Italian Government buys 19 Maserati Quattroporte. Crisis? What crisis?

A Maserati Quattroporte for Don Berlusconi? As we had cause to mention recently, the Italians are a stylish bunch. Which would explain why the Italian Government has decided to replace its fleet of Lancia Thesis and Audi A6s with a properly stylish Italian car – the Maserati Quattroporte.

One Lap of the Web: Happy birthday, John DeLorean, a legally imported Nissan Skyline, Amphicar for sale and the Righini Collection

-- Bust out the candles: American success story, visionary futurist and import/export whiz John DeLorean was born this day in 1925. Everyone knows about his battle to launch the DeLorean Motor Company, but the man behind the stainless-steel legend had a long career as a brilliant engineer that included time at Chrysler, Packard and General Motors. And while we might not all be driving DeLoreans today, we're still talking about both the man and the company -- which is pretty impressive when you think about it.

Cable TV show to feature BMW X3 factory

The National Geographic Channel will feature the making of the BMW X3 crossover at the company's South Carolina plant as part of the Ultimate Factories series. The episode airs in November. BMW announced a $750 million investment to expand its South Carolina operation in 2008.