WASHINGTON (AP) — Volkswagen of America Inc. is recalling 362,000 Jetta and New Beetle sedans because the brake lights could malfunction and lead to a crash.

The automaker said in a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last week that the brake light switches in the vehicles could malfunction if they were improperly installed during a previous recall.

The light could either remain on or not function, which would fail to provide other motorists with the proper braking signal and potentially lead to a crash.

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March 22 (Bloomberg) — Germany’s DAX Index rebounded. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG rose after Morgan Stanley raised the price estimate for the carmaker’s shares. Volkswagen AG and DaimlerChrysler AG also rose.

Volkswagen rose 3.7 percent to 60.68 euros. Citigroup Inc. raised the price estimate for Europe’s biggest carmaker 19 percent to 70 euros.

SAO PAULO, Brazil — In a country that encourages ethanol production through heavy official subsidies to sugar producers, Volkswagen will become the first major manufacturer to completely convert its vehicle production mix to flex fuel.The irony is that world sugar prices have surged this year, persuading many Brazilian farmers to produce sugar rather than ethanol, according to a report in Reuters.The irony is that world sugar prices have surged this year, persuading many Brazilian farmers to produce sugar rather than ethanol, according to a report in Reuters.

VW said it planned to complete the conversion by the end of the year, phasing out production of gas-only models. All its vehicles in 2007 will be able to run on ethanol, gasoline or a mixture of the two. VW expects to build about 450,000 flex-fuel vehicles a year in Brazil, where it has long been one of the market leaders.

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