With auto sales cruising at autobahn speeds in North America and Europe - if sputtering in China - the 2015 Frankfurt Auto Show is shifting into high gear with media previews today before it opens to the public on Saturday.

John Krafcik, the Ford Motor veteran who was CEO of Hyundai Motor America from 2008 to 2013 - transforming it from an also-ran into a major brand before a sudden departure - has been named CEO of Google's self-driving car project. Chris Urmson, the robotic engineering expert who has been running the initiative, will remain its technical director.

In the wake of highly publicized food contamination incidents such as this year's listeria outbreak at Blue Bell Creameries, the Food and Drug Administration issued two stringent food safety regulations Thursday to stem outbreaks of food-borne illnesses that kill about 3,000 people annually in the U.S. One in six Americans - about 48 million people - get sick every year from food they ingest, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and 128,000 of them require hospitalization.

Toyota has taken the wraps off a flashier, fourth-generation Prius with 10% better fuel efficiency that it hopes will revive sales of the august hybrid in an increasingly crowded field even as gasoline prices are spiraling downward.

The resignation of United Airlines chairman and CEO Jeff Smisek and two communications and governmental affairs executives Tuesday has passengers, unions and investors alike hopeful that new boss, Oscar Munoz, who had been president and COO of the CSX railway and a member of United's board, will finally get the $3 billion merger with Continental Airlines on track.

The slight breeze we felt in the midst of the Labor Day doldrums was precipitated by speculation over exactly what Apple will be announcing at its live-streamed Special Event starting at 10 a.m. PDT Wednesday from the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. TV, the iPad, iPhones and Siri herself figure in the speculation.

The Jolly Giant is relocating to another valley as Minneapolis-based General Mills is selling its Green Giant and Le Sueur frozen and canned veggie brands to Parsippany, N.J.-based B&G Foods for $765 million in cash. General Mills will continue to operate the Green Giant business in Europe and other markets under license from B&G. The portfolio had about $585 million in sales in fiscal year 2015.

Stephen Spielberg's DreamWorks Studios is likely to sign on with Universal Studios for distribution after its seven-year agreement with Walt Disney Co. expires next August, according to numerous reports building on a story broken by the "Hollywood Reporter"'s Kim Masters. That pact didn't exactly hue to the script but the departure is characterized as "amicable," according to the "New York Times."

McDonald's says it is giving both its customers and its franchisees what they want by rolling out all-day breakfast offerings nationally in 14,300 restaurants starting Oct. 6.

Apple and Cisco are working together to pave a "fast lane" for iOS devices in the corporate world - an announcement sure to be hailed by those looking to improve the integration of "seamless" video-conferencing with their bosses into the daypart formerly known as "down time."