2005 Viper Srt - 10 8000 Orig Miles on 2040-cars

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Dukes of Hazzard reruns dropped amid Confederate flag controversy

Those Duke boys are in a mess of trouble again, as TV Land announced Wednesday that it will be dropping the classic 1980s action-comedy the Dukes of Hazzard from its roster. But it may not be Bo and Luke's fault this time. Rather, it appears to be the changing political landscape. Entertainment Weekly reached out to TV Land, which is devoted to airing episodes of classic TV series, but it had no further comment. While the network didn't say why the episodes were removed, EW speculates that the cancellation is part of the reaction to the racially motivated murder of nine people in a historic black church in Charleston, SC, last month. The shooter was often photographed carrying a Confederate flag and other trappings of white supremacy. Since the tragedy, Confederate flags are being dropped from state houses, license plates, and toys. Last month, Warner Bros. said it would stop producing toys featuring the rebel flag, including a die cast miniature version of the Dukes of Hazzard's trademark ride, The General Lee, which was a bright orange 1969 Dodge Charger with a Confederate flag plastered to the roof. The same week as the shooting, the Supreme Court decided that states can reject license plates featuring the stars and bars as part of the states' right to free speech. Nine states currently use the flag in license plates, and the ruling will allow Texas, North Carolina, and Tennessee to remove the motif from their state's plates. Georgia is also considering redesigning its plates in the wake of the shooting. For our younger readers, the Dukes Of Hazzard was a television show that aired from 1979 to 1985 on CBS. It feature the antics of the Duke boys in a fictional place called Hazzard County, GA. Related Video:

Somebody created a Dodge Challenger SRT Demon droptop

The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is a vehicle built with one purpose in mind: going fast down a drag strip. Weight is the enemy when it comes to acceleration, and one surefire way to add weight to a car is to make it into a convertible. However, that’s exactly what one Demon owner decided to do to their Challenger. Motor Authority spotted this Plum Crazy Demon convertible conversion for sale online, and the dealer and builder even spilled a few details on the car itself. This particular conversion was done by Droptop Customs, a shop with experience, having previously converted a couple Challengers into convertibles for Shaq in Miami. However, ripping the roof off the 840-horsepower Demon is no small task. ThatÂ’s a ridiculous amount of horsepower to handle for a car that has lost a fair amount of structural rigidity from removing the roof. The Droptop Customs sales manager told MA about the changes that were made to make this build work. To begin, the frame rails were reinforced with 1x2-inch pieces of metal. Then, the shop added diagonally-mounted metal braces underneath to resist twist. Even more structural supports were added to the trunk, front and rear shock towers, and gussets were added to the bottom of each door to keep them from moving. Lastly, the shop boxed the connection of the front rails to the engine cradle. No specifics about weight gain were provided. There is one sad bit of news about this Demon, though. The dealer told MA that itÂ’s currently on consignment, despite being listed for sale on FCA dealership Cape CoralÂ’s website. ItÂ’s priced at an eye-watering $145,995. But the new owner wonÂ’t have to manually put down the top! ThatÂ’s right, itÂ’s powered, and itÂ’s supposed to take about 20 seconds to lower or raise into place while stationary. Somehow, the car has only 172 miles on it, so itÂ’s hardly been used. We have no photos with the top up, so youÂ’ll have to settle for top-down photos for now. It looks like a professional job through and through, and we actually dig the convertible look. Plus, who doesnÂ’t love Plum Crazy? 

FCA's large, LX-based RWD cars will stick around until 2020

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plans to stick with the Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger, and Chrysler 300 until at least 2020, reports Automotive News. The information comes from two unnamed sources and was loosely confirmed by details in the automaker's new labor contract with Unifor, Canada's auto union. The plan, according to two anonymous sources, is to lightly refresh the Challenger, Charger, and 300 until the vehicles make the switch to FCA's new Giorgio platform. The refresh, as Automotive News points out, will happen in 2018. The Giorgio platform currently underpins the Alfa Romeo Giulia and is expected to find its way to two of the three large American vehicles for the 2021 model year. At that time, FCA will discontinue either the Charger or the 300, claim AN's unnamed sources. If one of the vehicles were to go, it would most likely be the 300. The 300's LX platform would be approximately 15 years old in 2020 and the vehicle doesn't draw in as many sales as the Challenger or the Charger. The Charger made the switch from the LX platform in 2010 with the current model utilizing the mildly updated LD platform, while the Challenger recently moved from the LC platform to the LA platform last year. All of those rear-wheel-drive platforms are closely related. Automotive News points out that FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne stated that the new platform could be utilized across various applications in a conference call with analysts last month. The plan, according to the report, is to stretch and widen the Giorgio platform for the next-gen Challenger and Charger. The new platform is also rigid enough to allow the automaker to add a convertible to its lineup, which could lend further credence to rumors of an upcoming Barracuda. Hopefully, the move to the new Giorgio platform doesn't delay the all-wheel-drive Challenger GT AWD or the wide-body, Hellcat-powered Challenger ADR. We'll just have to wait and see. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News - sub. req. Chrysler Dodge Coupe Performance Sedan FCA fiat chrysler automobiles