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Shelby Cobra, Mercedes 300SL and 1947 Woodie from Petersen Museum headed to auction

The changes happening at the Petersen Museum have been making the rounds in major press, but it probably won't be until August 18, during Pebble Beach, when we get the full story on what's happening; that's where and when museum reps plan on announcing the way forward for the SoCal institution. In the meantime, the museum is still reorganizing its collection, and that means auctioning some of its showpieces at this weekend's Auctions America event in Burbank.
Three of the stars are a 1964 Shelby Cobra 289, one of less than 20 produced with a three-speed C-4 automatic transmission, a 1960 Mercedes-Benz 300SL owned by actor Robert Stack and the last 1948 Ford Sportsman 'Woodie' ever produced. The Cobra, now restored to its original white exterior and red leather interior, was a factory demonstrator that first sold for $5,250. Showing just 38,950 miles on the odometer, its pre-sale estimate is $800,000 to $1 million.
The 300SL is actually a 1957 model but wasn't titled until Robert Stack took possession in 1960. The lead actor in the The Untouchables TV series used to drive by the Sunset Boulevard Mercedes dealership to ogle the car, but couldn't justify spending the money to buy it. When he and the producer of The Untouchables won Emmys for the show, the producer, who happened to be Desi Arnaz, bought the car for Stack. He owned it his whole life, it has been left as Stack drove it and still bears the California license plate "UNTCHBL."

Mustang retakes monthly pony car sales crown from Camaro

Going back to their origins in the Swinging '60s, the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro have been fierce rivals for fans' hearts and dollars. Historically, the Ford often led in volume, but Chevy took the muscle car top spot in 2009 upon the Camaro's rebirth. However, with the launch of the latest Blue Oval pony car, the tide is turning back in Ford's favor. November was the first full month of sales for the new 2015 Mustang, and according to TheDetroitBureau.com, the model did spectacularly well. The Blue Oval shifted 8,728 of them, up 62 percent from same month last year, with the automaker proclaiming it the model's best November sales since 2006. Conversely, 4,385 units of the Camaro were delivered, down 13.5 percent year-over-year, meaning its sales were roughly half that of the new-generation Mustang. Ford is understandably happy with the results, and product development director Raj Nair even hinted to TDB that another version of the Mustang might be unveiled at January's North American International Auto Show. Rumor has it that the model will be the even more potent Shelby Mustang GT350R. Despite the Mustang's November success, the Camaro outsells it year to day. So far in 2014, Ford has sold 73,124 Mustangs versus 79,669 examples of the Camaro. With December offering the last chance for an overtake, the Bowtie may yet remain king for this year's sales crown. A new Camaro is peeking over the horizon, as well. It's reportedly moving to the Alpha platform used by the Cadillac ATS, and production could start in late 2015. Prototypes are already testing at the Nurburgring, and camouflaged examples have been spotted weirdly being compared to its '80s forefather.

We drive the 2016 Ford F-750 Tonka dump truck

The Ford F-750 dump truck stands nearly 10 feet tall and is painted bright yellow. It idles patiently yards away from Ford's test track in Dearborn, MI. "Tonka" is emblazoned on the sides. We pose the obvious question to Ford marketing manager Mark Lowrey: Why do this? "We built this truck to get attention," he replies. And indeed it does. Ford revealed the 2016 F-750 Tonka dump truck in March at an industry show, underscoring that the Blue Oval is back in the business of big trucks after years of teaming with Navistar in a joint venture. The new F-650s and F-750s start rolling off the line at a factory near Cleveland this summer, and the order bank is open now. The trucks come in regular, super, and crew cabs and offer three states of tune for the 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 turbo diesel, plus a gasoline-fed 6.8-liter V10. Naturally, the Tonka has most powerful diesel mill, with 330 horsepower and 725 pound-feet of torque. The Tonka edition is a paint-and-sticker one-off that Ford is using as a promotional tool. You can't buy one, and it will be touring shows and events throughout the year. Lowrey notes that it calls attention to work trucks in a positive way. The general public usually only sees them when the trucks are blocking the road or making too much noise at a construction site. Tonka trucks, on the other hand, conjure up happy childhood memories. "We're going to do something where someone's going to see this truck and smile," he says. It's hard not to grin as we climb into the cabin of this monster truck. It has a 33,000-pound gross vehicle weight rating and can carry five yards worth of dirt. We're not doing anything like that today – just puttering around Ford's handling circuit inside its product enclave. The course is closed, so even though this track is better suited to calibrating Mustangs, F-150s, and well, almost anything but a dump truck, we're totally relaxed. We depress the button to release the parking brake and are off. The truck is surprisingly easy to drive. The vision ahead is excellent – makes sense, we're nearly one story off the ground, after all. The cabin is simple and cleanly laid out. It looks like a Ford truck, regardless of the size. The diesel engine has a lot of grunt. We can feel the torque. The steering is light, and we have to stomp on the air brakes to slow this thing down. We go 'hot' into a tight corner just for fun. It's not really that fast, but it raises the eyebrows of our film crew, which is set up nearby.