1959 LeMans Ferrari brings US$4.95 million at auction

Monterey, California - A 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Spyder brought $4,950,000 (all prices U.S.) at Ontario-based RM Auctions' event in Monterey, California over the weekend. The annual Monterey Sports and Classic Car Auction, held August 17 and 18, brought in a record-breaking $46 million in total sales, with 195 cars passing over the auction block. Of the consigned vehicles, 92 per cent sold, with nine topping the $1 million mark. The top sellers, following the Ferrari, were a 1935 Duesenberg SJ Town Car at $4.4 million; a 1933 Delage D8S Coupe Roadster at $3,740,000; a 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special at $2,530,000; and a 1959 Aston Martin DB4 GT at $1,650,000. A collection of ten pedal cars, custom-designed by some of the country's most recognizable hot-rod builders in honour of the 1932 Ford's 75th anniversary, were auctioned on Friday and raised more than $200,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and several other charities. The Monterey Rotary Club also benefited from a $60,000 charitable donation from RM Auctions.

Canadian Dealer Sentenced to 2 Years in Jail and Fined $6.9 Million In Tax Scam – Scheme Involved Buying and Selling of Phantom Vehicles

According to a press release from Canada Revenue Agency, a new car dealer in British Columbia, has been convicted of tax fraud and failure to pay Canada’s goods and services taxes. A Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) investigation found that between 1996 and 1998 Port Chevrolet Oldsmobile and its Director Michael Wolfe, received or attempted to receive some $8.1 million in goods and services tax refunds as part of an elaborate auto export scam. The dealership claimed to have purchased over 1,600 new vehicles at cost plus the tax in question from an unrelated company, curiously named “Rags To Riches Motorcars LTD.” The key element in the scam is that the vehicles did not exist. Wolfe and his dealership would then “re-sell” the non-existent vehicles back to Rags To Riches without charging the tax, by claiming that they were to be exported. Wolfe then filed tax forms to the Canadian Revenue Agency for a refund of the supposed goods and services tax originally paid to Rags To Riches for the original “purchase.” The returns resulted in sizable refunds to Wolfe and his dealership.

Mercedes dealership mysteriously closed its doors

Closing dealerships have become common, especially among domestic makes in these periods of uncertainty and change. But in most cases these closings are not a surprise. But when a Mercedes dealership closes suddenly and without warning, that is a surprise. A customer drove by this Massachusetts Mercedes location yesterday and immediately noticed the showroom was empty of cars, except for a $450K SLR Maclaren. All the other vehicles were gone. In the windows were 8½ by 11 signs saying “Closed. Please contact your closest Mercedes-Benz dealership for any service, parts or sales questions.” Lewbar Imports, the Mercedes dealer in West Springfield, MA is now closed and without explanation from either the dealership or Mercedes USA – this from a report appearing in The Republican, a local newspaper. The tell-tale signs of a dealership in trouble are present here. Seemingly overnight, the inventory is loaded up and taken away, the doors are locked, and a tersely worded and quickly put together sign tells customers to seek another dealership for their needs. Surely there are vehicles in service that have to be returned to their owners, incomplete deals that have to be washed out, etc. But isn’t Mercedes one of the shingles protected from such indignities? The wording of the sign has the appearance of something that the manufacturer composed rather than the dealership – so we all can speculate on what happened. But for right now, this is a real mystery. Chances are the circumstances will be revealed in coming days. We will watch for further details.

Auto Manufacturers Use Blogs to Get Their Message Out

When Al Gore III got himself arrested last month for drug possession – he was driving a Toyota Prius at 100 miles per hour. Seeing an opportunity, Toyota officials quickly went to their blog to do a little bragging about the ability of the Hybrid to go that fast. Toyota was also quick to not encourage driving at 100+ miles per hour, but was also happy to claim that the Prius was “not a slug.” Other auto manufacturers are also involved in the blog-o-sphere, including GM and Chrysler. So far Ford has been content to stay on the blogging sidelines, according to a report in the Detroit News. The most active employer of the “get the word out” bloggers appears to be GM. Senior officials, including Robert Lutz, are active participants - so much so that when they are quiet, it is noticed. GM launched its “Fast Lane” blog in 2005 to help dull the criticism about Saturn. Of late, Lutz was reported to have used the blog to voice strong opposition to the new proposed fuel economy standards. The manufacturers also see their blogs as a way to “set the record straight”, often coming out quickly when they believe they have been unfairly represented in the press. When the Wall Street Journal wrote that Toyota was delaying its next-generation hybrids because of problems with their battery technology – Toyota was super quick in getting their rebuttal onto their blog. Manufacturer spokespersons tout blogging as a fast and inexpensive medium for getting their side of the story some exposure.

Honda Canada to build new head office campus in Markham, Ontario

Toronto, Ontario - Honda Canada has announced that it will build a new head office campus in Markham, Ontario, north of Toronto, to house its growing sales, marketing and customer service operation teams. The new facility, with a tentative move-in date of summer 2009, will be built on land fronting Highway 404 north of Elgin Mills Road. "The new space allows for greater economic and operational efficiencies, while expanding our economic contribution to Canada," says Jim Miller, executive vice-president, Honda Canada Inc. 'Honda considered many options and decided on a municipality that complemented our business philosophy - speed to market, focus on customer service and driven by innovative solutions." The campus will house three separate but interconnected buildings, including a four-storey building for the head office - built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) "green" specifications - along with a technical centre accommodating research and development, and a one-storey parts distribution centre. The project's build and design will be completed through a joint partnership with ZAS + HOK architects.