Canal Recollections on 2040-parts.com

To thwart speculators, Lexus will lease, not sell, 500 LFAs

Lexus has a plan to head off speculators when its limited-edition LFA sports car goes on sale in January 2011. The company will offer only two-year leases for the $375,000 two-seater, said Brian Smith, vice president of sales and dealer development for Lexus division. Lexus will hang on to the vehicle's title.

'38 Talbot-Lago, '29 Duesenberg crowned Best in Show at Meadow Brook concours

French curves and a ghost from the United States' gilded luxury-making past won top honors on Sunday at the 31st Concours d'Elegance of America at Meadow Brook on a sunny afternoon north of Detroit. A 1938 Talbot-Lago 150-C teardrop coupe won Best in Show for European cars, and a 1929 Duesenberg Model J-129 Le Baron Dual Cowl Phaeton won Best in Show for Americans at the annual event, which attracts some of the most luxurious and pristine cars from around the country. The Talbot-Lago shimmered with silver paint and chrome, and already counts two smaller awards at the Pebble Beach concours to its name.

Lotus Europa becomes Proton Lekir

The Lotus Europa-based Proton Lekir Concept Lotus tried to make the 2006 Lotus Europa fulfil the same role in its lineup the original Lotus Europa did in the sixties – a bigger version of the main range. In the ’60s it worked – to a degree – but the 21st century iteration of the Europa was not a huge success. The trouble with the Europa was that buyers seemed to perceive it as what it was – a stop-gap before the Lotus Evora arrived.