Mopar celebrates 50th anniversary of Gen II 426 Hemi

Since its introduction into NASCAR in the 1960s, the 426 Hemi has been a popular powerplant for power-hungry customers across the Mopar spectrum. The 426 cubic-inch brute dwelled under the sheetmetal hoods of cars like the Dodge Coronet, Plymouth GTA, Plymouth Road Runner and even the Plymouth Barracuda. Latest generations of the 426 feature an aluminum block, two-piece rear main seal and a four-bolt main.

Ssangyong relaunches brand with Giugiaro-designed Korando

Korean brand Ssangyong is back from the dead. After looking odds-on favorite to become another automotive casualty of the global recession after Chinese owner SAIC put it into receivership in early 2009, the 4x4 specialist has found a new owner in 2010 – signing a memorandum of understanding with Indian company Mahindra & Mahindra in August – and has just re-launched its brand with a new car designed by Giugiaro. The fourth-generation Korando mid-sized crossover – prefaced by the C200 concept shown at the April 2009 Seoul motorshow – is due on sale in January 2011 pending the expected completion of the Mahindra deal in November this year.

Hyundai Elantra

Hyundai is set to add another vehicle to its list of successes: the new Elantra, which was revealed at the LA auto show this year. Created by principal designer Cedric d'Andre, the Elantra was the last car conceived under the direction of Hyundai's former design boss, Joel Piaskowski. The new car shares the 'fluidic sculpture' design theme of its larger sibling, the Sonata and has an impressively low 0.28Cd.