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Andy Palmer leaves Renault-Nissan to serve as CEO of Aston Martin

Aston Martin has been without a helmsman since Ulrich Bez stepped down from the chief executive office at the end of last year, stepping back to serve as non-executive chairman in a semi-retired ambassadorial capacity. The British automaker, now on the cusp of a new era, has been running without a CEO since, but has now named Bez's replacement in Andy Palmer.
If you don't recognize the name, you should: Palmer has worked under the Renault-Nissan Alliance for decades now, rising through the ranks to become one of the top executives under Carlos Ghosn. Most recently he was serving as executive vice president of the entire group and chairman of the Infiniti brand, but like Carlos Tavares, who recently left Renault to run Peugeot, Palmer is now embarking on a new mission as CEO of Aston Martin.
Once the transition period is complete at the start of October, Palmer's role as Chief Planning Officer at Renault-Nissan will be assumed by Philippe Klein, who steps up from his current role as executive vice president of product planning for Renault. Read the statements from both companies below.

2013 Quail Motorsports Gathering wows with modern masterpieces

Pebble Beach is an outstanding event if you're interested in pre-war classics, but outside of the parking lots, it's a bit light on more modern stuff. The Quail, now in its eleventh year, leans far more towards the present day, and has become one of the must-attend events of the Monterey car week.
Like Pebble, though, it's a highly exclusive affair, with triple-digit ticket prices that usually sell out at the same rate as a Justin Bieber concert. If you're one of the lucky few to hold a pass, though, you'll be rubbing elbows with a who's who of the auto world. One of the highlights of this year's event was the appearance of one Michael Schumacher, who showed up alongside one of his Formula 1 cars. A retrospective was also held on Lamborghini's 50 years of production, as well as another celebration of Aston Martin's centennial. There was also a tribute to the late Martin Swig, one of the co-founders of the California Mille, who passed away last year.
The cars, not surprisingly, were epic. Lamborghini, Pagani, Spyker, Rolls-Royce, BMW, McLaren, Bugatti and Galpin Ford all showed new models to the public for the first time, while there were also appearances by Jim Glickenhaus and his Ferrari P4/5 and P4/5 Competizione, marking the first time the coach-built masterpiece and its racing offspring were shown together. Finally, the Petersen Museum showed off its wears, including the late Steve McQueen's gorgeous Jaguar XK-SS.

Aston Martin and Mercedes-AMG formalize technical partnership

The development of a partnership between Mercedes-Benz and Aston Martin has been a long time coming. The news dates back to 2008, and over the five years since was supposed to lead to a rejuvenation of both the Maybach and Lagonda brands. That program ultimately fell apart, but the tie-in was forged afresh in July when the two automakers signed a letter of intent over a renewed partnership. And now that partnership has been formalized.
In a deal just announced, Mercedes-AMG will build a new V8 engine for Aston Martin that will power a new generation of luxury GTs for the British marque, presumably to replace the 4.7-liter V8 in the Vantage. The relationship appears to be similar to the one already in place between AMG and Pagani, only in this case, will involve Daimler taking as much as a five-percent stake in Aston Martin and an observer seat on Aston's board.
The technical partnership is also set to lead to the supply of electric and electronic systems, and could incorporate "additional areas of cooperation in the future." Whether that will include a fresh attempt at reviving Lagonda remains to be seen, as does the future of Aston's long-serving, Ford-based 6.0-liter V12 engine. But for now you can read the full announcement below.