Autoblog

Although she might not be the spokewoman for Overstock.com any longer, Sabine Ehrenfeld is one minor celebrity we actively look for an excuse to mention. Second only to Nürburg-queen Sabine Schmitz, Overstock.com's Sabine Ehrenfeld is that super sexy, multi-talented spokesperson that reintroduced us to the Big-O a Christmas or two ago.

Well, that was sort of car-related, but there really is another reason to bring her up. It seems the online clearinghouse for seemingly everything else is getting deeper into the automotive market. Overstock has reportedly signed an agreement with rental giant Enterprise to clear out last year's inventory of fleet vehicles. With 15 million users a day, Overstock represents a huge built-in audience that Enterprise Rent-A-Car has apparently decided might be interested in their cars a,s well. As with other automotive offerings, Overstock will essentially act as a storefront rather than as an actual dealer. Maybe Schmitz will be interested in the spokesperson vacancy.

[Source: Winding Road]

When it comes to the sports car market, judging by the numbers, Chrysler has been shooting blanks with its Crossfire. Reports Monday say that DaimlerChrysler is negotiating compensation with German subcontractor Karmann (which builds the Crossfire for Chrysler) because of lower-than-expected production requirements for the slow-selling coupe.

Karmann's production of the Crossfire has fallen from a peak of 35,700 in 2004 to just 12,500 last year. Introduced in 2003, the Crossfire managed about 28,000 sales in 2004, but less than 10,000 in 2005. Chrysler was so desperate to move Crossfires in late 2005 that it even engaged in a marketing stunt when it attempted to sell units on Overstock.com.

[Source: Automotive News]