Harley Davidson Starter Bolt P/n 3559 on 2040-parts.com

Now the Germans say no to Volvo

As we’ve reported in the last few weeks, Ford has been trying its best to offload Volvo, the last of its ‘Prestige’ Euro marques. The Chinese looked to be the best bet, but it seems that that is going nowhere at the moment (the Chinese are probably waiting for Ford to get in to an even deeper mess with the hope of picking up Volvo for peanuts) and now its seems that Ford’s fire-sale has drawn more blanks. Now the Germans turn down the chance to own Volvo Der Spiegel reports that Daimler (Mercedes-Benz) boss Dieter Zetsche has revealed that Daimler has turned down the chance to buy Volvo, and has also revealed that BMW has had a good look, and reached the same decision.

New Mercedes GL at New York Auto Show, Mercedes R Class dropped in USA

Mercedes R Class - dropped in the USA Mercedes-Benz has confirmed that it will debut the new Mercedes GL at the New York Auto Show in April, and the R Class is being dropped from the US. The big Mercedes GL SUV has been around for a while now, and we’ve been expecting a facelift version to arrive for a while. But reports are now saying that the new GL won’t be a mild facelift but an all new model.

AutoRama: Hot-rodding, chrome and speed return

Chop, drop and roll--that's the unofficial motto at AutoRama, the 57th-annual festival of hot rods and custom cars in Detroit. Chop--as in slice the roof off your speedster with some unnatural surgery to the A- and C-pillars. Drop--as in drop the biggest motor you can find under the hood.