Days after General Motors announced it would cut it’s number of dealerships in the U.S. by 1,124, GM Canada is following suit. The number of Canadian GM dealerships being closed may sound much smaller at 292, however, with roughly 700 dealerships nationwide, the cuts represent a 42 percent dealership reduction.

GM Canada says the Sales & Service agreements it holds with the dealerships will not be renewed once they expire in October of 2010.

GM Canada says it focused on cutting dealerships in urban areas with higher populations, in an effort to continue to offer GM vehicles in rural communities as well. Considering the country’s large land mass and relatively small population, however, visiting a GM dealership after October 2010 may mean a much longer drive for some rural residents.

“The end result in Canada will be a more competitive dealer network with higher volumes, while continuing to maintain the strongest and broadest dealer network in the country better equipped to serve GM customers,” reads a GM Canada statement.

Official release after the jump:

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Volkswagen is rumored to be delivering up to four new models at the Frankfurt Auto Show this September and now we have learned that one of those cars will be an electric model.

Little (to nothing) is known about the EV Concept, however, it is likely to either use the Up! city car platform or the reliable old Golf platform. Volkswagen recently used the Golf platform a the basis of a diesel-electric hybrid called the Golf TwinDrive (pictured above).

[Source: AutoExpress]

Sadly it looks like the very-cool Volkswagen BlueSport Roadster may never see the street. VW has not confirmed the car’s status but apparently a company representative told a group of media who were in Australia for a Volkswagen press event that it just didn’t make economic sense considering the global recession.

This would no doubt mean that Audi and SEAT versions of the little roadster would suffer a similar fate.

The concept won’t be scrapped entirely, however, and may be resusetated once the economy recovers.

The BlueSport Roadster Concept launched at the North American International Auto Show this year, and boasted a 180hp turbo-diesel engine that can get 55mpg and hit 62 mph in 6.2 seconds.

[Source: Channel4]

Few engines have received the iconic status of the Ford Mustang’s 5.0. The motor disappeared in 1996 but now appears to be ready to make a comeback.

News of the return comes out of Australia where Ford Australia product development boss Russell Christophers has confirmed a new 5.0-liter V8 is currently undergoing development in the U.S.

In Australia the new engine, code named “Coyote,”  will replace a larger 5.4-liter unit in the Falcon, but it could likely be used in an upcoming Mustang.

With new emissions regulations in 2010, we aren’t likely to see the the engine before that. Most likely it would debut in the next Mustang several years from now, but Ford did set a precedent in ’96 when they replace the 5.0 with the 4.6-liter block mid-cycle.

The engine is rumored to make 402hp and 398 ft-lbs of torque.

[Source: Drive]

A Ferrari has once again set a new record for the highest sale price at an auction. The 1957 250 Testa Rossa sold for 9,020,000 Euro (or roughly $12 million), topping the previous record holder,  a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT that reached $9.6 million last year.

The 250 Testa Rossa hit the block in Ferrari’s home town of Maranello during a special Ferrari-themed RM auction titled Leggenda e Passione.

“The historical significance of this car attracted a bidding war as collectors from around the world – both in the room and on the telephone – competed to secure one of the most alluring and iconic of all Ferrari racing cars,” said RM Europe’s managing director Max Girardo.

Debuting at the Buenos Aires 1000 Km race in 1958, the 250 Testa Rossa is one of just 22 similar models. It placed fourth in that race and was later sold to an American who raced it extensively in the SCCA championship.

Official release after the jump:

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Max Mosley, the head of the FIA (Formula 1′s governing body) has agreed to scrap the Two-Tier system he had proposed for the series starting next year.

The system was opposed by almost every team in the Formula One Team’s Association (FOTA), including Ferrari, which issued a press release last week announcing its opposition and its plan to abstain from the series if the rules remained.

The new rules would see two groups of teams competing, with half running with restricted budgets with less strict rules (including the ability to use adjustable aerodynamics) and the other half running with no budget cap but under a tight set of rules.

So… problem solved, right?

Wrong!

Mosley is still holding firm to the £40 million ($60 million) cap for teams and FOTA has yet to agree to the terms. Currently the team’s association members are discussing alternatives to a cap but Mosley doubts it will amount to anything.

