1976; "The American love affair with the car hasn't gone away,'' says Ford general manager William Benton. As proof, Ford introduces a "sporty'' version of its Mustang II, the Cobra II.(50th Anniversary countdown)

To kick off this bicentennial year with a patriotic bang, Buick announces it will sell a fuel-efficient German-designed Opel built by Japan's Isuzu starting April 1. Also in Issue One of Autoweek for 1976 is the continuing saga of the transgendered "auto executive'' Liz Carmichael/Jerry Dean Michael, who committed fraud, grand theft and securities violations in the case of the Dale automobile and the Twentieth Century Motor Car Corp. This is not the last we will hear of her/him.

News spawned from the oil crisis includes a story that United Arab Emirates Bedouins are being persuaded that free-range camels are a growing traffic hazard on open desert roads. The solution: Fit 5000 of them with fluorescent warning vests. We can't make this stuff up.

Among cars Autoweek tests: Chrysler/Plymouth Arrow, Toyota Celica Liftback GT, Dodge Aspen, Ford Thunderbird and Fiesta, Aston Martin V8, Dodge Colt, Mercedes-Benz 280E and 450 SEL 6.9.

Come back, good buddy: California Chrysler dealers offer three different CB radios in new cars. Ford dealers follow, 10-4. The craze has gotten so big that AW creates the "1976 Guide to CB Radios'' . . . as if there will be a 1977 edition.

Stick-and-ball fans are stunned to find some of their TV time on CBS consumed by all 16 Grand Prix races for 1976.

Mercedes-Benz builds its 1-millionth diesel engine since production began in 1949. Datsun's milestone number is 5 million, the number of vehicles it has exported worldwide since 1941.

Ford recalls 185,000 Capris, vintage 1971-73, with wiper-blade problems. At issue is that the wiper motor can throw the wiper arm and blade clean from the car. "In inclement weather, driver vision can be impaired,'' the insightful government report acknowledges.