Viper Sales Are Fine Says Ralph Gilles

There have been many stories recently about the Viper not selling as planned, about production being scaled back, that the Corvette was stealing sales. It turns out that the issue is not poor sales but poor planning. Apparently, people who spend $130,000 on a car have the nerve to insist on the options that they want. Whew! See the story at Jalopnik.

2014-SRT-Viper-side

1969 Road Runner Post Car on Craigslist

Street Legal TV discovered this 1969 Road Runner coupe on Craigslist. Originally a triple black car, it received an orange paint job that didn’t seem to hold up very well. The result is pretty unique. While not really a rare car (with production numbers for the coupe of 33,743), a 383 in a post car (referring to the B pillar) is a perfect example of what Plymouth envisioned for the Road Runner; fast, light and inexpensive. It sure would look nice in black again with steelies and dog dish hubcaps. See it at Street Legal TV. More pics after the jump!

1969-Plymouth-Roadrunner-3qtr

Continue reading

Reader’s Rides: Gregory Torfin’s 1970 Dodge Challenger

Well, we’ve shown you Gregory’s 2008 SRT8 Challenger. We’ve also shown you his wife’s turbo Wrangler. Well, he’s added another Mopar to the collection: a beautiful orange 1970 Dodge Challenger. Here are the specs from Gregory:

1970 Dodge Challenger Factory AC
– PPG OSO Orange
– 340 Based 408 Stroker
– Edelbrock RPM Heads and Intake
– Full Roller CAM and Heads
– MSD AL6 Box and Pro Billet Distributor
– Holley 750 DB 4160 modded to 4150
– TTI Long Tube Headers
– A833 4 Speed with Hurst Pistol Grip
– 8 ¾ Rear with 3.91 Sure Grip

Looks like someone is living the dream! More pics plus video after the jump!

1970-Dodge-Challenger-orange-1

Continue reading

1994 Viper with 504 Miles on eBay

Are you a huge fan of the first generation Viper RT/10 but you’ve been kicking yourself for not buying one when available between 1992 and 1995? Well today’s your lucky day! Behold a 1994 Viper with only 504 miles. There’s no story as to how the car survived almost 20 years without being driven but it was probably purchased new by a speculator. If so, that plan may not have worked out as it’s listed for $37,500. A new Viper RT/10 in 1994 was priced at $56,600. So, do you drive and enjoy it or, at this point, put it on a mantel? See the article at CarScoops and the original eBay listing. More pics after the jump!

1994-Dodge-Viper-3qtr

Continue reading

The Dodge Brothers Notebooks

Horace and John Dodge were a substantial reason for the success of Henry Ford’s new car company from 1903 to 1914. They then broke ties with ol’ Henry to start their own car company. Amazingly, the three original, mostly handwritten, notebooks that they filled with everything they needed to know about starting an automobile company from the ground up still exist today! Housed in the National Automotive History Collection of the Detroit Public Library, they provide amazing insight into the birth of Dodge, just shy of 100 years ago. Read the very cool story at The Truth About Cars.

Dodge-Brothers-Notebook

Ralph Gilles Discusses the 2014 Viper TA with Adam Corolla

SRT CEO Ralph Gilles discusses the 2014 Viper TA with Adam Corolla. The specs include; 3390 lbs, two mode suspension, bigger Bembo brakes, active aero devices generating an additional 600 lbs of down force and 355 rear meats. Per Ralph,“The new 2014 SRT Viper TA is being engineering for the dedicated track enthusiast, who still wants to drive to the track and take their hobby to the next level. Our engineers revised the suspension settings to refocus the Viper specifically for track duty, using a blend of components from the GTS and the SRT models, add in the extensively developed aero package and the new Time Attack package is born.” See more at Allpar. Video after the jump!

Adam-Carolla-Ralph-Gilles-Viper

Continue reading

Ram 1500 EcoDiesel MPG Testing

Fuel economy has taken a bit of a back seat in the last few years in the full-size pickup market, with each manufacturer trying to one-up one another with ever higher horsepower, payload and towing numbers. The first fuel economy salvo was fired by Ford with their 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 EcoBoost in their F-150. There were skeptics until it proved to be a big seller. Never one to simply follow, Ram’s response was a return to the diesel. Motor Trend put the new Ram to the mileage test and the results seem to back up Ram’s reasoning. See the entire test at Motor Trend.

2014-Ram-1500-EcoDiesel