Firestone Deluxe Champ on 2040-parts.com

Cash-for-clunkers deal to end Monday night, government says

The Obama administration plans to cut off dealer funding for the cash-for-clunkers program on Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern, after finding that the $3 billion fund is nearing depletion, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. "The overriding objective was to be conservative and to provide an adequate window for a soft landing," a senior administration official said in a conference call with reporters Thursday.

Mitsubishi tease new model ahead of Geneva. New Outlander based on PX-MiEV II, perhaps?

Mitsubishi Tease a new car ahead of Geneva 2012 Mitsubishi are teasing a new model for the Geneva Motor Show in March. Could it a be new Outlander based on the recent PX-MiEV II Concepts? We’ve only just got over the Detroit Motor Show reveals, and car makers are already queuing up to tease us with offerings for the Geneva in March.

Lutz's Cadillac puts on a better show than Lutz

"Hi, I'm Bob Lutz, and this is the Cadillac CTS-V Drive Challenge." General Motors Co.'s marketing chief dons his monogrammed helmet and puts Cadillac's 550-horsepower sedan through some warm-up laps at Monticello Motor Club, a members-only track. In what might have passed as a dismissible moment of Lutz braggadocio, "Maximum" Bob has challenged anyone with a four-door sedan to beat his 2010 CTS-V. Though not a showman by trade, Lutz is bankable for amusing, bald-faced assessments of his employer, his critics and the auto industry at large.