$15,000 Off a Mercedes SL and Other Deals

Incentives haven’t been big news since the Cash for Clunkers program wiped out a large chunk of dealers’ inventory nationwide. That doesn’t mean all automakers have stopped offering incentives — even large ones — this month. Before the Halloween sugar rush fades, you’ll be able to find some huge cash-back deals, especially at Mercedes-Benz.

• 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class: $15,000
• 2009 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class: $10,000
• 2010 Cadillac STS: $7,400
• 2010 Land Rover Range Rover: $6,000
• 2010 Mazda RX-8: $5,000
• 2010 Nissan Titan: $5,000
• 2009 Nissan Titan: $5,000

You can find more deals on our incentives page. All incentives above end Nov. 2.

2009|Mercedes-Benz|SL-Class

2009|Mercedes-Benz|CLS-Class

2010|Cadillac|STS

2010|Mazda|RX-8

2009|Nissan|Titan

2010|Nissan|Titan

Thieves Nab 13 Lexus Cars, Easily Caught

This story will not exactly call to mind the master thieves of “Ocean’s Eleven.”

Three members of the Gangster Disciples gang were arrested in Chicago after they were spotted riding in stolen luxury cars, according to the Chicago police.

How did police catch them? The Lexus vehicles, which were stolen from the McGrath Lexus of Chicago dealership over the weekend, still had their highly recognizable “loaner” license plates on them.

All told, 11 cars, which were valued at $350,000, were stolen from the McGrath dealership; eight vehicles have been recovered by Chicago police. Police believe this heist is connected to the theft of six vehicles from Imperial Motors Jaguar in Lake Bluff, Ill., last Saturday. Six Jaguars and a Land Rover SUV — a total value of $446,000 — disappeared that day.

The thieves’ modus operandi was similar: In both cases they pried open the dealerships’ garage doors. At the McGrath dealership, the thieves stole a small safe filled with car keys. They returned later and brazenly drove off with the vehicles. Clearly, subtlety wasn’t their forte. In Lake Bluff, the thieves had an easier time of it — the dealership had left the keys in the vehicles.

Police are reviewing the surveillance video from each dealership.

Thieves Busted Riding in Stolen Luxury Cars (Chicago Sun-Times)

Cars.com Compares Small Luxury Crossovers

Maybe you’ve decided you want to buy a luxury car but don’t quite want to spend the money for a hulking beast of an SUV. That’s why the compact luxury crossover segment was invented. In this case, Cars.com compares two of the segment’s staples and one newcomer, as the BMW X3, Land Rover LR2 and Volvo XC60 are stacked side by side in multiple categories. Find out which was the editors’ overall pick in this Cars.comparison.

Cars.comparison: Downsized Luxury Crossovers

2009|BMW|X3

2009|Land Rover|LR2

2010|Volvo|XC60

Cars.com Mileage Challenge 4.5: Final Thoughts

In what’s become a mileage challenge tradition, we wrap up our spring series with some driving impressions of each car. After all, two editors and our editor in chief spent nearly seven hours in these luxury crossovers.

Cars.com Mileage Challenge 4.4: The Premium Problem

Yesterday we brought you results from Cars.com’s latest mileage challenge, a 300-plus-mile trip, mostly on highways. The BMW X3 came in first with 23.7 mpg. The Land Rover LR2 came in second with 22.8 mpg, while the Volvo XC60 brought up the rear with 21.0 mpg.

Case closed? Not quite. Premium cars often need premium gas, but these cars are a diverse bunch. BMW’s high-tech Valvetronic engines — like the one in the X3 — require premium fuel. For the LR2, Land Rover merely recommends premium; spokeswoman Kim Binder-Daniel said regular will do, though “performance will degrade.”

Cars.com Mileage Challenge 4.3: The Results

The spring’s mileage challenge took three entry-level luxury crossovers — the BMW X3, Land Rover LR2 and Volvo XC60 — on 300-plus miles of mostly highway driving around northeast Illinois and southern Wisconsin. The results? Read on:

Cars.com Mileage Challenge 4.2: Sport Mode

Yesterday, we outlined the routes and cars for our latest mileage challenge: about 315 miles, mostly highway, in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. We’ll report the full results tomorrow; today, we’re looking at the effects of Sport mode, something many luxury cars and an increasing number of non-luxury models offer. The X3 and LR2 both had it, activated by moving the shifter from Drive to the manual-shift gate.

Cars.com Mileage Challenge 4.1: Luxury Crossovers

Memorial Day is nigh, and that means the summer driving season will soon kick off. AAA recently reported that it expects 27 million Americans — that’s 83% of all Memorial Day travelers — to hit the road this weekend. That’s down from 2007 but up nearly 3 percent over last year, when sky-high gas prices took quite a toll on Memorial Day travel.

Gas may be cheap, but gas mileage is still top of mind. That’s why it’s time for another installment of Cars.com’s Mileage Challenge. After last fall’s econocar shootout, we felt ready for something a bit more upscale. So we turned to entry-level luxury crossovers, a segment once dominated by the Lexus RX and BMW X3. With starting prices around $35,000, that segment now includes models from at least 10 premium brands, most of which boast lower prices, better gas mileage and cozier cabins than their larger SUV siblings. We matched one of the latest — Volvo’s all-new XC60 — against the venerable X3 and the Land Rover LR2 in its sophomore season.

2010 Land Rover LR4 Video

Cars.com’s Suburban Dad, Patrick Olsen, takes a look at the 2010 Land Rover LR4 in this video review from the 2009 New York auto show. Does the LR4 step in for the LR3 in a fitting fashion? Olsen has mixed feelings due to a very involved third-row setup, but perhaps the LR4 will impress him in other ways. Watch the video to make up your own mind.

2010 Land Rover Lineup: Up Close

Land Rover's three 2010 models, side-by-side on one stage, look disturbingly alike when viewed from the front. There are subtle differences, but the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and LR4 are roughly the same size, and they’re also similar in shape, except for the more squared-off LR4's rear end. I've been criticizing Rover since the Range Rover Sport came out because it was based on the LR3 and rode on the coattails of the nicer, more expensive regular Range Rover. The interior, especially, didn't compare.