Fortress Rx 7 Anchor on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes-Benz slots 4 compacts for U.S.

Mercedes-Benz will launch four compact vehicles in the United States in the next three years with starting prices of $30,000 or below. The vehicles will include a production version of the A-class coupe concept shown last week at the New York auto show. Three variants of Mercedes' new-generation compact family also are headed for the United States.

Brian Wilson on the Beach Boys' car songs

Brian Wilson, the musical giant behind so much of the Beach Boys great music, sang at the Petersen gala in Los Angeles last week, and there were plenty of songs about cars and drag racing in the mix. "We're going to do a series of car songs because this place has a lot of cars," Wilson announced before leading his 10-piece band into "Little Deuce Coupe," "409," "All Summer Long" and "Shut Down." The band played to a packed house at the museum's annual fundraiser. Wilson's set was surely the most entertaining in the Petersen's 15 years of fundraising galas.

Ford eases V6 Mustang around Bristol track for 1,457 laps

As you may have expected, the team at Ford was able to run a V6-powered 2011 Mustang for at least 1,000 laps on the half-mile Bristol Motor Speedway track on Wednesday before running out of gasoline. In fact, the Mustang lapped Bristol 1,457 times before its 16-gallon fuel tank ran dry. The run was part of a marketing push touting the 31-mpg highway rating for the 2011 Mustang V6 and its six-speed automatic transmission.