The Camaro has been a huge hit for Chevrolet and today the company made several announcements relating to the heavily anticipated Camaro ZL1. Chevy said that the ZL1′s monster engine will be rated at 580 horsepower and that the base price of the vehicle will be $54,995. It’s quite a vehicle to introduce as Chevy celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. The new ZL1 coupe is a 2012 model that will go on sale early next year.

The Camaro ZL1 features a supercharged 6.2L engine that makes it the most powerful production Camaro ever. The ZL1 goes from 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds and hits a top speed of 184 miles per hour! It also features a Performance Traction Management system that helps this beast hug the corners.

Chevy will also introduce a ZL1 convertible as a 2013 model that they featured at an event ahead of the 2011 LA Auto Show and Bullz-Eye was on hand to snap some photos of this beautiful vehicle as you can see in the slideshow above. Anyone who appreciates convertibles will love this vehicle.

Check out the full gallery!

This week at the Los Angeles International Auto Show, Infiniti will debut the 7-passenger/3-row luxury crossover, the 2013 Infiniti JX. Infiniti will also debut the 2013 IPL G Convertible, joining the Infiniti Performance Line Portfolio and we have some of the first media for you right here at DashBoardNews. This sleek new offering from Infiniti takes 7 passenger seating crossovers into new territory when it comes to design and luxury appointments. Take a look or yourself!

November 16-17, at the Los Angeles Auto Show, one of the most anticipated cars of 2012 will debut. The Fiat 500 Abarth. Yes, you read that right. The Abarth is not a V8, RWD sports coupe or a trillion horsepower, billion dollar supercar, but the sporting version of the Fiat 500.

Powered by a turbocharged 4 cylinder engine, the Abarth should produce around 180hp, 10 more horsepower than the European version. Also, it only weighs around 2300 pounds, and will probably get close to 40mpg on the highway. This isn’t just eating your cake and having it too, it’s like eating the whole bakery and looking like Brad Pitt.

Not to mention, the Abarth name is steeped in racing history. Founded in the 1950s, Abarth started as an unofficial tuner for Fiats. However, they slowly began to be incorporated into the company to modify cars officially, and organize Fiat’s racing activities, from sports car racing to rallying. For reference, the M badge for BMW has only been around since the 1980s.

After its debut, the Abarth should be on showroom floors the first half of 2012. In these times of austerity, the Fiat 500 Abarth is a battle ax of fun to cleave through the continuing stream of boring cars.

You can view the rest of this story here.

Stay tuned to Dashboard News since this car will be among others in a post outlining the upcoming Italian automotive renaissance in the U.S.

With the upcoming launch of the Fiat 500 we now have the first Fiat television commercial in the U.S. since the early 1980’s. Things have been moving quickly at Fiat/Chrysler for the past 18 months which makes it hard to believe the Fiat 500 is actually ready to hit the ground. DashBoardNews and Bullz-Eye.com had a chance to view the car at the L.A. Auto Show and eagerly await an opportunity to drive the Fiat 500!

The pony car wars are heating up! The Camaro has been outselling the Mustang recently, but the new 2011 Mustang will be getting a nice engine upgrade from Ford’s Brook Park plant in Ohio.

Ford Motor Co. will make a new 3.7-liter V-6 engine for the popular Mustang sports car at Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1 in Brook Park next year, replacing an engine built in Germany.

The new engine, similar to one built in Lima for use in the Lincoln MKS luxury car, should go into production next year to be ready for 2011 Mustang production, said Mark Payne, vice president of the United Auto Workers Local 1250 in Brook Park.

Ford says the new engine will be more fuel-efficient and more powerful than the 4-liter V-6 it replaces. That engine, built in Cologne, Germany, produces 210 horsepower and gets 26 mpg on the highway. The upcoming 3.7-liter engine produces 305 horsepower and should get up to 30 mpg on the highway. Those power numbers are only a little bit shy of the 4.6-liter V-8 now offered in the Mustang.

“Mustang is completely transformed with this new engine,” Ford product development chief Derrick Kuzak said in a news release. “Everything people love about the car is still there, and now under the hood is a V-6 engine that uses premium technology to deliver the power, the feel, the fuel efficiency, even the sound of the best sports coupes in the world.”

Ford will showcase the 2011 Mustang this week at the Los Angeles Auto Show.