Rare Vintage Kentucky License Plates Sample~seldom Seen~two Extra Nice Plates~ on 2040-parts.com

Nismo enters a new era

Nissan made Nismo its exclusive performance car and motorsports brand at its new global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. CEO Carlos Ghosn declared the building open at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday. Even though Nismo has been tuning cars for Nissan for almost 50 years, its first true production car didn't hit the streets until the Nissan Skyline 2000GT.

2013 Mercedes-Benz GL63 AMG packs 550 hp

Mercedes-Benz is adding a fire-breathing AMG variant of the GL sport-utility vehicle for the first time for 2013. The people hauler will pack a biturbo 5.5-liter V8 rated at 550 hp and 560 lb-ft of torque. Code-named M157, it's capable of propelling the ute to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds en route to an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph.

CES: Cranking up Harman's QuantumLogic 3D surround-sound system

Yesterday we reported how Audi was readying a lavish 3D sound experience with 23 speakers and 1,400 watts of goosebump-inducing audio power. Not to be outdone, Harman had been quietly developing a system of its own: Quantum Logic 3D brings together 25 speakers and more than 2,000 watts of Tubthumping power to a new car near you, like driving inside Phil Spector's Wall of Sound. Sitting inside the demonstration BMW 7-Series that Harman painstakingly lifted into the Studio at the Palms, Global Audio Engineering vice president Phil Muzio explained, "great music is delivered in stereo, yet our consumer research indicates that people enjoy surround sound." QuantumLogic 3D's surround sound expands beyond the boundaries of the vehicle's cabin, providing "a sense of detail and spatial placement that you don't get in stereo." Five height component speakers mounted in the corners of the headliner, and above the rearview mirror, elevates audio beyond the confines of the roof, "almost like you're in a convertible," said Muzio.