2011 Dodge Caliber Mainstreet on 2040-cars

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Bonhams to auction Carroll Shelby's prototypes and personal cars

Fans of Carroll Shelby will want to make their way to Greenwich, Conn., this June, because Bonhams will be selling a great many cars from the man's personal collection. And many of them are the first of their kind, marking important milestones in Shelby's career. One of those important cars is a 1982 Dodge Charger prototype, which might not look as impressive as a Cobra, but it was important in that it was the first car on which Shelby collaborated with Chrysler. That car led to the first Shelby Charger, as well as other special small Chryslers including the GLH Omnis and Chargers (GLH standing for "Goes Like Hell"). In fact, the first Charger GLH-S (Goes Like Hell S'more) is also part of this collection. There are even some prototypes up for auction that never resulted in a production car, such as a Shelby modified Dodge Ram. That one is probably our favorite: the gold ram hood ornament, the huge pentastar in the grille, the double-barrel truck horn on the roof. It's wonderful nonsense. Of course it isn't just Chryslers going up for sale. There are a couple of GT500 and GT350 Mustangs in the mix from a variety of years. Perhaps most interesting is the very first Shelby Series I, Shelby's ill-fated roadster designed from the ground-up by the Texan's company. Unlike the other early Series I models, Shelby's had a supercharger, which led to a supercharger option being offered later. You can check out the full list of cars below, and pictures of each one in the gallery at the top. The auction will happen on June 3, and every vehicle offered has no reserve, so they'll all be sold for whatever price is shown at the drop of the gavel. 1927 Ford Model T 1931 Ford Model A 1935 Chrysler Airflow Sedan 1955 DeSoto Hard Top 1966 Shelby GT350 Convertible 1967 Lincoln Continental Convertible 1968 Shelby GT350 1969 Shelby GT 500 previously owned by Jackie Cooper Jr. 1969 Shelby GT 500 1982 Shelby Charger Prototype 1983 De Tomaso Pantera 1983 Dodge/Shelby Pickup Concept 1987 DeTomaso GT5-S 1987 Dodge CSX Serial #1 1987 Shelby Charger GLH-S Serial #1 1987 Dodge Shelby Lancer Serial #1 1988 Dodge Shelby Dakota Prototype 1989 Dodge CSX VNT Serial #1 1965 Shelby Cobra 427 Continuation 1999 Shelby Series 1 Serial #1 2008 Shelby GT 500 KR 2011 Shelby GT 500 Super Snake Aurora Race Car Related Video: Featured Gallery Shelby Collection View 72 Photos Image Credit: Bonhams Chrysler Dodge Ford Auctions Performance Classics shelby

Dodge Viper now available in matte finish

The prospect of buying a new Dodge Viper just got that much more enticing with the introduction of matte-finish paint direct from the factory. Available as part of the "1 of 1" customization program, the matte finishes aren't being offered in just a handful of colors like some other automakers do: customers will be able to specify a matte finish on any of the 8,000 colors that are already part of the program's palette. The matte finish option adds yet another step to the exhaustive hand-painting process that Dodge offers on the Viper - a painstaking endeavor that takes upwards of 145 man hours to complete. Specialists start by applying a base coat and a clear finish, followed by the paint and clear coat. The finished body panels are then smoothed with 1,000-grit paper and polished. A second sanding process is required for the matte finish before the application of a matte clear coat. Specify custom stripes (available in five colors or by custom order) and they're applied under the paint, not as decals on top. The availability of the matte finish in conjunction with the stripe options and new satin badging and fuel cap leads to over 50 million combinations. Needless to say, that means no two Vipers need ever leave the Conner Avenue assembly plant the same – though there will surely always be certain favorite combinations, especially on those units ordered from outside the customization program. Related Video: DODGE EXPANDS INDUSTRY-FIRST '1 OF 1' VIPER CUSTOMIZATION PROGRAM WITH NEW MATTE-FINISH PAINT OPTION - New matte-finish exterior paint available on all of Viper '1 of 1' program's 8,000 exterior color options and 24,000 stripe options - Viper's custom '1 of 1' exterior paint options double to 16,000 exterior colors and 48,000 unique strip combinations - Matte finish available in all exclusive '1 of 1' program and standard production colors - In addition to matte-finish exterior paint, Viper customers can choose between satin chrome or satin black badging and fuel filler door for a sinister appearance - Dodge Viper owners can build their one-of-a-kind Viper from more than 50 million unique build configurations for the ultimate in model year exclusivity June 19, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - The Dodge brand continues to expand the Viper's exclusive production elements like never before.

Nine cars we wish were convertibles

The snow has melted, the sun is shining, and the days are getting longer. At the Autoblog Detroit office we feel like our winter hibernation is finally over. And with warmer temperatures come visions of opening up a convertible roof and cruising. You know, just turn up the bass and let the Alpine blast. There are plenty of droptops on sale in the US, and more on the way (like the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata). That said, we always want more. More! More! More! In that spirit, we cooked up a list of nine cars aren't currently sold as convertible, but ought to be. Check out our picks, below. Summer's just around the corner. Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S In some parallel universe, this car actually happened. Toyota showed us a FT 86 Convertible concept at the Geneva Motor Show in 2013, and we immediately started licking our chops over the thought of a rear-wheel-drive convertible based on the Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S twins. These days, the MX-5 Miata is our only option for affordable roadster fun. A competitor to the Mazda seems like a no-brainer to us, especially since we have naught but good to say about the BRZ/FR-S as-is. Unfortunately in our present timeline, this car is as likely for production as a BRZ STI. Which is to say, not very. Dang. Lexus RC F Unlike the FR-S, a convertible from Toyota's luxury division might actually see the light of day. The current IS convertible is about to be phased out, and the Lexus LF-C2 concept from the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show is really a thinly veiled look at a possible RC convertible. A droptop RC would be plenty good, but let's reach for the starts. What we really want is to run topless in an RC F, complete with that powerful, loud, 5.0-liter V8 engine. Lexus says the RC F is a true competitor to the BMW M4. If that's true, it only makes sense for Lexus to mimic the Germans and offer its performance coupe in a folding hardtop form. Maybach Landaulet Maybach is bach back, recast as an upper crust trim level for Mercedes-Benz. The Mercedes-Maybach S600 is seriously awesome, and more luxurious than a trip to the spa. But why not go a step into the truly ridiculous levels of extravagence and bring back that open-top Landaulet? We think your local princess will love this idea, and with better S-Class bones underneath, Jeeves will have a pretty enjoyable ship to steer, too. Besides, with that slick new Mercedes design language, a Landaulet redux wouldn't be nearly as hideous as the old model, pictured here.