03' Chevrolet Monte Carlo Ss Jeff Gordon Signature Edition Limited Production! on 2040-cars

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Subprime financing on the rise in new car sales, leasing too

We all remember the financial crisis that began several years back. At its core was a splurge of subprime lending for housing loans. The housing bubble burst, triggering a collapse of the mortgage-backed securities market. Apparently, those types of loans still exist in the automotive industry, and the market share for these types of "nonprime, subprime, and deep subprime," loans has grown 13.6 percent compared to the third quarter a year ago.
According to an Automotive News report, high-risk lending expanded to 24.8 percent of total loans in Q3, up from 21.9 percent for this time last year. As this level increased, average credit scores of borrowers dropped to 755, down from 763 a year ago. In that time, the average financing amount increased $90 per vehicle, to $25,963.
At 818, Volvo maintains the highest per-owner credit score, while Mitsubishi has the lowest, at 694. The highest rate of borrowers was at Toyota, with 14 percent of the market, followed by Ford with 13.1 percent and Chevrolet at 11.1.

1972 Dodge Challenger on an M1009 CUCV military frame is YES

The subject of this post is cause for celebration, not reason to ask "But why?" We don't know why this random Craigslist seller chose to marry the body of a 1972 Dodge Challenger with the frame and axles from a 1987 Chevrolet M1009 military vehicle. We're here to appreciate it, thanks to The Drive, and maybe spend some time after dinner considering whether to buy it. Now that we're on the same page, an owner in Tucson wants to rid his garage — or his Bullet Farm — of what appears to be an exceptionally well built conversion. Starting from the bottom, the M1009 CUCV, for Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle or "Cuckvee," emerged from a program turning K5 Blazers into supply rigs that were meant to support hardcore hardware like the AM General Humvee. The M1009 got GM's 6.2-liter Detroit Diesel V8, a TH400 transmission, an NP-208 chain-driven transfer case, a 10-bolt rear axle and 3.08 gears. Produced from 1983 to 1987, they returned "less than desirable" results in the field and the military unloaded them. Not much of that remains for this build. The diesel got dropped, replaced by a 5.7-liter GM gasser with a four-barrel carb and long-tube headers, shifting though a 4L80E automatic transmission attached to a U.S. Shift Quick 1 transmission controller in the cabin. The seller doesn't mention output, but if it's a more recent Chevy 350 then it'll certainly provide a healthy bump over the maximum 160 horsepower from the diesel, especially running through a custom Flowmaster dual exhaust. An NP-205 two-speed transfer case switches between 2H, 4L, and 4H. The Dana 44 front and Dana 60 rear axles feature lockers and 3.52 gearing in back. Skyjacker Black Max provides the suspension to keep the 37-inch BFG KM2 on the pavement or the dirt. About 11,000 miles ago the owner rebuilt and upgraded the drivetrain, installing new accessories like a high-rise intake, four-core radiator, new alternator and Holley fuel pump. Losing the K5 body for an E-body Challenger cap means losing M1009 features like the rifle rack and gas can mounts. But you gain style, something real hard to find on a vehicle stout enough to back you up when you tell the crew, "I've been to hell and I'm going back." As part of that rebuild a few miles back, the minimalist interior got all new panels, dash and custom gauges, headliner, seats, and a Sony audio system with Alpine amps, a sub, and Kenwood speakers.

'Killing a Duramax' Gale Banks YouTube series methodically tunes a diesel to death

Learning or perfecting a skill by watching YouTube videos is known as attending YouTube University. GM Authority picked up on one of the video site's more fascinating courses, hosted by Gale Banks; in a fair world, he should be referred to as Professor Banks when it comes to diesel engines and truck tuning. A few months after GM introduced the updated L5P 6.6-liter Duramax diesel V8 in the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD that ships with 454 horsepower and 910 pound-feet of torque, Banks decided he wanted to methodically tune the engine to death. The purpose of the resulting series, called "Killing a Duramax," is to push more power out of the engine in order to discover which parts break and when — or, as Banks puts it, force-feed the Duramax "until the crank hits the street and the heads hit the hood." With that knowledge, Banks can figure out all the weak points on his way to building what he calls a "Superturbo," that being a supercharged, twin-turbo race engine with more than 1,000 hp. What makes the series fascinating is Banks' knowledge, paired with the company's comprehensive iDash engine monitoring system that keeps tabs on a glut of parameters every step of the way. So for instance, you get Banks explaining the differences between inches of mercury and barometric pressure, how those are different from the water content of the air measured in grains, then showing those readouts on the iDash, then explaining in detail how they affect the air density in the Duramax system. The stock Borg-Warner variable turbo gets a lot of airtime — Banks accuses it of being "out to lunch" because he feels it's the weakest link on the engine. That turns into a turbo teardown and a deep explanation of performance pitfalls, such as when air pressure on the turbine begins to diverge from the boost pressure coming from the compressor. Banks says he can keep close tabs on where power's coming from, because the iDash monitors the horsepower contribution provided by the ambient air, the turbo, and the intercooler separately. The major changes so far are a stouter Precision 7675 turbo and TurboSmart wastegate (episode 5), a twin intake (episode 6), a custom liquid-cooled intercooler from a marine engine, a new GM oil cooler and synthetic oil (episode 10), and new injectors (episode 11).