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JUNKER KEEPER: Federal database tracks totaled vehicles, clunkers

First, it was the hurricane-damaged used cars flooding the market. Now, it’s the clunkers turned in--and supposedly junked--as part of the federal Cars Allowance Rebate System “cash for clunkers” program. Following Hurricane Katrina, cars declared as total losses in one state were able to get clean titles in other states and were resold to unsuspecting consumers.

Spyker attempting to sell Saab real estate in money-raising move

The next chapter in the Saab cash crunch appears to involve Spyker selling Saab real estate to an unnamed financial institution, with the automaker leasing the property back for its operations. Saab has been forced to shut down production twice in the past few weeks in the wake of unpaid supplier bills, raising concerns that Dutch owner Spyker may be facing a liquidity crunch. The latest move is likely aimed at freeing capital for the automotive operations while the company negotiates for a loan with the help of the Swedish government.

Ford once planned to race fiberglass-bodied Mustang touring cars

Tucked away on page nine of the May 9, 1964 issue of Competition Press and Autoweek is an intriguing little story: “FIA Rejects Ford Bid for Homolgation [sic].” At the time, the Mustang had just made its world debut, but Ford was already scheming to fold the car into its “Total Performance” campaign. The automaker apparently proposed to do so with a fleet of crazy fiberglass-bodied touring cars. According to Competition Press, Ford tried to get the new Mustang classified as a touring car for international racing.