Longacre 14" Uncoated Black Aluminum Drilled Steering Wheel 2 1/2" Dish,imca on 2040-parts.com

Boca Raton concours to honor Milhous brothers

Well-heeled car fans will be able to get their hands on some highly coveted autos when the Milhous collection goes up for auction on Feb. 24, in a multiday sale that coincides with the Boca Raton Concours d'Elegance. Bob and Paul Milhous of the Milhous Museum will be honored with the Lee Iacocca Award at this year's concours, a distinction that goes to individuals who have perpetuated the American automotive tradition in their dedication to classic-car preservation.

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.

Hot seats: from design to delivery [sponsored]

As the user demands on car interiors are increasingly influenced by their growing design consciousness, so suppliers like Lear strive to bring better-engineered seating to satisfy. 2013 was another big year for Lear, as Jeanette Puig-Pey, its global fabric & leather design manager, enthuses: "At our ‘Design2Perform' event we celebrated the unveiling of our brand new collection, with special emphasis on color and texture and our TeXstyle Enhance product, perfect for customization. Laser etching is part of this offering, it is exclusive to Lear Corporation and can be used to add refined design elements to cloth and leather." A mix of fabric and leather in seating is not new but is often seen by the consumer as a cheaper alternative to full leather.