Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Is Mercedes preparing to buy Ducati?

Remember the AMG-Ducati deal made at the 2010 Los Angeles auto show last month? A partnership of like-minded brands, albeit on two wheels and four. Daimler marketing types reckon that buyers of its AMG go-faster cars could in many instances be equally interested in go-faster motorbikes of the sort Ducati specialise in, and vice versa.

Aston Martin Zagato, Alfa Romeo take honors at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este

A 1968 Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale won the Trofeo BMW Group, given by the judges for the best in show at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este on the shores of Lake Como, Italy, over the weekend. The Coppa d’Oro, for best in show as voted by the public, went to a 1942 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS. The Aston Martin V12 Zagato, created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the famous DB4 GT Zagato, won a design award for Best Concept Car or Prototype.

Upgraded Ford MyKey blocks explicit satellite radio channels

Teenage radio listeners might have to look somewhere else besides the family Ford for the Playboy channel or Howard Stern. The new generation of Ford's programmable MyKey system will let parents block "explicit" radio channels on the Sirius/XM satellite service in their cars. That would cover Playboy's and Stern's channels, as well as more than a dozen music channels, such as rapper Eminem's Shade 45 and the hard-rock Boneyard.