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Italian firm buys stake in Aston Martin

The former owner of Italian motorcycle maker Ducati has bought a 37.5-percent stake in financially strapped British car maker Aston Martin. The move means future Astons could use modern drivelines and electric architectures from Mercedes-Benz's AMG division, insiders with knowledge of the deal suggest. Private equity fund Investindustrial has signed a memorandum of understanding with current Aston Martin owner Investment Dar of Kuwait that will see it pay $240 million (150 million pounds) for the ownership stake.

State Farm releases Driver Feedback app

Accelerometers aren't just for the autocross geeks who want to see whether they threw more than 1.0 lateral g's on their last apex. These gadgets have made their way to the iPhone. State Farm is releasing its Driver Feedback app, which uses the iPhone's high-tech guts (accelerometer, gyroscope and digital compass) to measure driving habits such as smoothness or aggressiveness during acceleration, frequency and abruptness of braking and how hard you take corners (ahem, BMW owners).

Official: New Corvette Stingray turns 12-second quarter-mile

The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray with an available performance package has been rated as the best performing standard Corvette to date. The 2014 Vette with the performance-exhaust system can make the 0-60 sprint in 3.8 seconds. Braking from 60-0 mph takes just 107 feet, and the Stingray can sustain 1.03g in cornering.