Although most new car dealerships run reputable operations, there are a few that ruin it for everyone. Star Lincoln-Mercury of suburban Detroit would definitely fall into the latter category. Star mailed out several letters to the clients of its main competitor – Varsity Lincoln-Mercury – stating that Varsity was going out of business and promoted its own services.
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One of the biggest knocks against General Motors as of late is the poor resale value of its used vehicles. GM has already greatly reduced the number of vehicles it sells to daily rental companies – which will prevent a flood of GM cars on the used car market – and today the Detroit automaker announced another initiative to bolster the value of its used cars.
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The Bugatti Veyron has already solidified itself as one of the world’s most expensive sports cars with a price tag in excess of $1 million, but the recent Gooding & Company auction proves that less can sometimes be more – even in the case of exotic sports cars.
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced a recall involving Honda’s 2008 model year Element. Although the recall includes only 241 vehicles, Honda is advising all 2008 Element owners to stop driving their vehicles until they can be inspected by a Honda dealer.
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One of Leftlane’s new car reviewers, Mark Elias, was recently interviewed by the “car review search engine,” Fasttie.com. Elias, an experienced professional photojournalist, shared some of his tips for successful new car reviewing and photographing - and his penchant for Olympic volleyball. Don’t miss the interview.

Earlier, we brought you a video of the 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLC undergoing testing in America, and now we have spy shots giving an even more revealing look at Mercedes’ upcoming supercar. While the exterior of the prototype remains unchanged, our spy photographers managed to get the first shot of the car’s interior!

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Brilliance, the state-owned automaker that produces BMWs in China under a joint venture with the German automaker, has announced that it intends to show 2009 models at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January.
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Following a few spy shots from last month, Honda has officially revealed its tweaked 2009 Civic. Changes for the ’09 model year are modest, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing considering the Civic has become one of the top selling cars in the U.S.
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The Italian automotive design house that has, most recently, penned the Ferrari California, unveiled a custom-bodied car over the weekend that it has built for a wealthy collector. Based on the chassis and mechanicals of the Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, the car is dubbed the Hyperion.

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Some of Ford’s European lineup is headed to the U.S. in order to bolster the Blue Oval’s slumping sales, but Ford of Europe encountered some tough times in July as the economic downturn ate into new car sales.
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The Mazda3 is widely considered one of the best in its segment, and our spy photographers have spotted the next iteration of the highly-touted sedan. Unlike our previous spy shots, the latest images show the car with virtually no camouflage!

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Although the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index doesn’t have the clout of other industry surveys – such as J.D. Power and Consumer Reports – it does give an indication of a customer’s satisfaction with a six month to three year old vehicle. The domestic automakers probably should start taking note of U of M’s study as all three performed poorly in this year’s survey.
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Although the domestic automakers are shuttering factories and handing out pink slips like it’s Halloween in the wake of the current economic downturn, Toyota is bucking the trend and refuses to lay off 4,500 of its truck factory workers. Toyota’s Princeton, Indiana, and San Antonio, Texas, truck plants have been idle since August 8th, but Toyota has found plenty of activities to keep its workers busy.
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Volkswagen unveiled a special edition of its new Passat CC sedan last weekend at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Dubbed the Gold Coast Edition, this special edition Passat CC will include a number of unique features when it arrives in showrooms later this year.
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In a cost-cutting move, General Motors is dropping its celebrity-laden GM Style event prior to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The automaker has also cut television advertising and sponsorship from two other glamorous events: The 2009 Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmy Awards.
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After announcing the return of employee pricing for the general public, General Motors is following Chrysler’s lead - somewhat - in pulling out of the leasing market. Though GM will continue to lease new cars, the automaker says that leasing incentives for the Pontiac, Buick and GMC lines have been drastically cut.
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Further proving that China is one of the world’s most up and coming new car markets, Volkswagen announced on Monday that China will likely take over Germany as the automaker’s biggest market.
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Chinese automakers have widely become known for their ability to ape the designs of more well-established automakers, but the latest vehicle from Poland proves that copycatting isn’t just reserved for the Asian continent.
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Trevor Creed, the influential Senior Vice President of Design at Chrysler LLC, has announced his retirement from the Auburn Hills, Mich.- based automaker. Creed’s position will be taken over by 300C designer Ralph Gilles.
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Over the weekend, Bugatti unveiled an open-top version of its 250-mile-per-hour Veyron supercar. Dubbed the Veyron Grand Sport, the car debuted at the Pebble Beach Concourse d’Elegance and retains the coupe’s 16-cylinder engine and 1001 horsepower output.

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