Big Gun Rev Box 40-r81 on 2040-parts.com

May sales slide 4 percent on rising fuel prices, tight vehicle supplies

U.S. light vehicle sales dropped 4 percent in May--the first decline since August--as rising gas prices, inventory shortages, higher stickers and economic jitters curbed demand. The pace of sales last month--11.78 million units on an annualized basis--was the year's lowest and marked the first seasonally adjusted total below 12 million units in seven months.

More on Alfa Romeo's rear-drive strategy

The revised Alfa Romeo plan that Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is expected to announce next April focuses on a new, still unnamed rear-wheel- and all-wheel-drive architecture. A key aim of the new plan is to boost Alfa's global presence. "With our current segment coverage and our geographical footprint, we compete in about 5 percent of the global market," Alfa's European boss, Louis-Carl Vignon, said in an interview.

Chrysler to build ZF's eight-speed transmission in Indiana

The Chrysler Group plans to spend $300 million to build a new eight-speed automatic transmission licensed from ZF Group, a transmission maker headquartered in Friedrichshafen, Germany. The investment will pay for installation of special tooling and equipment at Chrysler's Transmission Plant 1 and Kokomo Casting Plant in Indiana and help retain 1,200 jobs there, Chrysler said Wednesday. Production will start in 2013.