As Ferrari has been most adamant about its opposition to a two-tiered system and to a cap (and because they are easily the largest name in F1) Mosley specifically addressed the possibility of them not competing in the 2010 season by saying that while it would be sad, Formula 1 would go on without them.

He even went to far as to threaten teams that are currently on the fence about 2010, saying that an influx of new teams might leave no room for lollygagging veterans who don’t sign on by May 29th.

“Well, I think what would happen is that the team that was left outside when the music stopped, and there was no seat, they’d probably have to buy one of the small teams or something. They should think about that before they don’t put an entry in,” Mosley told the BBC.

[Source: AutoWeek]

Thieves have made off with that oh so sexy Nissan GT-R from the most recent Fast & Furious film. The car was being stored, along with several other vehicles, at a facility in Sun Valley, Los Angeles. The thieves were no doubt aware that the vehicle was inside the facility when they broke through the metal door and drove off with the car, paying no attention to the other vehicles inside. The thieves did, however, damage both a Porsche Boxster and a classic Studebaker in the process.

While looking like every SpoCom fan’s wet dream, the blue R34 GT-R is actually a GT-S model that was transformed by pro driver Chris Milano over two years. Fast & Furious lead Paul Walker drove the car in the movie.

The car is estimated to be worth roughly $75,000 (” More than you can afford pal”), however, it was not insured as it was only being used for promotional purposes.

There is no word on if the police have any leads on who stole the car, but we think they should check the garage of Nicolas Cage,  Mr. Gone in 60 Seconds himself. Either that, or it’s currently being chopped up and sold to other Skyline owners as “overnight parts from Japan.”

[Source: Edmunds.com]

The last Mercury Sable will roll off the assembly line this Thursday. The latest casualty of the worldwide economic downturn, the Mercury-branded Taurus has been produced alongside its vastly more popular brother since 1986 – with a short production stoppage in 2006.

While Ford recently unveiled an all new Taurus, the decision was made to hold-off on a Mercury version based on the same chassis and instead dedicate current advertising and future R&D resources to the Taurus.

Including the Sable, Mercury is comprised of five models, however, both the Mountaineer and Grand Marquis are expected to suffer the same fate as the Sable in the near future.

Mercury sales continue to decline (as do vehicle sales in general), but as Mercury is already a more niche market brand even small changes in volume can drastically effect profit margins.

The Detroit News spoke with Analyst Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics, who says that Mercury will likely continue-on, avoiding the fate of several if General Motors’ smaller brands. “Keeping Mercury allows them to do specialty vehicles that appeal to different demographics,” he told the Detroit newspaper, noting that both the Milan and Mariner have been a hit with Latinos and women.

This being the car’s eulogy, we’d like to say something nice about it, but we have as many emotions about the Sable as Spock does about, well, anything.

[Source: The Detroit News]

The new 2010 Toyota Prius isn’t about to let the Honda Insight take over in the hybrid segment and strong initial sales show the Toyota model will be another big success for Japan’s largest automaker.  Japanese business magazine Nikkei is reporting that Toyota has already accepted 75,000 orders for the new Prius. This news comes just a few months after Honda announced demand for it’s Insight hybrid in Japan was triple what was expected.

Toyota recently responded to Honda’s challenge in the hybrid marketplace by slashing the MSRP of the new Prius significantly.

Toyota has high hopes for the new Prius as the company recently posted a $6.9 billion loss for its fourth quarter and said it expects an annual loss of $8.6 billion.

A recently management shakeup is also part of the plan with the founder’s grandson (Akio Toyoda) taking the top position, 40 percent of managers being replaced last month and former executive Yoshimi Inaba returning to the company to lead U.S. operations.

[Source: Reuters]

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It’s the Fisker Karma like you’ve never seen it before. This video (no doubt leaked on YouTube to keep up the marketing buzz surrounding the luxury hybrid) shows the Karma sliding through pylons and screeching its tires. Until now all we’ve ever seen are carefully crafted beauty shots and auto show snaps.

With just over 400hp, Fisker is apparently out to prove that the Karma can not only deliver luxury wit reduced damage to the environment, it can also deliver performance.

Fisker recently announced that it has arranged for 32 retailers to sell its vehicles in North Ameirca. The Karma can achieve 100 mpg and retails for a starting price of $87,900.