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Americans can expect gasoline prices to drop as school buses start rolling through neighborhoods across the country.

With most family vacations wrapping up and teen drivers back in classes, gasoline demand will wane and prices should fall after Labor Day. One expert says prices could drop as much as 15 cents a gallon.

The average retail price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was $2.724 a gallon Friday, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. It has dropped about 4.6 cents in the past week but is still 10 cents more than it was a year ago.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — General Motors is recalling a total of 243,403 of its popular large crossover SUVs for a problem that could damage the rear seatbelt buckles. Most of the recalled vehicles are in the United States.

In some of the vehicles, the seatbelt buckle can be damaged when the second row seat is returned to its normal position after being folded down.

If this happens the seatbelt may not latch completely even when it seems to be securely buckled. The seat belt also may not latch or unlatch or may seem to be jammed, GM said.

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WASHINGTON — Honda Motor Co. is recalling the popular Accord and Civic passenger cars to address problems with an ignition switch that could allow the key to be removed without the transmission being shifted into park, its third recall over the problem since 2003.

Honda said the most recent recall involved 384,220 vehicles and includes 2003 model year Accord and Civics and 2003-2004 versions of the Honda Element. Honda told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the defect with the automatic transmissions could lead to a vehicle rolling away and increase the risk of a crash.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The housing bust has made owning a home a lot more affordable — but in some places, prices are extraordinary; you can buy a nice condo for less than the cost of a new family car.

Some cities have dozens of attractive condominium listings selling for $50,000 or $25,000. There are some selling for less than a new Toyota Corolla. And these are not derelict hovels in crime-ridden communities: These homes are often in move-in condition and located in nice neighborhoods.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — General Motors announced Friday that the automaker has raised its planned production of the Chevrolet Volt electric car to 45,000 in 2012.

Originally the automaker planned to produce 30,000 Volts in its second year of production.

The announcement coincided with a visit by President Barack Obama to the Detroit auto plant where early production of the car has already begun.

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DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor Co. posted a strong second-quarter profit Friday but trimmed its U.S. sales forecast and predicted weaker results in the second half as the economy slowly recovers.

The automaker surprised Wall Street, making $2.6 billion in the quarter as it continued to grab sales from rivals. Ford’s U.S. sales rose 28 percent in the first six months of this year. That’s almost double the pace of industrywide sales.

“Overall, our performance this year gives us great confidence going forward,” Ford President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally said in a conference call with analysts and media.

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TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday about 270,000 cars sold worldwide — including luxury Lexus sedans — have potentially faulty engines, the latest quality lapse to hit the automaker following massive global recalls of top-selling models.

Japan’s top-selling daily Yomiuri said in its evening edition that Toyota will inform the transport ministry of a recall on Monday. The paper cited no sources.

Toyota spokesman Hideaki Homma said the company was evaluating measures to deal with the problem of defective engines that can stall while the vehicle is moving. He would not confirm a recall was being considered.

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WASHINGTON — Toyota said Friday it will recall 17,000 Lexus luxury hybrids after testing showed that fuel can spill during a rear end crash.

The Japanese automaker said tests conducted for the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration found that fuel leaked during a rear impact crash at 50 miles per hour on a 2010 HS250h sedan. The test, conducted by a NHTSA contractor, showed that fuel spilled as the vehicle spun around after impact.

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DETROIT – Chrysler is recalling nearly 35,000 Dodge Calibers in the United States and around the world to fix a potential problem with sticky gas pedals, the same issue that has affected millions of Toyotas.

Chrysler Group LLC said it will recall about 25,000 Calibers in the U.S. from the 2007 model year and a limited number of 2007 Jeep Compass SUVs to inspect vehicles built between March and May of 2006. The remaining vehicles are in Mexico, Canada and elsewhere.

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DEARBORN, Mich. – Ford Motor Co. will cease production of its 72-year-old Mercury brand by the end of 2010 after years of declining sales.

Mercury’s death is the latest in a string of casualties as Detroit carmakers try to cut costs and invest more heavily in fewer offerings. By shedding a mid-range brand that was more and more irrelevant to buyers, the automaker can focus on accelerating sales of Ford and beefing up its luxury Lincoln brand.

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DETROIT – Mercury could soon be the latest Detroit car brand to disappear.

Ford Motor Co. is assessing the future of Mercury, although a final decision on whether to kill the brand hasn’t yet been made, a person familiar with the company’s deliberations said Thursday. The person asked not to be named because the process is ongoing.

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NEW YORK – Toyota Motor Corp. said Friday it is recalling about 3,800 Lexus LS sedans in the U.S. to fix a problem with the vehicle’s steering system following a similar recall in Japan.

The company said the recall affects some 2009 and 2010 LS 460 and LS 600h sedans.