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Shelby Cobra, Mercedes 300SL and 1947 Woodie from Petersen Museum headed to auction

The changes happening at the Petersen Museum have been making the rounds in major press, but it probably won't be until August 18, during Pebble Beach, when we get the full story on what's happening; that's where and when museum reps plan on announcing the way forward for the SoCal institution. In the meantime, the museum is still reorganizing its collection, and that means auctioning some of its showpieces at this weekend's Auctions America event in Burbank.
Three of the stars are a 1964 Shelby Cobra 289, one of less than 20 produced with a three-speed C-4 automatic transmission, a 1960 Mercedes-Benz 300SL owned by actor Robert Stack and the last 1948 Ford Sportsman 'Woodie' ever produced. The Cobra, now restored to its original white exterior and red leather interior, was a factory demonstrator that first sold for $5,250. Showing just 38,950 miles on the odometer, its pre-sale estimate is $800,000 to $1 million.
The 300SL is actually a 1957 model but wasn't titled until Robert Stack took possession in 1960. The lead actor in the The Untouchables TV series used to drive by the Sunset Boulevard Mercedes dealership to ogle the car, but couldn't justify spending the money to buy it. When he and the producer of The Untouchables won Emmys for the show, the producer, who happened to be Desi Arnaz, bought the car for Stack. He owned it his whole life, it has been left as Stack drove it and still bears the California license plate "UNTCHBL."

Barrett-Jackson 2014: First production 2015 Ford Mustang earns $300k for JDRF [w/video]

We've almost become immune to the huge dollar amounts that collectible cars earn for charity at Barrett-Jackson. To wit, $300,000 for the first production 2015 Ford Mustang initially didn't seem like very much money. In reality, though, it's probably about 10 times the actual asking price for the car, and we're pleased to report that 100 percent of the proceeds will go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
According to Ford, the car's winning bidder will get to "choose a fastback with manual or automatic transmission, and any interior, exterior and stripe color combination offered by Ford on the all-new Mustang." Power will come from a slightly revised version of the well-known 5.0-liter V8 engine that will produce "more than 420hp and 396 pound-feet of torque."
We snapped live images of the 2015 Mustang prototype that Ford had on display here at Barrett-Jackson, and you can check them out above. The official auction description, along with a video of the auction as it happened live, is below.

Amid Mulally rumors, Bill Ford praises company's deep bench

Bill Ford went on the offensive to combat the rumors that CEO Alan Mulally would leave Dearborn for Steve Ballmer's vacated position leading Microsoft, adding that even if the 68-year-old, former Boeing exec were to depart, the Ford executive team is in a good place.
"I'm happy [Mulally] is going to stick around. But we also feel really good about where we are in terms of succession," Ford told Bloomberg TV, according to Automotive News. Rumors first cropped up about Mulally leaving Ford when AllThingsD speculated that he was in the running, early last month. In that same report, which you can read here, Ford's board of directors reportedly okayed the CEO stepping down ahead of his planned retirement in 2014.
That opened the floodgates, culminating in a report from a few days ago that the rumors over Ballmer's successor just might be true. The story is especially troubling, as Ford hasn't had Mulally under contract, according to AN. "He's here as long as he and I would like it to happen," Ford said, "We're also cognizant of training the next generation and getting them ready to go as well."