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1961 Ford Gyron concept scale model sells for $40,000

A scale model of the 1961 Ford Gyron concept has sold at auction for $40,000, around four times its estimate. The space-age concept car – designed by Alex Tremulis, McKinley Thompson, Syd Mead, Bill Dayton, John Najjar, and Elwood Engel – debuted in 1961 at the New York International Auto Show and featured two wheels mounted along the car's centerline, usung a gyroscope for stability. The full-size model – which relied on stabilizing wheels instead of a gyroscope – also predicted the development of satellite navigation systems, car phones and infrared sensing.

Upcoming Mercedes-Benz MLC-class spied testing

Just a few weeks after the debut of the Mercedes-Benz MLC in concept form, prototypes have been spotted testing in Colorado earlier this month. The MLC is meant to offer packaging similar to the BMW X6, combining the SUV shape of the ML with a more coupe-like exterior design. The MLC will make its public debut at the Moscow International Motor Show in August of this year, a location that is perhaps indicative of the target audience for this upcoming crossover.

CES opens with fewer big wheels, including carmakers

There are some grumblings that the annual CES is becoming less relevant in this era of 24-hour news and instant globalization of information on the internet. And you can make a good argument that the relevance of the world's largest consumer electronics show is at least evolving, for carmakers as well as for other industry giants. It has always been an industry only show, with no public -- the “consumers” in "consumer electronics" -- allowed.