Carlson H5051 Brake Caliper Bolt/pin, Front on 2040-parts.com

Chrysler scraps paper owner’s manuals, shifts to DVDs

Chrysler Group is replacing its traditional owner’s manuals with DVDs and an abridged printed guide in an effort to reduce costs and save 930 tons of paper annually. Chrysler will see “substantial savings” from the shift away from paper manuals, which often had more than 500 pages, spokesman Bryan Zvibleman said. He declined to say how much will be saved by the change, which is taking effect with 2010 models.

Is this supercharged V8 destined for the Corvette ZR1?

This is a big week for spy shots, and apparently a friend of a friend of a “friend” snapped this little ditty of what could be the motor of the next Z06, or ZR1. Corvette Online nabbed the shot of a supercharged LT1-looking V8 mill; they cite the injector cover shape and the throttle body. The site also noted the twin-rotor supercharger with an LSA/LS9-style pulley on the front.

Porsche and Mercedes-Benz proposals for China Family Car Project explored

Today's Chinese car industry is barely recognizable from that of 20 years ago, and the country is now the biggest market in the world. But in 1994, when the industry was still in its relative infancy, the Chinese government launched the 'China Family Car Project', inviting 20 major Western carmakers to develop proposals for a five-seat, cheap and environmentally-friendly family car for the Chinese market. The chosen proposal would be made in China under a joint venture with First Auto Works (FAW).