Remember this chromed Buick Regal? At the time of publication, we said there were some cars that looked better in chrome than others, and this is what we had in mind.

A specialist aftermarket firm called GT Guy LLC solicited the talents of Camilo Pardo – the designer of the Ford GT – to make the one-of-a-kind supercar you see here. To make Merkury 4, the team started with a solid red Ford GT and gave it a Mirrachrome paint job with a black-bordered fluorescent orange stripe. Then they tweaked the supercharger to deliver a whopping 725 horsepower to the rear wheel. They painted the valve covers, smoothed out the clamshell intakes behind the doors, fitted ceramic-coated pipes, bolted on a fresh set of HRE wheels wearing Michelin rubber and more.

The result, as you can see from the photos in the gallery, is quite stunning – as if the stock Ford GT wasn’t already a looker on its own.

Not to be outdone by its competitors from Ingolstadt, Mercedes-Benz brought out its own vision of the future of interiors, finish with augmented reality, a fully customizable dashboard and gesture-based controls. There’s not a knob or push button to be found…

The video after the jump demonstrates the Dynamic & Intuitive Control Experience (DICE) far better than words can convey, but the basic elements are these: a series of proximity sensors detect hand motions across the interior, allowing you to scroll, select and control a variety of functions. The highlights include the power to get information around the businesses and sights around you, link with friends nearby and control entirely the standard music and navigation functionality you’d expect in a high-end ride. But it’s not without its issues.

The major problem is there’s no way for the system to detect if you’re motioning or just have your hand out, and making matters worse is the poor definition of exactly where your hands and arms should be to take control of specific elements. But Mercedes has time to work out the kinks – one exec admitted that a production version is at least 20 years out.

BMW is expanding its operations in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The company has proclaimed it will invest $ 990 million into the facility over the next three years to permit the plant to produce up to 350,000 vehicles annually. Currently, the Spartanburg gathering plant produces the BMW X3 (pictured), X5 and X6, and BMW says the company expects to see an increase in CUV demand in the coming years. BMW has already committed to broadening its presence in the crossover market with the introduction of the upcoming X4 model.

The BMW X3 helped BMW grow to turn the best-selling luxury brand in the United States for the first time in the company’s history last year. The model saw a 156 percent increase in global sales to a total of 117,944 units, and 27,793 of those found homes in the States.

Right now, 70 percent of the vehicles reinforced in Spartanburg are exported to other markets around the world. Last year, the facility reinforced 276,065 vehicles, which marks an increase of 73 percent over 2010. The plant originally opened in 1994, and the German automaker is currently celebrating the 2 millionth vehicle produced since then. Hit the jump for the full press release.