Needle Bearings 29-20063 on 2040-parts.com

John Hennessey unwinds modified Chevy SS

Perhaps it's not as impressive as John Hennessey's recent 200mph blast down Houston's new Grand Parkway in a warmed-up Stingray, but we figured we'd show you his latest run down the same road in a Chevrolet SS equipped with his company's HPE600 Supercharged package. Thanks to GM's engineers, the four-door hits its top speed of 163 in 5th, rather than 6th, but what impressed us the most was watching the numbers climb on the VBOX — the car pulls John-Bonham-hard all the way up to its top speed. Hennessey hasn't released details of the mods performed on the SS yet, but we're anxious to see what this anodyne-looking monster will do on the top end once the gearing nag's sent off to the glue factory.

Doomed Saturns, Hummers make assembly-line curtain calls

Two doomed General Motors brands--Saturn and Hummer--are getting their last hurrahs on the assembly line. GM assembled 1,037 Saturn Outlooks last month after not making any Saturns since October. “We are building out a few Saturns to utilize existing material,” GM spokeswoman Kim Carpenter said.

Petersen museum executive director to retire

The executive director of the Petersen Automotive Museum is retiring after a 12-year-run at the helm of one of the nation's preeminent car collections. Richard Messer is stepping down to concentrate on other business interests. He will be replaced by Buddy Pepp on June 15.