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Watch the sad, final moments of a crusher-bound heap

Automotive wrecking yards are good places to reflect on the real-world values of heavily depreciated vehicles versus global current scrap-metal prices, and to see which cars have suddenly had the fix-it-versus-total-it line moved by insurance companies (the early-21st-century Subaru Legacy Outback, for example, appeared in large numbers in high-turnover wrecking yards just during the last year, as fairly minor collision damage on these cars is no longer worth fixing). You'll see the things that a car's last owner does in a desperate attempt to sell (or at least live with) an increasingly decrepit heap (as we learned in "Repo Man," you really will find a Little Tree in every car). During a recent trip to a San Jose, Calif., yard, I encountered this sad yet strangely compelling scene.

Whitacre named General Motors' permanent CEO

Ed Whitacre, General Motors Co.'s chairman, will become the automaker's permanent CEO, it was announced on Monday. In a brief press conference, Whitacre, 68, said GM plans to pay back government loans to the U.S. and Canada by June.

Lamborghini plans LM002 successor

By Georg Kacher Motor Industry 27 November 2006 10:48 Lamborghini has finally cast its new plans in stone, after much heated debate. And the plan is to replace the core supercars, before adding an SUV to the range. Although the Bologna-based sports car maker is now writing its balance sheets in black ink, the modest funds still don't suffice to generate a new standalone model like the proposed Espada - at least not for the time being.