Oldsmobile Cutlass Grilles on 2040-parts.com

All used up: Pre-owned sales rise as consumers seek new-car alternatives

Used-car sales took a leap upward in April, and the trend is expected to continue at least until midyear as pent-up demand for affordable pre-owned vehicles jacks up at least one segment of the car marketplace. Sales of new cars continued an unabated slide toward what analysts say is a 30-year low in the United States, but used-car sales showed strength as buyers unable to finance new cars shifted their sights to less expensive used models. As a result, retailers such as the large Penske Automotive Group reported that despite an overall decline in sales in the first three months of 2009, improving used-car sales kept them in the black.

First Sight: Skoda Octavia

The new Skoda Octavia was unveiled earlier this week in the Czech brand's museum at its home in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic. Car Design News was in attendance to check out the third generation of what the company calls ‘the heart of Skoda'. The new Octavia is the fourth model in the Volkswagen Group to be built on the new MQB (Modularer Querbaukasten) platform.

Mercedes driven by Moss for sale

A "GULLWING" car that helped motor racing star Sir Stirling Moss win the gruelling Mille Miglia race is to be auctioned. Bonhams is offering the Mercedes-Benz 300SL at a sale at the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart, Germany, on July 12. Moss and his navigator Denis Jenkinson used the car on a course reconnaissance ahead of the 1,000-mile Mille Miglia race in Italy in 1955.