Aston Martin is one of Britain's most prestigious and historic car companies, forever linked to Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, surviving the 70's after a close call with receivership, and prospering under the guidance of the Ford Motor Company. It is now again a proper British Motorcar producer, the marque owned by private investment firms based in Britain and Kuwait, with a future that is challenged given today's economic climate.

At the 2009 Geneva Auto Salon, Aston Martin decided to dust off their Lagonda nameplate with a particularly garish concept that sent the Aston Martin faithful into a state of apoplexy. Is this concept really just another luxury crossover, arguably one with a historic name, or is it the taste of things to come from Dr. Bez and the team that has guided the marque through its current renaissance? With that being said I thought it was time to re-introduce you to the last vehicle that wore this prestigious badge: introducing the 1976 to 1989 Aston Martin Lagonda Saloon.

On May 26 our own Jim Brennan published a widely read essay on CarDomain.com explaining why certain Chrysler dealers were terminated. Now, in the aftermath of GM closing down more than 1,100 dealerships, he examines the process in more detail.

The automotive retail landscape has been dramatically reshaped as both Chrysler and GM together have terminated almost 2,000 dealers as part of their restructuring efforts. They were able to use the bankruptcy process to circumvent strong state franchise laws to shed dealers. At times there appeared to be no rhyme or reason to the selection process, leaving both dealers and consumers perplexed. Last week, as new details and documents surfaced on thetruthaboutcars.com explaining why certain GM dealership agreements would not be renewed in 2010, we asked Jim to update the story with additional information on the GM closures.

In the next few days, we will start a series featuring the story behind some of these closings and their impact on individual communities. While we will attempt to simply report on each closing, we think that readers will find it difficult not to take sides, especially if they live in a community where these closings hit home.

During the new millennium America's love affair with the Sport Utility Vehicle was in full bloom, with the mid-sized versions as the sales leaders. These vehicles were the replacements for the unloved minivans and station wagons of yesterday. General Motors was desperately trying to modernize their offerings while increasing production levels to keep the fat profit margins of the outgoing models. Was the cloning machine successful?

In the spring of 2001, General Motors introduced a totally new mid-sized sport utility vehicle (SUV) with an equally new 4.2-liter inline six-cylinder engine. This new SUV, called the Trailblazer, replaced the hoary old S-10 Blazer that was still being produced. It was selected as the 2002 North American Truck of the Year, illustrating just how important such awards are. But remember, this was the General Motors of the new millennium, so with this winner on its hands there would be not only a Chevrolet version, but soon, there would be one for GMC, Oldsmobile, Buick, Isuzu, and even one with a Saab badge. If any single vehicle platform illustrated what was wrong with the GM product development system and its reliance on badge-engineering to satisfy the cravings from its dealers among its overlapping brands, it was the Trailblazer and its five siblings. In the aftermath of GM's bankruptcy filing last week, let's take a look at the Chevrolet Trailblzer and its mutant offspring.

The most visible stepchild of the failed DaimlerChrysler marriage was the Chrysler Crossfire, a car that matched the styling of a Chrysler concept car with proven Mercedes-Benz mechanicals from its SLK. Thirty years from now, will the Crossfire be like the Plymouth Superbird, unloved in its day, but ultimately a cherished collector car?

The early part of the decade was ripe for a new type of enterprise, the newly formed German-American car company that merged the historic brands of Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler. It was the promise of having the best of both worlds, the old-world craftsmanship of Mercedes-Benz combined with the cutting-edge design that was Chrysler's hallmark. And one of the by-products of this joint venture was the Chrysler Crossfire. It incorporated a Mercedes-Benz SLK platform with the flair of a Chrysler concept car. Unfortunately, by the time the Crossfire reached showrooms in 2003, the technology was almost a decade old and the styling to some was rather ungainly. Was the car doomed to failure?