General Motors Co. will hire a majority of new-to-GM employees as it adds a second shift at its Lansing Grand River assembly plant to build the Cadillac ATS, a plant official said Tuesday.

U.S. auto sales are on pace for the best showing since 2007 and a third straight year of at least 10 percent gains, only the fourth such streak since the Great Depression, as more-confident buyers return to showrooms.

Ford is tackling the popularity of diesels head-on in Europe where the automaker plans to more than triple the production of vehicles with fuel-efficient gasoline engines.