HAPPY NEW YEAR - Now get to Los Angeles! West Coast show offers more than a dozen world debuts.(News)

Byline: BOB GRITZINGER, KEVIN A. WILSON

The New Year typically arrives amid a clatter of car stories from Detroit as the auto world gears up for the Motor City's annual early-January auto show/lovefest. This time around there's a distinct rumble from the Los Angeles show, where automakers made more than a dozen world introductions.

Detroit iron led the way, starting with the unveiling of the classic lines of the Ford Mustang convertible we told you about a week ago (Jan. 3). Next up: the production Dodge Magnum SRT-8 wagon, which first appeared in concept form at Los Angeles in 2003. The Chrysler Group's Magnum and Chrysler 300 struck a chord with the American car-buying public in 2004, and Chrysler hopes to keep that momentum going with the Magnum SRT-8 wagon and 300C SRT-8 sedan. The 300 was revealed at Pebble Beach last summer and goes on sale in February as a 2005 model; the Magnum should be available midyear as a 2006 model.

Mechanically, the Magnum SRT-8 is much the same car as the 300C SRT-8, with a 6.1-liter 425-hp Hemi and SRT performance upgrades to brakes and suspension, plus the appropriate interior and exterior trim items. The biggest visual telltale is that an SRT-8 edition wears 20-inch wheels and rides a half-inch lower than the stock Magnum. Add a new front fascia with brake cooling ducts, side skirts and a rear fascia with openings for dual 3.5-inch exhaust tips, and you're dressed appropriately for sporting endeavors, such as a 13-second quarter-mile or a 0-to-100-to-0 exercise in the 16-second range. Pricing is not yet available, but assuming you get a dealer who sells for MSRP (don't pay more!), we're guessing it will turn up in the lower half of the $40,000 range.

General Motors introduced a bevy of new models, including three ...