Universal Joint Strap Kit Rear/front Precision Joints 331-10 on 2040-parts.com

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.

Honda Ridgeline may be near the end of the line

Honda is likely to kill the poor-selling Ridgeline unibody pickup after the 2011 model year. "There will be a model-year 2011 Honda Ridgeline but we haven't announced anything beyond that," Honda spokeswoman Christina Ra said. The Ridgeline was introduced in 2005, sharing some chassis components with the Acura MDX SUV.

Nissan and Fiat marketing heads trade insults over 'visual pollution'

A war of words has erupted between Fiat and Nissan's marketing departments over their electric vehicle designs, the Leaf and the 500e. Matt Davis, head of Fiat product marketing, told Bloomberg News before the launch of its all-electric 500e at the Los Angeles show last week that "ugliness is probably one of the worst forms of pollution," seen as an indirect attack on Nissan's electric offering. The then 500e came under attack with Nissan criticizing the fact that it was created only to meet Californian emissions requirements.