Quicksilver/mercury Alternater 8m6007508 on 2040-parts.com

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.

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.

Celebrating the Bugatti clan at the Mullin Museum

Legend holds that Ettore Bugatti was at dinner with some of his wealthiest clients when an aristocratic lady -- who already owned numerous Bugattis -- lamented, "I want to buy another Bugatti…but I want the most luxurious car in the world. Too bad I have to buy a Rolls-Royce or a Hispano-Suiza." Ettore nodded politely, in that insouciant way that temperamental geniuses do in order to distance their own reactions, excused himself after dinner, ran to his hotel room, and drew what would become the Type 41 Royale -- the most astonishing, dramatic, expensive luxury car in the world. True to the name of the recent crop of limited-edition Veyron SuperSports (and what Veyron isn't a limited edition?), Bugatti traffics in legend.