With car shoppers showing an increased interest in premium compact vehicles, Mercedes-Benz is said to be revisiting its SLA Concept, which was shown at the Detroit auto show in 2000. CEO Dieter Zetsche is reportedly considering building a new roadster model inspired by the concept and based on the A-Class platform.

A single official photo of the 2010 BMW Z4 leaked online today, following the emergence of an amateur spy photo of the finished car just one day prior. This latest images — showing the rear of the car — was scanned from an official brochure. The other photo, showing a front 3/4 view of the new roadster, was snapped on the set of the upcoming film Solitary Man.

Following the leak of some low-resolution images earlier this week, we’ve since got our hands on some high-res photos of the production Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid sedan. The car first debuted as a concept at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. Fisker will be back at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show to show off its production Karma, which has officially been outed by these recent leaks.

Ford is working towards the goal of having the majority of its vehicles built on global platforms within the next few years, and it looks like that worldly mentality will spill over into the Blue Oval’s performance divisions. On Thursday Ford named Jost Capito as the head of its Global Performance Vehicles and Motorsport Business Development.

There is no doubt the current recession and credit crunch has been hitting Americans’ squarely in the wallet, but there appears to be at least one bit of silver lining to the economic downturn – lower gas prices.

Travel to the farthest reaches of civilization and you’re almost guaranteed to find a Toyota Land Cruiser of some sort. The term ubiquitous doesn’t even begin to describe the Land Cruiser in much of the world, where it has earned a reputation for reliability and capability. Toyota hoped to capture some of that mystique when it introduced the retro-styled FJ Cruiser to the North American market for the 2007 model year.

The Big Three CEOs were in Washington D.C. on Thursday pleading their cases for a government bailout, but it appears as though two of the three have not completely ruled out a bankruptcy filing. Chrysler and General Motors are reportedly considering accepting a pre-arranged bankruptcy deal in order to secure billions in federal loans.

Despite slumping sales of large SUVs and the fact that the GL hit the market just two years ago, Mercedes-Benz is working on an updated version of its largest sport utility vehicle. Our spies have once again caught up with the 2011 GL while testing in the wild.

The Leftlane garage has been full recently and we have some exciting reviews we’ll be publishing soon. Keep checking back here in the next few weeks for our first impressions of some exciting new 2009 and 2010 models - and don’t forget to click on the Reviews tab at the top of each page to make sure you don’t miss out on anything!

The fate of Detroit’s Big Three - Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Company and General Motors - essentially rides on today’s Congressional hearings. After presenting their proposals earlier this week, which called for up to $34 billion in low-interest loans in exchange for CEO salary cuts, restructuring and ditching of corporate perks, the automakers’ CEOs will attempt to persuade lawmakers to approve the loans.

Despite slumping North American sales, Toyota officially opened a new production facility in Woodstock, Ontario on Thursday. The Woodstock facility — which employs 1,200 workers — will build the Toyota RAV4, marking the first time that the small SUV has been built outside of Japan.

For the last several months Ford has denied rumors that it preparing its Swedish Volvo brand for sale, but, in light of pending federal aid, the Michigan automaker has openly admitted that it plans to sell its loan remaining PAG brand. And now, thanks to an inside source, we now have an idea of what price Ford will affix to its Volvo brand.

Nissan may be slowly exiting the light-duty truck segment in the U.S., but the Japanese automaker is moving full steam ahead with its lineup of commercial vehicles for the U.S. market. Following a teaser sketch released earlier this year, Nissan has officially unveiled its firs commercial vehicle concept.

Maserati has unveiled a new customization program – dubbed the ‘MC Sport Line’ – at the Bologna Motor Show. The new MC Sport Line (with the MC standing for Maserati Corse, the company’s racing division) will enhance both the look and performance of Maserati vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz may have delayed the launch of its 2010 S-Class, but that doesn’t mean the German automaker is slowing development of its flagship sedan. Our spy photographers have once again spotted the S-Class while out testing, looking as production-ready as ever.

If you’ve seen the latest James Bond flilck, Quantum of Solace, you know that the Alfa Romeo 159 plays a part in the opening sequence. To celebrate the cameo, the Italian automaker is offering a limited-edition 159 sedan swathed in the same black scheme as the cars used in the movie’s chase scene.

France is set to introduce a $33 billion stimulus package designed to help steer the European nation out of the recession that is hitting nearly every country across the globe. The stimulus package, announced yesterday in front of a Renault factory in Douai, France, by president Nicolas Sarkozy, includes about 1.2 billion euros in aid for the auto industry in addition to incentives aimed at encouraging French people to buy new cars.

Chrysler LLC president and vice chairman Tom LaSorda said that the struggling automaker met its goals for employee reductions in November and that he doesn’t expect any additional jobs to go on the chopping block in the month of December. Chrysler cut its global workforce by about 5,000 workers between October and the end of November.

It has long been rumored, but now it’s official. Ford will end production of its Taurus X crossover in February 27th, 2009. Introduced in early 2007, the Taurus X is an improved and renamed version of the Ford Freestyle, which first went into production in 2005.

Despite a worldwide economic crisis and plummeting U.S. auto sales, Korean automaker Kia is planning to proceed as scheduled with its plans for an assembly plant in the United States. Company spokesman Michael Choo said the slumping economy doesn’t change Kia’s long-term goals.