Nyppd Throttle Body Spacer: Acura Cl & Tl-p 2001-2003 [black] on 2040-parts.com

Aston Martin to use Mercedes AMG V8 engines (2013)

It’s a new era for Aston Martin: the Gaydon brand has announced today (25 July 2013) that it’s in the early stages of a deal with Mercedes’ in-house tuners AMG, which will allow it to use Mercedes-honed engine and electronics technology. Has Aston Martin sold its soul to the Germans? Not quite – Daimler AG is set to take only a 5% share stake in Aston Martin, sitting alongside majority shareholders Investment Dar and Investindustrial.

Driven: BMW X3

The BMW X3 had the premium CUV market to itself when launched in 2004. Skip forward to the launch of the second generation and not only does the new version have a whole host of competitors for company, it also has to fit around its X1, X5 and X6 siblings. We took the 2011 BMW X3 (known internally as F25) to the Austrian Tyrol and spoke to its exterior designer, Erik Goplen, to find out if it still has the segment covered.

Maybach, or not Maybach? That is the question.

Maybach - off to Gaydon? Actually, whether to keep Maybach on the Daimler life support system is a question that has taxed the brains of many a Mercedes exec,  almost since the Maybach brand got its revival under Mercedes and turned in to a cross between a stretched old S-Class, a Playstation and a glitterball. Because despite the efforts of Mercedes to position the Maybach above the S-Class – and in to competition with Rolls Royce and Bentley – the Maybach has somehow conspired to be less desirable than the S-Class.