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Industry pulse: NHTSA administrator David Strickland talks distracted driving

Editor's note: In an exclusive interview with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administrator David Strickland, Melanie Batenchuk of Be Car Chic asked about distracted driving and the agency's combined efforts with the Department of Transportation to curb this bad behavior. David Strickland has been championing safer, distraction-free driving since the beginning of his tenure at NHTSA in January 2010. Strickland has been working tirelessly toward this goal alongside stakeholders such as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, private-sector executives, automobile manufacturers and safety advocacy groups.

Lexus LS 600h Landaulet – a definite one-off

Lexus LS 600h Landaulet - fit for a Prince If this had been Audi you’d have expected that a Landaulet would be their next niche model. But thankfully this is Lexus, so they’ve just made a one-off Lexus LS 600h Landaulet to ferry Prince Albert of Monaco around at his upcoming nuptials, rather than using it to herald many more Landaulet models to come. Now if you’re going to be ferried around in anything – as opposed to driving it yourself – cars for the purpose actually don’t come a lot better than a Lexus LS 600h.

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.