Mercury 90hp Lower Unit on 2040-parts.com

Fiat makes bid to buy Opel

The proposed partnership between Fiat and Chrysler has been thrown into a tailspin with revelations that the Italian carmaker has made a secret offer to purchase a majority stake in Opel. Klaus Franz, chairman of Opel's works council, on Thursday confirmed Fiat's interest in a takeover of General Motors' European subsidiary, suggesting that officials have cleared the way for the signing of a letter of intent as early as April 28. Opel has been in talks with parts supplier Magna International on a possible partnership over the past month.

Recalls and stop-sale orders leave GM cars sidelined at dealers

Memorial Day weekend is one of the busiest times of the year for car dealers around the country, but the recent spate of recalls and stop-sale orders for GM vehicles will be putting the brakes on a lot of potential sales. Specifically, Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC dealers will be unable to deliver tens of thousands of large SUVs and crossovers, a segment that has seen a lot of demand in recent months because of unavailable parts for recalled cars, Automotive News reports. When it comes to large crossovers, the recall of 1.3 million examples of the GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave, and Chevrolet Traverse vehicles from the 2009-2014 model years is likely to hit dealers hard.

Mystery Porsche prototype destroyed in fire near Stuttgart

According to the Porsche-lovers at flatsixes.com, an unknown Porsche prototype caught fire after being taken home by an employee earlier this week. It reportedly took 19 firefighters to extinguish the blaze, which occurred in a home garage in Ludwigsburg, Germany (a city located near Porsche's home in Stuttgart). Fortunately, the employee and his wife suffered only minor injuries, but we assume the prototype is a complete loss.