloomberg the move could help GM improve its image in the environmentally conscious state, which also has some of the nation’s most stringent pollution rules.

Chrysler Group LLC will extend the traditional holiday shutdown at several North American plants to reduce inventories, says Automotive News.

The newspaper cites union leaders who say that at least three factories will be idled three days early on Dec. 21 and will remain closed for one to two weeks after the regular startup on Jan. 4. The plants are in Windsor, Ont. (minivans), Brampton, Ont. (Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger and Challenger large cars) and Toledo, Ohio (Jeep Wrangler).

The U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. says it will assume responsibility for $94 million of pensions at Hayes Lemmerz International Inc.

The federal pension insurer says it is stepping in because the company’s bankruptcy reorganization will not leave it with enough funds to top up the underfunded pension plan. Without reorganization, the company could abandon the program, PBGC says. The insurer says the plan, which covers 4,780 workers and retirees, has assets of $110 million and benefit liabilities of $205 million.

When a federal bankruptcy judge confirmed Hayes Lemmerz’s reorganization plan in early November, the company said it had reached an undisclosed agreement with PBGC. The Northville, Mich.-based wheelmaker filed for Chapter 11 in May and expects to exit by year-end under the ownership of its lenders.

Hyundai Motor Co. says it will withdraw from the passenger car business in Japan at year-end as its sales there dwindle.

The South Korean company has sold about 15,000 vehicles in Japan since it entered the market in 2001. Hyundai’s sales there peaked at 2,570 units in 2004 and fell to 500 last year in a shrinking Japanese market. The company’s failure in Japan contrasts sharply with its growth in most of the rest of the world.

Analysts say one reason Hyundai flopped in Japan is that it offers no minivehicles, a category that accounts for more than one-third of Japan’s car market. The company plans to continue its low-volume commercial vehicle business in Japan.