2012 Mercedes SLK55 WILL get 5.5 litre V8

2012 Mercedes SLK55 to get naturally aspirated 5.5 litre V8 (2011 SLK photo) You never really know until it’s officially announced, but we did expect the 2012 Mercedes SLK55 to get the new 5.5 litre V8. When Mercedes revealed the new SLK back in January, we knew there were still two more versions to come for 2012 – the SLK55 and the Diesel SLK – and that we’d get the official details later. Well, now it’s later – at least for the SLK55.

Saab says it will restart production after securing short-term loan

Saab aims to restart production within a week after its owner, Spyker Cars, secured a 30 million euro ($44.7 million) short-term loan to help ease its cash crunch. Spyker said it will borrow the money from Gemini Investment Fund in a convertible loan agreement with a 6-month maturity. The interest rate of the loan is 7 percent a year and the conversion price is 4.88 euros per share.

Cash-for-clunkers clears 180,000 in sales, is poised for an extension

The cash-for-clunkers program has reached sales of more than 180,000--topped by the Toyota Corolla--as the Senate is poised to vote on an extension of the program on as soon as Thursday. The Ford Focus is the second-best-selling car under the program, and the Honda Civic, the Toyota Prius and the Camry complete the top five, according to Reuters. The top trade-ins were all domestics, including trucks from Ford and Dodge, as well as Jeep.