General Motors is racking up the frequent flier miles as the 2011 Chevy Aveo (or maybe Chevy Viva?) continues its testing tour of the globe! While this small car has been spotted in Northern Sweden and Germany, this is the first time we’ve seen it in America.

Renault has announced it will be reviving its Gordini nameplate for a series of sporty offerings. The first car in line for the Gordini treatment is the Renault Twingo, set to make its world debut on November 25th at L’Atelier Renault on the Champs Elysées in Paris.

It’s not often that an automaker pursues legal action against a shoe manufacturer – in fact, this is the first case that the Leftlane legal crew can remember: Porsche claims that plastic shoe manufacturer Crocs’ use of the Cayman name for one of its offerings infringes on the automaker’s entry-level hardtop sports car.

It doesn’t take much to get us excited about a visit to the music-friendly city of Nashville – even the, uh, thrilling opportunity to sample Nissan’s very, very mildly refreshed Altima sedan was enough to pique our interest.

Mercedes-Benz’s sales have been hit hard by the global economic meltdown, but the German automaker is calling for a sales uptick over the next few months. In fact, Mercedes expects to grow its U.S. market share next year.

BMW has long hinted at the return of four-cylinder engines to the U.S. market, but has been rather quiet about exactly which four-pots might be headed our way. However, BMW has broken the silence, revealing that four-cylinder diesels will be part of the German automaker’s U.S. plans.

In a recent speech at a Texan university, GM’s chairman Ed Whitacre criticized the current salary caps set by the Obama administration for GM’s senior executives by pointing out the difficulties GM is facing hiring quality replacements.

BMW is anticipating a roughly 10 percent bump in sales in the US market for 2010 as a result of a combination of pent-up demand, special sales programs, and the introduction of a newly revised model.

Following Toyota’s recall of 3.8 million vehicles prompted by a fiery crash that killed four people in southern California, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is considering an investigation involving 1993 to 2004 model year Jeep Grand Cherokee models over a potentially hazardous fuel tank.

The defunct Honda Accord Hybrid proved that the world wasn’t ready for a “performance” hybrid in 2005, but General Motors could be planning to test the waters again next decade with performance versions of its Chevrolet Volt architecture.

Volkswagen’s Jetta has long been its bread and butter sedan in North America, and since it’s not a big player elsewhere, the next-generation model set to debut for 2011 will probably be a little more tailored for the North American market. Our illustration, based on what we’ve been able to discern from tight-lipped VW so far, shows a clear familiar resemblance to the new Golf.

While Cadillac’s STS will be discontinued in the U.S. in a little over a year, the version General Motors sells in China, the SLS, appears ready to soldier on for a few more model years. A few weeks ago a camouflaged 2011 Cadillac SLS was spotted testing in the United States. Now we’ve just managed to catch a few photos of the SLS with no camo before it made a quick get away down the highway.

GMAC Financial Services – the lending arm of both General Motors and Chrysler – will require another round of taxpayer-funded loans, the Federal Reserve said on Monday. GMAC has already received $12.5 billion in federal aid.

Toyota confirmed today that it plans to introduce its redesigned 2011 Sienna minivan next month at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The current model will continue for a shortened 2010 model year before the all-new third-generation model makes its debut.

Ever since the demise of the E46 M3 CSL, enthusiasts have been (im)patiently awaiting a replacement. That successor has finally arrived in the form of the 2011 M3 GTS. Like the CSL, the GTS features substantially reduced weight, complemented by slightly increased horsepower, which now comes to life thanks to a couple of BMW-issued videos.

It’s not unusual to find someone else’s playlist still on the hard drive of a higher-end press car’s audio system when it shows up in our driveway for a week-long evaluation. Sometimes it’s fun to guess who had the vehicle last – the Barbara Streisand collection (200 songs, really?) in a Dodge Charger, for example. But no music has ever seemed more appropriate than “The Phantom of the Opera” soundtrack in a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8.

General Motors is no stranger to badge engineering – with not a single of its four remaining core brands able to claim a completely unique product offering – but our spy photographer have just spotted what may be the most egregious example in recent memory – the Daewoo LaCrosse.

BBDO – a long time advertising partner of Chrysler – has announced it will be closing its Detroit office, effective January 26th. BBDO Detroit failed to sign a new contract with Chrysler, with the current agreement set to expire on January 26.

With new business plans now in place at all three of the Detroit automakers, stand-alone dealerships are fading quickly. Multiple brands are now being lumped together at a single dealership, perhaps marking the end for stand-alone Lincoln-Mercury stores.

Well ahead of its Geneva Motor Show introduction next March, Volvo has released a pair of official photos of its much-anticipated new S60 sedan. Traditionally Volvo’s mainstream offering, the S60 takes over for the outgoing model that was discontinued earlier this year.