Vintage Bakelite Shift Knob Harley Knucklehead Panhead Flathead on 2040-parts.com

Chrysler's high-stakes 'no' to NHTSA

DETROIT -- For 17 years, automakers have complied with every request for a recall, no matter how costly, from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And then last week, in a startling decision, Chrysler Group said no. It refused a request from NHTSA to recall 2.7 million 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees and 2002-07 Libertys for an alleged fire risk caused by fuel tanks mounted behind the rear axle.

The case of the disappearing Lambos

Now this should have rung an alarm bell or two at the time, but it seems it didn’t. Back in November the world’s largest Lamborghini dealership – Lamborghini Orange County – turned up its toes and closed the doors, apparently a victim of the downturn in car sales. Not the oddest story in these times admittedly, but a bit odd when you consider that Lamborghini OC was reckoned to be responsible for 10% of Lamborghini’s sales worldwide, shifting around 240 cars a year.

Sharapova Porsche vs. Beckham Range Rover

Former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham was the first person that came to mind after we heard on Monday that Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova was getting her own version of the Porsche Panamera GTS. Beckham was appointed creative design executive for Range Rover in 2012 and helped with the Evoque Special Edition with Victoria Beckham. (Sharapova is also a former Landy shill.