AUTOS

Ford Begins Production of New Cars: America’s No. 2 auto maker launched production of its new Ford Contours and Mercury Mystiques and announced new investments to produce the vehicles, on top of an already staggering $6-billion development budget. Ford said it plans to invest an additional $555 million in its Indianapolis steering gear plant through 1997 to upgrade its manufacturing processes and add 75 jobs. The auto maker also said it will spend another $14 million at its Batavia, Ohio, plant to boost production of front-drive automatic transmissions by 150,000 units annually starting in 1996. That facility will also gain 75 jobs. Ford is to announce Contour and Mystique pricing today.