2005 Chrysler Pt Cruiser Gt Convertible 2-door 2.4l on 2040-cars

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Dodge Viper saved from crusher by students, but will it last?

The saga of the Washington state community college hoping to keep its allegedly pre-production Dodge Viper out of the maw of the crusher is going strong. Not only does the school still have the car, but there's a chance that the college might even get to keep it.
The whole situation flared up in March when the South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, WA, received a notice from Chrysler Group that requested that the school's Viper be destroyed. The automaker had loaned the muscle car to it about a decade ago to use for educational purposes in its auto tech classes. With the Dodge growing long in the tooth, "it is unlikely that these vehicles offer any educational value to students," the company said in its press release on the matter.
However, the college balked at destroying its Viper, despite the fact it had signed a contract with Chrysler Group to do so. The school further claimed that its car was incredibly special because it was a pre-production example and just the fourth one made back in 1992. Although, as we pointed out at the time, the photos of the school's vehicle showed a coupe that looked like a newer Viper GTS.

Junkyard Gem: 1986 Chrysler Fifth Avenue

Chrysler started putting the New Yorker name on its top-end luxury dreadnaughts all the way back in the early 1940s. When it came time to pitch an even more exclusive New Yorker, what street did Chrysler choose for its name in 1979? Exactly. The Fifth Avenues started out as Plymouth Gran Fury siblings, then switched to the smaller M-Body Dodge Diplomat platform for the 1982-1989 model years. Here's a padded-landau-roof-equipped '86 Fifth Avenue, spotted in a San Francisco Bay Area self-service wrecking yard. Though the Fifth Avenue started life as a option package for the New Yorker, Chrysler ditched the New Yorker badging on these cars after the 1983 model year (while applying it, confusingly, to the Chrysler-badged front-wheel-drive E-Body). Perhaps this was due to certain Chrysler-demographic-terrifying developments in New York-based popular culture around that time. 1970s styling touches were still going strong in mid-1980s Detroit, and this car has lots of fake wood and button-tufted vinyl inside, with this stainless-trimmed padded landau roof outside. Mechanically speaking, it's a Dodge Diplomat, complete with 140-horsepower 318-cubic-inch (5.2 liter) V8, rear-wheel-drive, and three-speed automatic transmission. The Diplomat was a sturdy and reliable machine, but the $14,910 Fifth Avenue sticker price was a lot to pay for a Diplomat with some extra gingerbread, especially when the Diplomat listed at $10,086. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The Diplomat was a very popular choice for American law-enforcement duties during the 1980s, and the chase scene from Short Time shows a slightly exaggerated depiction of its tough construction. It's a shame that the filmmakers couldn't find a way to use a Fifth Avenue instead. For 1990, the Fifth Avenue name went onto a stretched version of the front-wheel-drive K Platform, then disappeared after 1993. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. "I enjoy making money... and spending it. But not foolishly." Related Video:

Sell your own: 1969 Plymouth Barracuda

Looking to sell your car? We make it easy and free. Quickly create listings with up to six photos and reach millions of buyers. Log in and create your free listings. Always the "third" element in Detroit's Big Three, Chrysler and its Dodge, Plymouth and Chrysler divisions, usually played catchup to GM and Ford. However, Plymouth actually arrived to the ponycar segment on time, with its launch of the Valiant-based Barracuda almost on top of Ford's Mustang. That said, the segment became named for ponies, not an aggressive fish. By 1969, the Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro were becoming bigger and more sophisticated. The Barracuda, by contrast, held on to its essential simplicity. We'd prefer the fastback and a small-block V8, but in the context of 2017 collectible-car values for Mopar, even a Slant Six coupe with unknown mileage might be worth checking out. From the supplied pics, this '69 Cuda looks to be in good condition; if it weren't, the asking price would likely be south of $10,000 – not north. Scarcity's not an issue, so this Barracuda would seem well-suited for the resto-mod treatment (above and beyond the aftermarket hood scoops), while keeping the post-purchase investment as minimal as the original outlay. Chrysler Used Car Buying Buying Guide Ownership Coupe Performance