Nissan Fuga 2006 Multi Monitor [5361300] on 2040-parts.com

End of Maybach may jump-start Mercedes S-class convertible

A couple of nondenial denials from Mercedes-Benz execs at the New York auto show this week sure made it sound like there's a convertible coming, based on the redesigned S-class due out next year. If the brand follows its usual practice, the convertible would come out a year or two after the sedan. Significantly, Mercedes-Benz showed the Ocean Drive convertible concept five years ago with a Mercedes-Benz badge, rather than Maybach.

Toyota recalls Highlander hybrid, Lexus RX 400h

Toyota is recalling about 82,000 hybrid vehicles in the United States to fix a flawed control board inside the powertrain. The recall covers about 45,000 Toyota Highlander hybrids and 36,700 Lexus RX 400h hybrids from the 2006 and 2007 model years. Toyota says some of the transistors on the control board might have been improperly soldered and could be damaged from large current flow during high-load driving.

Long-time racing journalist Chris Economaki dies

UPDATE: Whoever you are, wherever you are, take a moment to think of Chris Economaki. Make it your personal tribute, however brief, to this grand old man of auto racing journalists because he left us late Thursday, Sept. 27 at age 91, and he left a hole in the motorsports firmament that can never be filled.