Look! It's the brand spanking new Cruze, one of GM's latest offspring and The General sure is excited to show it off. In this video, GM dares to compare the Chevy Cruze 1LT model to a fierce competitor from South Korea, the Hyundai Elantra base model... of yesteryear, which conveniently was of last generation.

GM, just when I thought you couldn't possibly be any dumber, you go and do something like this... and totally redeem yourself!

Click here to see the comparison.

The aaa Auto Salvage race team of Mike Mechevich, Charlie Pearson, Tracy Jones, and Brandon Jahnz, was short handed with only 4 racers but had the highest place finish in company history at the AASP-MN race for Education. The race is the AASP Education Fund’s major fundraiser of the year and in 2011 the race raised over $6000, with 2 races on January 18th and 19th at Pro-Kart Race track in Burnsville, MN.

"This event has become one of the most popular in the Association," said Judell Anderson, AASP-MN Executive Director. "I'm very impressed with the level of support, participation and enthusiasm that AASP-MN members devote to this event and to the cause of automotive education," she added.

On July 24, 2010, aaa Auto Salvage along with U-Pull-R-Parts, The Better Bumper Company, Phil’s Body Shop, Master Transmission of Rosemount, Medi-Car and Crown Rental of Rosemount hosted the 3nd annual Rods & Wrecks Car Show in conjunction with the Leprechaun Days celebration in Rosemount, MN. There were a total of 55 classic and custom cars that paid a $10 entry fee. 100% of the entry fees went towards the purchase of game Jerseys for the 7th and 8th grade football program in Rosemount. Due to budget cuts, Middle school football was removed from ISD 196, and was rolled into the community based athletic associations. There are substantial costs to that transition and the away game jerseys and practice jerseys are just a portion of those costs.

The Rods & Wrecks show also included a Distracted Driving Demonstration & Obstacle Course put on by the Dakota County Technical College, Air Bag demonstrations by the Rosemount Fire Department, tours of AAA, and a visit to the car crusher. There were football theme games for all that attended. Awards were given in two categories including Sponsor’s Choice and Spectator’s Choice.

Don Sandoz, President - Irish Youth Football (RAAA Program) sent the following email:

“I want to thank you for your support of our youth football program this year! Your generosity is greatly appreciated and the gift will help us transition our 7/8th grade football program from Middle School to the newly created ERAVE League…Your gift allowed us to purchase a full set of away jerseys for our 7/8 grade teams and we thank you very much!”

“We have over 170 kids signed up for our new program which will allow us to field 4 teams per grade. This is exactly what hoped to see in participation numbers! Not having to worry about how we fund a one-time capital expenditure that we will use for many years has been fantastic!”

“Thanks again from the entire Irish Football Nation!”

“As with the past 3 shows, the sponsors of the show consider Rods and Wrecks a great way to give back to the community and stay connected with the city.” says Patrick McKinney, General Manager of AAA. The $6550 donation was presented to the RAAA board on July 26th.

3rd Annual Rods and Wrecks Car Show was a huge success! Thanks to all the sponsors including aaa Auto Salvage, U-Pull-R-Parts, Medi-Car, Master Transmission, Crown Rental, and Phil's Body Shop.

The second half of 2010 starts today but for Toyota, it wishes yesterday was the end of the year. 2010 has been the year of recalls for auto makers and Toyota is by far the biggest contributor. As if the gas pedal recall wasn't enough to keep the company's legal department busy, Toyota is preparing itself to issue another recall for faulty engines that affect 270,000 cars world wide.

Since the beginning of this year, 200 complaints about engine problems have been received which pushed the auto maker to start an investigation and found a problem with the valve spring of 4.6 liter V8 engines and 3.5 liter V6 engines installed in the Lexus LS460, Lexus LS600h, Lexus LS600hL, Lexus GS350, Lexus GS450h, Lexus GS460 and Lexus IS350 and the Toyota Crown.

"We need to take some form of measure...We will carry it out as soon as we decide on the measure to minimize inconvenience for our customers." Toyota's spokesperson reassured the press.

Recalls are generally bad news for everyone involved but it is good to know Toyota has learned its lesson, and addressing problems sooner rather than later.

P.S. Note to Volkswagen Group - it's about time for a recall on the cam follower problem people are having with the FSI 2.0T motors. Let's not make 2011 the year for VW's recall woes.