Peterbilt Wood Grain Steering Wheel on 2040-parts.com

Toyota gives paralyzed bride a mobility van

In the 14 months after bride-to-be Rachelle Friedman took a paralyzing fall at her bachelorette party, she'd become pretty dependent on her wheelchair-accessible loaner van. Little did she know that Toyota planned to hand one over as a gift for her wedding--postponed until this week in Raleigh, N.C. Toyota and Braun--a manufacturer for wheelchair-accessible van conversions--had lent Friedman and her fianc

Mopar salutes Don Garlits and muscle-car past as it eyes global future

Mopar made its name in performance and parts, but Chrysler's aftermarket division is staking its future on practicality. The brand celebrated its 75th anniversary on Tuesday at the Mopar engineering lab in Center Line, Mich., just north of Detroit. While it rolled out four custom cars with various stages of show-and-go upgrades and drag-racing legend Don Garlits, Mopar officials were decidedly forward-looking.

Sebring swap: Chrysler will call its 2011 sedan the 200

The Chrysler Sebring will get a fresh start late this year as it relaunches with a new name, the 200, and considerable upgrades to the engines, sheetmetal and interior. The 200 gets a new grille with a prominent Chrysler badge, new fascia front and rear, projector headlamps and fog lamps and LED taillights. The new engines to be offered are Chrysler's Pentastar V6 that will make 283 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque, which is slightly detuned from its uses in the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Charger, and a 2.4-liter four-cylinder from Fiat's global engine bin.