Bank Repo/no Reserve/below Wholesale on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Junkyard Gem: 1954 Plymouth Savoy Sedan

American car shoppers bought many millions of the four-door sedans that flew off Detroit's assembly lines in the decade after World War II, and so plenty of them still remain in barns, garages, driveways and yards today, awaiting loving owners who will put them back on the road. Unfortunately, those with the time and money to take on challenging vintage automotive projects tend to prefer coupes and convertibles, especially those made by the higher-prestige marques. That means that many of these cars continue to run out of time with each passing day, taking that final tow-truck ride to their very last parking spaces. Today's Junkyard Gem is one of those cars: a 1954 Plymouth Savoy four-door painted in Piedmont Maroon, found in a Denver self-service yard recently. As an example of how many of these cars still get crushed each year, here's a partial list of some of the 1946-1956 American four-door sedans I've personally documented in car graveyards over the last decade or so: 1947 Dodge Custom, 1947 Frazer Manhattan, 1948 Plymouth Special Deluxe, 1949 Dodge Coronet, 1949 Kaiser Special, 1949 Oldsmobile 88, 1949 Plymouth Special Deluxe, 1950 Cadillac Sixty-One, 1950 Chrysler Royal, 1950 Studebaker Commander, 1951 Chevrolet Styleline, 1951 Frazer, 1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan, 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook, another 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook, 1952 Kaiser, 1952 Buick Special, 1952 Mercury Custom, 1953 Packard Clipper, 1953 Plymouth Special, 1953 Pontiac Chieftain, 1955 Studebaker Commander, 1956 DeSoto Fireflite and a 1956 Mercury Montclair. It's especially tough for the 1946-1954 Plymouths, because those cars were seen as stodgy transportation appliances for cheapskates when they were new. As the 1940s became the 1950s, most American cars became longer, sleeker and flashier-looking, but Plymouths seemed to stay the same. For the 1955 model year, Plymouths got a clean-sheet redesign and caught up with current styling trends well enough (probably not coincidentally, Plymouths finally got their own dealerships in late 1954, rather than just being sold out of Chrysler, DeSoto and Dodge showrooms). But for 1954, the best Chrysler could do with the looks of the increasingly aged-looking Plymouth was give it a new grille and some body chrome. Bumpers were made to stick out a few extra inches to cheat on the overall length a bit.

Chrysler honors Arsenal of Democracy's 75th anniversary

The Allied victory in World War II wouldn't have been possible without the Arsenal of Democracy. This phrase, originally coined by President Franklin D. Roosevelt 75 years ago today, described the war-time transformation of US manufacturing, especially the auto industry, to produce tanks and planes instead of cars and trucks. One of the earliest purpose-built facilities was the Albert Kahn-designed Detroit Arsenal, located in suburban Warren, MI, literally across the street from the future site of the General Motors Technical Center. Built by Uncle Sam, the plant churned out M3 Grant and M4 Sherman tanks with frightening speed, but it wouldn't have been possible without Chrysler. The company (which is ironically now allied to a former supplier of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy) operated the plant and applied automotive mass-production techniques to producing the government-designed tanks. The plant was so successful, according to Fiat Chrysler historian Brandt Rosenbusch, that it singlehandedly outpaced the entire Third Reich's tank production by 5,000 units over the course of the war. The Detroit Arsenal was also responsible for a quarter of all American tank production during the war. And like so many wartime factories, women formed a large percentage of the workforce, as men were drafted out of assembly work and into the armed forces. Chrysler has commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Arsenal of Democracy speech with a video on the Detroit Arsenal and its role there. And as for the site today? It built tanks up until 1997, and still serves as the home of the US Army's TACOM (Tank-automotive and Armaments Command) Life Cycle Management Command, a major site for tank research and development. News Source: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles via YouTube Chrysler Military Classics Videos FCA warren

Consumer Reports says these are the worst new cars of 2014

Consumer Reports has announced its annual list of worst vehicles, a cringe-inducing contrast to its list of top vehicles. Ignominiously leading the way in 2014 is Chrysler, which has a staggering seven models listed.
Jeep nearly sweeps the small SUV segment by itself, with its Compass, Patriot and 2.4-liter version of the new Cherokee, while the only midsize sedans listed by CR were the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Avenger. The new Dodge Dart and the Dodge Journey round out CR's condemnation of Chrysler.
Ford is taking heat as well, with the Taurus, Edge and their counterparts from Lincoln all listed as the worst vehicles in their respective segments. Toyota doesn't fare much better, with its Lexus IS, Scion iQ and tC also making the list.