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Lackluster Dodge Dart sales trigger layoffs

Hidden amidst the overall very positive sales figures that Chrysler released earlier this week were a few disappointments, the biggest of which may be the Dodge Dart. While Dodge sales in general were down 11 percent from a year ago, the Dart's poor figures stood out from the rest - with 4,888 units sold, the Dart was down 37 percent in February.
It comes as little surprise, then, that the automaker has announced layoffs at its assembly plant in Belvidere, IL. According to The Daily Herald, Dodge will temporarily lay off 325 workers "to balance vehicle supply with current sales demand." Put more simply, there are more Darts than buyers at the moment...
We don't think the Dodge Dart is a bad car, but it's playing in a market that offers a few standout sellers, like the Chevy Cruze, Ford Focus, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. According to AutoPacific analyst Dave Sullivan, as quoted by The Daily Herald, "great incentives on the Dodge Avenger" are also partly to blame for the Dart's poor showing.

McLaren, Koenigsegg, Toyota, Ford, Dodge and Corvette Lego kits announced for 2021

Lego has announced a slew of car-themed sets for 2021. The six kits comprise nine vehicles and fall under the brick pusher's Speed Champion line of official OEM-licensed kits. News of their arrival comes from German toy retailer JB Spielwaren's pre-order listings, which show three single-car sets and three dual-car sets of matched marques. Starting with the McLaren Elva roadster, the kit consists of 263 pieces and is finished in blue. It seems to have a difficult time capturing the curves of the real-life Elva, but there's only so much you can do with a bunch of plastic blocks. Lego has made several other McLaren kits before, including the Senna, 720S, and a more advanced Senna GTR for the Technics line. Next up is the Koenigsegg Jesko, made up of 280 pieces and finished in white. Though the real-life Jesko is still curvy, this kit does a better job of replicating its aggressive maw, vents and cantilevered rear wing. Rounding out the single-car sets is the 299-piece Toyota GR Supra in yellow. This marks the first time Toyota has lent their license to Lego. Again, it struggles a bit to represent the curvy Supra, relying on printed details like logos and headlights to identify. On the other hand, the Chevrolet two-car does a stupendous job with the 1968 Corvette. The C3 is instantly recognizable as such. The C8-R race car it's paired with suffers from the same issues as some of the previous cars, though. The set contains 512 pieces, and funnily enough the C8 driver has short hair while the C3 driver sports a period-correct wavy mane. The next set is a 627-piece Mopar-themed pair, including a purple (Plum Crazy?) 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A and an SRT top fuel dragster. The race car is spot on, but the Challenger was probably tough to make given the width restrictions. It looks a couple of pegs too narrow compared to the wide proportions of the real deal. Last but not least, the Ford set contains a Bronco R and Ford GT Heritage Edition. Consisting of 660 pieces, the set does an excellent job of representing both cars. The GT looks faithful in its Gulf livery, and the Bronco R looks more like a real Bronco than the actual Bronco R race truck. All in all, it's always fun to see more Lego sets with real cars, and we're glad to see more manufacturers added to the roster. The single-car sets are recommended for ages 7 and up, while the double-car sets have an 8 years and up rating. Price in U.S.

1970 Dodge Charger destroyed by man sick of lowballers — he showed them!

There are open and shut cases, and there's this one, the purchase and crush case. This is so wild it's hard to believe it's real. Apparently a man named Daniel Gagliardi bought a rusted-out 1970 Dodge Charger project car with the intent to flip it. Contacted by The Drive, Gagliardi said he bought the car for $4,200 and listed it for $8,500. "It was a complete car," he said, "not missing a single thing inside, out, underneath, under the hood, wasn't missing a damn thing. Had fender tag, VIN tag, clean title." Instead of negotiating with serious buyers, Gagliardi told the outlet a stream of jokers jerked him around for six months. The time-wasting took a toll, and after 180 days of "no-showers, thousands of no-showers, and a whole bunch of flakers" who didn't have the decency to bring a decent offer and cash, he decided to teach them all a lesson. So he destroyed the car, filmed the destruction, and cheered it on. The humorous and ironic part of the video is when Gagliardi tells another man off-camera, "But we got it first! We already robbed it, you can only rob it once!" After that levity, there's only chagrin for anyone sad to see a Charger meet its end so spitefully. Admittedly, however, and in spite of all the vitriol aimed at him, Gagliardi is free to destroy his own property. He's not the first person to crush a car capriciously. Any divorce attorney could tell you a book of tales about precious goods meeting ugly ends for vindictive reasons. Or there's the guy who, commenting on Gagliardi's video on another site, relates how he crushed the Yamaha quad he wanted $800 for after he "got tired of people offering me $200." Ah well. This won't be the last time. Warning for language, and exceptionally shaky video. If you're hungry for more Charger carnage after this, check out the cinematic obliterations in "7 Ways to Destroy a Charger."