03 Durango, 4wd, Sport, Cloth, Automatic, V8 on 2040-cars

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Rare Dodge Daytona found in barn heads for auction

An American icon is headed to Mecum's Kissimmee, Florida auction next January. Charlie Lyons, owner of a restoration shop focused on old Chrysler products, got a lead on a two-owner 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona that had been sitting in a barn in Glenwood, Alabama for decades. Dodge built 560 Charger Daytonas (Canada and US production) to homologate the model for NASCAR racing, and then that car and the successor Plymouth Superbird terrorized NASCAR tracks for 18 months. The production car, however, 18 feet long and considered ugly, wasn't popular at the time, so many were beat up or simply disappeared. Around 385 are thought to exist today. Lyons said the first owner of this car was the town judge, who bought it for his wife. In 1974 the second owner - just 18 years old at the time - bought it for $1,800 so he could drive it to Panama City, Florida, for Spring Break, and had flames painted on the front fenders and the scallops trimmed in white. Otherwise this barn find is complete and stock, with matching numbers throughout, R4 Charger Red paint and a white tail, bucket seats, center console, three-speed TorqueFlite automatic, and 20,553 miles on the 440-cubic-inch Magnum V8. Hot Rod has the long story of how Lyons found the car and convinced the owner to sell for what he jokingly called "a shoebox full of folded money." Hagerty says a concours-worthy model can command $262,000. Mecum's pre-sale estimate for this Charger Daytona is $150,000 to $180,000. That sounds steep, but Mecum did sell another perfectly restored Hemi-powered 1969 Charger Daytona for $900,000 at this year's Kissimmee auction to actor David Spade. Related Video:

2020 Colorado Winter Driver's Notes | Behind the Wheel S02 // E12

2020 Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 I’ve had bad luck with SUVs this winter. Especially performance ones. First, I got a 2019 Range Rover Sport SVR delivered on summers right as two feet of snow fell, rendering it undriveable. Then, coronavirus cancelled Easter Jeep Safari as well as my trip out to Moab in the 2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Diesel. Thankfully, when this 469 horsepower luxury mall crawler was dropped off, the sun shone down and the snow (mostly) held off.  The first thing that I noticed was there were a few blank buttons throughout the cabin, something that you may see in an entry model vehicle, but IÂ’m not accustomed to seeing in an AMG. Not a great look for a vehicle with an $80,000 price tag. Thankfully that was where the disappointment ended. As soon as you press the start button, the engine fires up and the exhaust note is incredible. Hopping on the highway ramp near my house, I floored it, and the biturbo V8 had me pressed back into the driver's seat, and this wasnÂ’t even the S version that our staff drove last year. Inside and out, the GLC 63 was everything youÂ’d expect from Mercedes. The interior was immaculate, and while the infotainment wheel and touch pad may take some getting used to for someone who isnÂ’t familiar, by now I have it down so that I can use it without looking. And while the V8 left me smiling ear to ear, I was most impressed by the amount of useable interior space there is. I happened to be moving at the time of this review and while all of my large furniture was shoved into the back of a moving van, I was able to fit almost everything else in the back of the GLC. 2019 and 2020 Fiat 500X Trekking ItÂ’s hard to say goodbye to an AMG and then turn around and be excited when a Fiat 500X pulls in your driveway (I know, I know, automotive journalist problems). That being said, when the red Fiat pulled up, I found myself admiring it. I am very familiar with the 500X. Back in 2016 Autoblog had one for a year as our long term test vehicle. I drove that car everywhere, multiple trips up north in Michigan, and even tracked it at Gingerman Raceway for a few laps before the brakes started smoking.  The 2019 model I had in my driveway and the 2020 model I drove in the snow up in the mountains feel very similar to that car. The interior is stylish and surprisingly roomy. The greenhouse is airy.

Has Dodge stepped in it again with Scat Pack lawsuit?

Lawsuits are an unfortunate part of doing business in just about any industry, so the latest complaint filed by a California-based aftermarket firm against Chrysler would seem to be nothing more than business as usual. But this isn't the first time the two companies have sparred over this particular issue.
According to a report from Automotive News, the dispute revolves around the Scat Pack name that Chrysler first offered on the Charger, Coronet, Dart and Super Bee starting in 1968. Scat Enterprises, a manufacturer of crankshafts and other components for Dodges and other vehicles, sued Chrysler for using its name. A few years later the Scat Pack disappeared from the Dodge catalog.
Fast forward to August 2013 when Chrysler applied to register the Scat Pack name anew. The US Patent and Trademark Office turned down Chrysler's application, but the automaker proceeded anyway, unveiling new Scat Packs for the Challenger, Charger and Dart at last year's SEMA show.