Skidoo Bombardier Summit 583 1996 Cylinder Head on 2040-parts.com

Chrysler readies new-product binge

Chrysler Group dealers, starving for new products, will get a banquet of nameplates in three years--a startling change for a company that narrowly missed going out of business. Up to 25 models will be vying for customers' attention in 2013, when new, Fiat-based models are scheduled to arrive. The automaker now has 17 nameplates.

GM delays second shift at Volt plant

General Motors is delaying the addition of a second shift at its Michigan assembly plant that makes the Chevrolet Volt. In May, GM said that it would add a second shift at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant by late this fall to double Volt production. Instead, a plant overhaul completed this summer, along with a more-modest addition of workers, will allow GM to double production starting early next year while remaining on one shift, the company said Friday.

1984 Ford Mustang SVO: American metal, European performance

If the 1978 Ford Mustang King Cobra II isn't quite your thing, why not give the 1984 Ford Mustang SVO a try? In the Jan. 3, 1983, issue of Autoweek, we previewed a different take on the pony car -- one that promised "visual subtlety with unsubtle performance." Built on the Fox platform, the Mustang SVO (for "Special Vehicle Operations") wasn't supposed to be a flashy package for the wannabe racer -- it was designed from the ground up to be a balanced road car, "a state-of-the-art performance vehicle for the absolutely no-compromises performance buyer." And when we say "ground up," we mean it.