Today’s auto engineers have an incredible task ahead of them, forced to comply with ever-stiffening fuel economy ratings even as customers demand more technology, more safety features, and of course more horsepower. Chrysler’s response has arguably been the slowest among the Big Three, though they’ve got an impressive ace up their sleeve; an eight-speed automatic transmission.

While nothing is official yet, Left Lane News reports that Chrysler/Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne let slip that Dodge Chargers and Chrysler 300 sedans equipped with a V6 and the eight-speed auto will get up to 31 mpg on the highway. More importantly, the R/T V8 models could manage up to 29 mpg highway. A 29 mpg four-door muscle car? God Bless America (and Italy too, we guess.)

The eight-speed transmission from Chrysler has been subject to lots of rumors and speculation, and is expected to make its debut this fall. The Pentastar needs it. It is the only one of the Big Three that has not officially announced any plans for plug-in hybrid or an electric vehicle, even though the fleet fuel economy standards are set to rise to 35 mpg in 2015. That could hurt them in the long run.

Showing its commitment to full-size sedans, the Chrysler ZF eight-speed automatic will reportedly deliver up to 29 mpg on the highway with a HEMI V8 up front, and 31 mpg with the new Pentastar V6. Rumor also has it that all-wheel drive equipped sedans will have a front-wheel decoupling system at highway speeds to help maintain those fuel economy ratings. With eight-speeds to offer, we can give a few over to fuel economy, as long as the new slushbox still puts the HEMI’s torque to the ground.