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Dodge Viper GTS-R goes back to old-school livery

The Dodge Viper may have been around now for over 20 years, but as far as racing achievements go, 2000 was its finest season. That's when it won the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the GTS class trophy at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and its second consecutive title in the American Le Mans Series.
Since then, SRT Motorsports hasn't quite had the same success, withdrawing from Le Mans this year and shedding the Dodge name and its emblematic red and white livery for the SRT badge and a silver snakeskin theme. But now that the Viper is back under the Dodge banner, so too is the racing team returning to its classic livery.
Starting from the six-hour race at Watkins Glen next week, both the No. 91 and No. 93 Viper GTS-Rs will wear the red base color with twin white racing stripes that its more accomplished forebears wore on circuits around the world. And with it, maybe the Viper will return once again to the winner's circle at home and abroad.

1985 Dodge Omni GLH | eBay Find of the Day

Cars from the 1980s weren't exactly known for performance. The muscle car days had ended a decade prior, and computer controls and precision engineering standards were still in their infancy. But that doesn't mean the decade was a complete loss for automotive enthusiasts. For proof, take a look at this 1985 Dodge Omni GLH that's currently for sale on eBay. Carroll Shelby's affiliation with Ford was in hiatus (and under litigation in court), but the legendary tuner wasn't content to sit around and do nothing. Shelby turned to Dodge right around the time that the American company was dipping its toes into turbocharging. The partnership led to several interesting vehicles, but perhaps none of them were as unexpected as the Shelby-modified Omni hatchback. The '85 GLH you see above is powered by a turbocharged 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine that sends 146 horsepower to the front wheels through a five-speed manual transmission. These days, that might not sound like a lot of power. But when you consider that the base LG4-code 305-cubic-inch V8 in the Chevy Camaro Z28 spun out 155 hp that same year, you start to understand why the Shelby Omni was a big deal. Suspension changes to the Omni GLH included stiffer springs, firmer shocks, and a lowered ride height that dropped the bodywork closer to its 15-inch aluminum wheels. GLH badging — which, in true Shelby fashion stood for "Goes Like Hell" — and blacked-out bodywork rounded out the updates. Dodge sold 6,513 Omni GLH models in 1985, and just 3,509 were equipped with the turbocharged engine. You'll have to look long and hard to find one that's nicer than this on eBay. The seller claims it's mostly in original condition, and its low odometer reading of 15,901 miles seems to back that up. It's located in Wixom, Michigan, with an asking price of $18,900.

Chrysler's Jefferson North plant builds 5-millionth SUV [w/video]

Chrysler's Jefferson North Assembly Plant opened in 1992 for production of the first Jeep Grand Cherokee, but in the subsequent years, the Detroit plant has gone on to produce some of the company's biggest SUVs including the Jeep Commander and Dodge Durango. Earlier this week, the plant produced its five-millionth SUV, which, fittingly, was a Grand Cherokee.
Celebrating the plant's five-millionth unit, the silver 2014 Grand Cherokee was promptly donated to the USO. In addition to this milestone SUV, Chrysler also had a near-perfect 1993-95 ZJ Grand Cherokee on hand for the photo op. Scroll down for the Chrysler press release as well as a video showing some of the speeches from the celebration.