Responding to all those nasty rumors about Fiat killing Dodge, Ralph Gilles told a bunch of Viper Club members in Europe that “Dodge is here to stay! It may get more focused going forward but not killed!” Thank you Ralph, now we can all sleep better! Via Autoblog
Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is in a big fight with the Italian government and Italian labor unions. He wants to build 11 new high-end Alfa Romeo and Maseratis, but strict Italian labor laws are making it very difficult to do it profitably in Italy. So Marchionne is threatening to move production elsewhere:
“The relaunch of Alfa Romeo will continue for sure,” Marchionne said. “Italy should decide if they want it to happen here or not as Fiat and Chrysler have several alternatives.”
Hey, why not build them in the US? Right now Fiat relies on Chrysler for profitability. Chrysler already builds the Alfa-based Dart in Belvidere, Illinois. And the US builds some of the highest quality vehicles in the world, which is something Fiat needs if they want to compete with the Germans:
“The only weapon we have is to get a slice of the high-end market, which we haven’t been able to tackle in the past because of laziness or inability — leaving our German friends alone,” Marchionne said. “We want to disturb the idyllic environment they’ve created for themselves.”
I don’t know about you but I’d love to drive a US-built Alfa Romeo. Maybe one with a Hemi? Via Bloomberg
This is pretty clearly a Belvedere and not a GTX since it’s a bench seat/column shift car. And there is some speculation that it is actually the same car that was used in Joe Dirt. Anyway, the poor Mopar takes a hell of a beating in Tommy Boy. There’s a great compilation of all the scenes with the GTX in the movie after the jump!
It’s refreshing to see an E-body convertible with its original small block drivetrain. This purple 4-speed 318 car is all numbers matching, restored about 12 years ago. It’s one of just 78 convertibles made with this engine and tranny combo in 1970. Great pics from its current home in Boca Raton, Florida.
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More pics after the jump!
Lets see, this Plymouth B-body has a a GTX deck lid panel, Road Runners on the doors and… Super Bee stripes???? (Not to mention the dreaded Chevy black spray bomb engine bay.) The guys at Moparts are calling it a “Bee-T-X.” Cool car, though, so the $11,500 asking price doesn’t seem totally unreasonable. Someone should get it and take it to a good therapist ASAP. More pics plus text from the Craigslist ad after the jump!
Not sure this is Mopar news, exactly, but it’s some pretty creative adverting from Fiat. I guess this is the Fiat version of a muscle car. Video on the making of the ad after the jump!
Ram just announced the arrival of the new “Black Express” model for 2013, which they are calling the “‘baddest-looking’ factory-built truck on the market.” Pretty much everything on this bad boy is black, from the 20 inch wheels to the black front fascia and black grille surround with black hex-link inserts, all the way to the black rear bumper. All body-side badging has been removed for a clean, menacing look. The Black Express is powered by a 5.7-liter Hemi producing 395 horsepower and 410 lb.-ft. of torque. Pricing starts at $26,955, plus the usual $1,095 destination charge. One more pic after the jump, plus the full press release from Ram.
Although this Daytona has a spotty race history with a bunch of DNFs, it is also the first car to do a lap at NASCAR at over 200 MPH (with famed driver Buddy Baker behind the wheel). And it did score first place at the Darlington Southern 500, again with Buddy driving. I don’t see a price listed, but Bob Severin posted on our Facebook page that it’s listed at Canepa in Scotts Valley, Califonia for $850,000. It’s also totally unrestored, which is super cool. More pics after the jump!
Check out William’s beautiful 4-speed Dart GTS out of Leesburg, Virginia. Here’s the word from William:
I have had the car for five years. The car was done when I got it. I have had two other 1969s–one back in high school which was a 1969 Swinger with a 273 hi-pro in it. The second we did a build with a 383 in it but builds are so time consuming so I was looking for one done to start driving and enjoying. Wish I had picture from last year car was setting on 50 yard line at Washington Redskin training camp. Sold a 1969 Chevy Nova and 1970 Chevelle 454 to get this one. Great move on my part car will never leave my hands. The car will sit and rust before kids even get it.
This was originally a 383 car but now has a 440 bored to 492. It has a hydraulic clutch and stainless steel exhaust. See more pics after the jump!
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If you like beer and Mopars it probably doesn’t get a whole lot better than this! More at BreckBrew.com Via Moparts
