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Nissan could have bought a stake in Aston Martin as early as 2012

Aston Martin has a very interesting future ahead of it. While the British brand appeared to be struggling with aging tech for a while, fresh investment from Daimler may have shown a light toward the future with the brand getting engines and electronics from them. Also, former Renault-Nissan top exec Andy Palmer has jumped ship from the French/Japanese automaker to become CEO of the much smaller sports car company. Interestingly, though, new reports from unnamed Nissan sources have indicated that Palmer has been pushing to work with AM for years.
Three unnamed company insiders told Reuters that Palmer made attempts to convince Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn in 2012 and 2013 to invest in Aston Martin, but his proposals were shot down both times for unspecified reasons, according to Automotive News. "We looked carefully at the proposal but we passed on it," said one of the sources.
You can easily see why Palmer was eying Aston Martin even back in 2012. It's no secret that the British sports car mavens were in need of extra funding, well before the Daimler investment. Building vehicles these days is only getting more expensive with stronger safety and emissions requirements. Just look at the brand's desperate hope to get a side-impact crash exemption to keep selling its models in the US as an example.

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #379 LIVE!

We're set to record Autoblog Podcast #379 this evening.Check out the topics below, or drop us your questions and comments via our Q&A module. And don't forget to subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so. To take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #379
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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.