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Las Vegas Motorcycle Auctions show strong results, easy access

Results are in for Bonhams fourth annual Las Vegas motorcycle auction, and the ancient British firm sold a whopping $3.3 million worth of motorcycles at its Thursday night event at Bally's on The Strip, with some fairly high-dollar bikes setting records. One of the Ducatis from the Silverman Museum Racing Collection lead the field, as it no doubt had on the track back in its day -- with a record $175,500 hammer price after what Bonhams called “spirited bidding.” The 1978 Ducati 900 NCR was in great shape after its spirited competition life. Next-highest seller was a 1940 Harley-Davidson EL from the Pierce Family Museum Collection that sold for $159,000.

Honda Gear Concept

Rather than fighting for headlines at NAIAS, Honda debuted its new GEAR Concept at the Montreal International Auto Show. The subcompact GEAR is apparently inspired by fixed-gear bicycles (although quite how is unclear), described as a customizable vehicle that demonstrates the carmaker's way of providing vehicles for young, urban, Gen-Y lifestyles. "Subcompact cars are usually either utilitarian, but uninspiring or they're fun, zippy cars that are impractical and too expensive for the Gen-Y buyer," said Dave Marek, Design Director at Honda R&D Americas, Inc.

Porsche 918 Spyder: The first ride in the future game changer

Faster than the iconic Carrera GT yet more economical than parent company Volkswagen's frugal new Up supermini, Porsche's next supercar, the 762-hp gasoline-electric powered 918 Spyder, promises to offer the best of both worlds—scorching performance and ultralow consumption. Autoweek joins Porsche's engineering team for the very first test of the car that is already causing headaches in Maranello and Sant'Agata. For all of its intense promise and awesome potential, the very first running prototype of the upcoming Porsche 918 Spyder looks suspiciously like a refugee from a shadowy postapocalyptic movie set as it glides silently into view across the vast expanse of bitumen at the Nardo test track in southern Italy.