Daimler recently sealed a technical agreement with Aston Martin that will see Mercedes’ AMG division develop, test and build the potent V8 engine that will power the next-gen Vantage sports car. Additionally, Aston Martin is said to be mulling the launch of a range-topping SUV that will share its basic underpinnings with the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class.

Purchasing Aston Martin from would help expand the technical collaboration by streamlining the process of jointly-developing new platforms that will underpin future Aston- and AMG-badged cars. Aston Martin could also take advantage of Mercedes’ well-developed global dealer network to increase its presence in key markets around the globe, although Daimler has previously made it clear that an Aston Martin with an AMG badge is out of the question for the time being.

A second report speculates Daimler could purchase Aston Martin to return to the top end of the luxury segment that it abandoned when it axed Maybach. If that theory proves true, the rumored GL-based SUV would likely be the first of several premium, passenger-focused products designed to compete against prestigious brands like Bentley and Rolls-Royce.

“This is a fantastic brand, and we are willing to support its further development,” said Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche in an interview with British magazine Autocar.

Aston Martin has not commented on the rumor.

Not surprisingly, the fifth-gen Espace borrows a sizable amount of design cues from the Initiale Paris concept that was presented last year at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Although the concept’s boxy overall shape has been carried over to the production car, it has predictably lost its rear suicide doors and gained a taller roof line.

Interior pictures are not available but expect the next Espace to feature with a well-appointed, high-tech cockpit in order to follow Renault’s upmarket move. Upscale trim levels will come with premium features such as full leather upholstery, a touch screen-based infotainment system with voice command and wood trim on the dashboard.

Power will come from small-displacement gasoline- and diesel-burning engines ranging from approximately 1.4- to 2.0-liters. Entry-level models will be equipped with a six-speed manual transmission, while more expensive variants will gain an automatic unit. Front-wheel drive will be the only configuration available.

More details about the fifth-gen Renault Espace will emerge over the coming months. Though it will initially launch as a five-seater, a long-wheelbase seven-seater model will join the lineup later in the production run.

More details have surfaced regarding Infiniti’s development of a flagship sedan styled after the stunning Essence concept and slated to go head to head against the likes of the Porsche Panamera and Maserati Quattroporte.

The new range topper will dethrone the Q70 (formerly M56) as king of the Infiniti lineup, possibly as the Q80 or Q90, both of which Nissan has trademarked. The new Infiniti flagship will offer performance “that will take the challenge right up to the likes of Panamera and beyond” in the same way the Nissan GT-R offers performance that allows it to “cream” the Porsche 911, an unnamed company insider told Motoring.com.au.

To do so, Infiniti will offer two powertrain options, both twin-turbo hybrid-electrics. The lesser of the two will mate a 3.0-liter direct-injection turbo V6 to a hybrid drivetrain. It will be able to run in purely electric mode for short distances and generate a Panamera Turbo-like 550hp.

For the top-of-the-line option, engineers are working on a new, twin-turbo 3.7-liter V6 hybrid capable of 700hp. Though this might sound suspiciously similar to recent revelations about the next-generation Nissan GT-R, the source says Godzilla’s hand-built 3.8-liter motor is not mass-produceable. The flagship will, however, use the GT-R’s ATTESA all-wheel-drive system, providing it with class-leading performance in the form of a four-second-ish 0-62 time and a top speed in excess of 186 mph.

Officially, Infiniti head honcho Johann de Nysschen has stated he’d “like to see commercialization of the Essence concept towards the back half of the decade,” while Nissan executive vice president Andy Palmer has said, “We won’t do a Merc S-Class or that type of car. We have had that before. We want a flagship car that’s appealing and different.”

This falls in line with Infiniti’s stated goal of being the top luxury performance marque from Asia, rivaling the best Europe has to offer. The flagship sedan is expected to go on sale in 2017 or 2018.

Japanese automakers are raising workers’ wages in their home country for the first time since the global financial crisis in 2008.

The move was prompted by union pleas and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s efforts to battle over 15 years of deflation. According to the Detroit Free Press, the 50,000-plus members of the Toyota Motor Workers’ Union will receive a $26 per month bump in base pay. Factoring in pay increases based on seniority and promotions, Toyota says the average bump will be 2.9 percent per worker. In addition, average bonuses will rise to $24,093, or the equivalent of 6.8 months’ salary.

Nissan, for its part, will raise base pay for its union workers by $35 with bonuses equal to 5.6 months’ salary. Honda will hike wages by $22 and did not comment on bonuses.

Abe has been on an aggressive campaign to weaken the Japanese yen in order to gain a trade advantage, but many of Japan’s trading partners, including the US, are doing the same to their respective currencies. So far, his plan appears to have worked, with the best yen-to-dollar exchange rate since 2009, but which is still below pre-2008 rates. Still, the strategy has helped Toyota add $1.9 billion to its already substantial cash pile.

The wage increase will also help workers offset Japan’s first increase of its national sales tax in 17 years.

Weikinger, the owner of a major solar panel manufacturing company, says he reached the milestone in September of 2009 while driving home from a business trip in Poland but he did not talk to the press about it until recently. He brought a camera on the trip for the sole purpose of taking a picture of the odometer rolling over but he was disappointed to find out the 62 S stayed stuck at 999,999 for the remainder of the drive. The odometer was later reset to zero by his local dealership.

The car was religiously maintained by the Mercedes dealership that sold it new, and service records show the most extensive work performed was replacing the original 6.0-liter V12 engine at 372,000 miles and installing a new transmission shortly after. Weikinger’s own meticulously-kept records reveal he pumped approximately 44,000 gallons of fuel, indicating the limousine returned a rough average of 14 mpg.

Weikinger explains he put an astronomical amount of miles on his car because he would rather drive than fly.