Autometer Ultra-lite Mechanical Vacuum Gauge 2 1/16" Dia Silver Face 4384 on 2040-parts.com

Mercury lives--on the auction circuit

James Dean famously drove one in Rebel Without a Cause, and perhaps Mercurys have never been cooler. That was more than 50 years ago and the brand is now on the verge of extinction. But as Plymouth, Pontiac and even Edsel have shown, some brands have legs that stretch long after new cars are gone from dealerships.

News watch March 2010: today's auto industry news

Tuesday 30 March 2010• Mercedes has dismissed claims that its Maybach brand is for sale, after reports in the Chinese media claimed Chinese car company BYD was considering a bid for the upmarket offshoot. BYD has also denied the claims (Reuters)• Toyota president Akio Toyoda has promised his company will listen more carefully to customers and react faster in a bid to regain credibility after the Japanese car manufacturer was forced to recall millions of vehilces over safety fears (BBC)• The Obama administration is expected to unveil its finalised fuel economy and tailpipe emissions through to 2016 this week, to coincide with the opening of the 2010 New York auto show (Detroit News)  Monday 29 March 2010• Toyota has agreed to licence the hybrid technology in the Prius to Mazda, which will combine the electric system with its next-gen Sky engines. It’s part of Mazda’s plans to increase the average fuel economy of its vehicles by 30% by 2015 (compared to 2008 levels) and it hopes to have its first hybrid vehicle on sale in Japan by 2013 (Mazda)• Ford and Chinese car company Geely have signed a stock purchase agreement that will allow the latter to acquire 100% of Volvo (along with related assets including intellectual property rights).

Bugatti Veyron Limited Editions at Dubai Motor Show

Buhgatti has revealed three Limited Edition Veyrons at the Dubai Motor Show We’re back to yet more Bugatti Veyron Limited Edition cars to add to the 300 already out there (sorry, that’s the number of Veyrons in total – but it’s close to the number of ‘Special’ Veyrons) with the reveal of the Veyron Nocturne, the Veyron Sang d’Argent and the Veyron Soleil de Nuit at the Dubai Motor Show today. The Veyron Nocturne is a limited run of five cars costing €1.65 million each. Bugatti wax lyrical about “…extraordinary partition of surfaces never used so far, giving the car a new dimension of lateral length” and “…galvanized side windows continuing the line of the polished aluminium upper body parts to the rear of the car and contrast vividly with the uni black of the side- and door-panels and the roof.” So much as with every other Veyron Limited Edition it’s about setting the car apart.