AUTOS: Two for the Road

As General Motors last week rolled out its 1957 Chevrolet, the big news was hidden under the hood. Chevy is the first U.S. automaker to bring out a fuel-injection engine for standard production-line cars. It is a 283-h.p: V-8 engine, turning up nearly 60 h.p. more than last year's most powerful Chevy engine. It will be standard equipment on Chevrolet's Corvette sports car and optional (estimated at $190 extra cost) on every other model. Instead of using a carburetor, the fuel-injection system shoots gasoline and air directly into each cylinder, thus gives faster cold-weather starts, quicker warmups, and better fuel economy.

Even without fuel injection, Chevy buyers will get plenty of snap in 1957. The company will offer no less than seven other engines, from a 140-h.p., six-cylinder model up to a 270-h.p. V-8 just a notch below the Corvette fuel-injection special. Another engineering change: a new "turbodrive" transmission for cars with the big engine, which combines a triple turbine and variable blades (like Buick's Dynaflow) for speedier getaway and better highway mileage. On bodies, Chevy spent some $50 million for a facelift: a new grille; higher, more sharply swept tail fins; a splashier chrome-and-paint treatment for the side panels. The new cars will cost more. Prices will be from $50 to $166 more per car depending on the model.

American Motors also got into the auto race this week with the 1957 Rambler, which it hopes will pull it out of the financial red next year. Like the Chevrolet, the new Rambler, completely redesigned in 1956, is getting only a face-lift this year. Main improvement: a more conservative rear-body treatment to de-emphasize the car's boxy appearance. The Rambler will give buyers a choice of three engines, ranging from a standard 125-h.p., six-cylinder model to its first V-8 engine, rated at 190 h.p. Introducing the new Rambler, American Motors President George Romney said that his company can break even with sales of only 25,000 more cars in 1957's model year than in 1956, or a total of 150,000.