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RM Auctions' Icons sale brings good return on customs

Hot-rod and custom-car enthusiasts came from across the country for RM Auctions' Icons of Speed and Style sale in Los Angeles on Saturday, which offered the entire collection of the Flying A Garage. Collector Ralph Whitworth had big plans to open a car museum in his native Winnemucca, Nev., and had assembled one of the greatest rod, custom and racing-car collections ever to make it happen. He housed it in a new, climate-controlled building in Winnemucca called the Flying A Garage and had plans to open a museum to draw interest to his hometown.

Investor group wants to buy Saturn, sell overseas brands

An investor group called Telesto Ventures says it wants to acquire Saturn's retail operations and provide dealers with vehicles from General Motors through 2011 and mostly overseas manufacturers thereafter. A GM spokesman said today the group's proposal is legitimate and "very interesting." "I can tell you this is one of the interested parties with Saturn, and we have been working with them throughout this process," said spokesman Steve Janisse. "There are other interested parties as well who we're working with.

Ford at CES: Charge your car with science and wash your dishes while you sleep

Ford's C-Max Solar Energy Concept is a "plugless plugin," said Donna Bell, which initially sounds silly -- as if the carefully structured chaos and noise of CES may have finally gotten to her. But as someone who has been managing Ford's electric vehicle infrastructure for the past 20 years, she isn't being facetious. Solar panels on the roof of a car aren't anything new -- the Fisker Karma used them to power the radio and other in-car accessories, to cite a soon-obscure example.