Obama: Auto Industry Bailout was the Right Thing to do

President Barack Obama is using GM's recent loan repayment and Chrysler's operating profit as proof that his "unpopular" auto bailout decision was the right thing to do.

"I knew this wasn't a popular decision. But it was the right one," Obama said. Without the bailout, the American economic outcome could have been much more disturbing.

"General Motors and Chrysler...were on the brink of collapse. The rapid dissolution of these companies -- followed by the certain failure of many auto parts makers, car dealers and other smaller businesses -- would have dealt a crippling blow to our already suffering economy."

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VIDEO: BMW Concept Gran Coupé Presentation from Beijing

BMW held a special private reception on the evening of the first press day at the Beijing Motor Show to unveil its all-new Concept Gran Coupé as well as the long wheelbase versions of the 5 Series, specially developed for the Chinese market, and this here video includes scenes from that event.

Most of you will probably be interested only in BMW's conceptual answer to Merc's CLS sports saloon, so in the video after the jump, fast forward to the 1:25 minute mark for the part with the Gran Coupé.

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Lotus puts Toyota's Venza on a Strict Diet

Lotus just released a concept based on the Toyota Venza where the goal was to trim the fat, ultimately reducing CO2 emissions. Officially, the project was meant to showcase a "viable mass reduction strategy" on two representative models: a 2017 near-term version and a 2020 long-term version.

Comparing the Lotus Venza versus the off-the-lot Toyota Venza, overall mass was reduced by as much as 38% on the 2020 (minus power train) at only a 3% increase in component costs. The 2017 model's mass reduction was 21%. All this was done using processes and tech that should be available and affordable by 2020.

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6,000 Square Foot Malibu Home Offered with Ferrari F40 in its Garage

Since the housing market decided to collapse, people have been luring buyers into their properties with incentives. Vahe Hagopian, a listing agent in Malibu, even offered up his Ferrari to try to make a sale.

If someone were to buy his client's house (6,000 square feet, $4.4 million), he'd throw in a classic Ferrari F40 to sweeten the deal. Hagopian says, "Nothing is moving in this area. It's unprecedented."

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SCOOP: 2012 Mercedes-Benz SL Roadster with Retractable Hardtop

Our spy photographers have snagged the next generation of Mercedes-Benz's SL roadster, which is due to arrive in 2012. As you can see in the pictures, Mercedes-Benz obviously will continue with the front-engine, rear-drive format, as well as with a retractable metal hardtop.

The prototype model's heavy disguise and body cladding makes it difficult to distinguish any details, but it's safe to assume that the new SL will carry styling hallmarks from the German firm's "artsy" design language previewed in its most recent concept models such as the CLS Shooting Break and the F800 Style.

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