Rare Dodge Shelby Durango Sp360 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Junkyard Gem: 1988 Dodge Diplomat Salon

Except for the Viper, Prowler, and some Mitsubishi-derived AWD machines, all Chrysler cars went front-wheel-drive starting in the 1990 model year and continued that way until our current century. The last holdout was the Dodge Diplomat (and its Plymouth Gran Fury and Chrysler Fifth Avenue siblings), and these cars were the most common police cruisers in America throughout most of the 1980s and well into the 1990s. You won't see many Diplomats today, but I found this high-luxe civilian Salon version in my local Denver self-service yard. This one was purchased new in Cheyenne, which is just up I-25 from Denver. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. A Diplomat was one of the automotive protagonists in the classic car-chase scene from the 1990 film, Short Time. Diplomats have figured heavily in many films over the years. I got my first driver's license in 1982, in a Navy town with ruthless Diplomat-equipped traffic-law enforcement, and so my right foot still twitches in the direction of a brake pedal when I see this grille. This one was full of Denver-centric ephemera from the early-to-middle 1990s, layered with the shredded paper and rodent poop that indicates long-term outdoor storage, so I'm guessing that the car's elderly owner stopped driving it 20 years ago and it sat until finally evicted by an angry landlord. These cars weren't known for being particularly quick in stock form. This one has the carbureted 318-cubic-inch V8 (yes, some cars still had carburetors as late as 1988), good for 140 horsepower. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Fiendishly seductive! Related Video:

Dodge Challenger Hellcat X is 805-hp worth of charity [w/video]

Donating to charity is good for the soul. You feel good and help out those in need, and while you should donate out of the goodness of your heart, there's nothing wrong with getting something in return. That's doubly true if that something (or somethings) happen to run on gasoline... a lot of gasoline. For just $3 (plus $40,000 in taxes), you could park not one, but two high-powered Mopars in your driveway. The big item, of course, is the world's most powerful Dodge Challenger Hellcat. Dubbed the Hellcat X after the XF6F, a twin-charged US Navy prototype that evolved into the Hellcat fighter from World War II. Its 6.2-liter, supercharged V8 has been supplemented by a turbocharger, boosting output to 805 horsepower. Because, you know, 707 just wasn't quite enough. It should be noted that the Hellcat X isn't a production model – Fiat Chrysler isn't going to be putting a twin-charged Hemi into production – but that it's a one-off job built for the 2015 Chrysler Nationals at Carlisle. Joining the Hellcat X is a handsome, black 1970 Challenger 440 R/T. Complete with a four-barrel carburetor (yeah, we were hoping for a Six Pack, as well), a pistol-grip shifter, and menacing black paint, this exact car was the star of 2012's "Revolution Reborn" television spot. And if this car's on-air claim to fame isn't enough, rest easy knowing you're the owner of just one of 100 black 440 R/Ts produced in 1970. Now, single tickets do start at $3, although there are larger bundles available, including a $5,000, 6,000-ticket package. Proceeds from the drawing, which is being put on by Dream Giveaway, will go towards New Beginning Children's Home charity, which issues grants to everything from the National Guard Educational Foundation to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. You can check out more on the Hellcat X in the video, below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Old Dodge vans are big in Japan

One of the great things about Japan and its car culture is that it plays host to some of the most unusual and unique vehicle trends in the world. Whether it's neon-clad Lamborghinis or luxury sedans with insane negative camber, the country always seems to have something new up its sleeve. One of the most surprising trends is track-ready, full-size Dodge vans called Dajibans, and the video above presents a great look at these absurd machines. This isn't the first time we've covered these racing Dodge vans, but it's a subculture too awesome not to merit a second look. For one thing, just as American fans of Japanese cars here like to use JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) parts on their cars, the owners of these Dodges like to use American parts. Many of the vans feature Little Tree air fresheners inside and even have Spectre air filters on the intakes. Who would've thought there would be a market for Autozone's bread and butter auto accessories? Plus, these vans get some other impressive mods. Notice that some vans that appear to have stock metal bumpers, but they're actually fiberglass replicas in the original shape and given a chrome-like paint job. The video's host, an Australian drift fanatic named Alexi who lives in Japan and runs website called Noriyaro.com, gets some great onboard footage, too. One of the vans he rides along in is powered by a generally stock 318 Dodge V8, and still has the original automatic transmission and column shifter. Impressively, the driver manages to manually shift it without grabbing the wrong gear, and even rev matches the shifts. Alexi explains that the driver can catch neutral in-between gears three and two, so there's a brief moment where he can blip the throttle. There's even more information in the video, and it's all fantastic fun to watch. If you decide you haven't seen enough of Dajibans, you can also check out our previous post on it, which is more polished and provides some history and context to the trend. Related Video: News Source: Noriyaro via YouTube Auto News Dodge Minivan/Van Performance Videos JDM trends