97 Custom Wrangler on 2040-cars

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What will Detroit do with the abandoned AMC headquarters?

As with so many other industrial and residential properties in Detroit, the former headquarters for the American Motors Corporation is having a hard time finding a reputable buyer. In October the Wayne County Treasurer held a tax foreclosure auction of 25,000 properties that included the AMC building, the starting bid being $500. Nicholas Casab won the building for $500, but the county voided the sale when Casab didn't pay the $232,000 in back property taxes. Detroit authorities haven't commented on the failed sale, but the city has until January 4 to decide if it wants to keep the building. If it doesn't want to hold onto it, the 1.5-million-square-foot property on 57 acres might be ceded to the Wayne County Land Bank Corporation. No matter who holds the deed come January 5, all anyone really wants is for someone to take possession of the building who will actually turn it into something useful and viable. The property opened in 1927 as a factory for the Kelvinator Corporation. Over the following decades, Kelvinator merged with the Nash Motor Company, and that merged entity merged with Hudson Motor Car Co, becoming American Motors. Chrysler took over the building in 1987 when it bought AMC, then shuttered it in 2009. The complex has produced refrigerators, Sikorsky helicopters, Jeeps, AMCs, and was used as an engineering center for Jeeps and other Chrysler products. Having been through several hands in the past six years, it is cited as part of the cycle of abandonment plaguing Detroit. Related Video: News Source: Detroit Free Press Government/Legal Chrysler Jeep Auctions Detroit amc

Toledo mayor, Jeep champion Michael Collins dies from heart attack

The city of Toledo is mourning the loss of its mayor and the campaign to keep production of the Jeep Wrangler in the Ohio city has lost a champion after Michael Collins suffered a heart attack behind the wheel recently. Born, raised and educated in Toledo, Collins was a Marine Corps veteran and a city councilor. He was elected mayor in 2013 and assumed office on January 2, 2014, a little over a year ago. He was driving an SUV provided by the city in a snow storm on February 1 of this year when he suffered a heart attack and crashed into a utility pole. He remained in critical condition for days until he was taken off artificial life-support. During his relatively short term in office, Collins became an outspoken and energetic advocate of keeping the Jeep plant in Toledo, where it has been assembled for decades. The next-generation Wrangler is set to switch to aluminum construction, which could lead to moving its production to another location, but Collins (alongside Governor John Kasich and others) had worked hard to convince FCA US to keep it in town. Whether his efforts will prove successful remains to be seen, but our hearts go out to his friends, family and constituents. Michael is survived by his wife Sandy, three daughters and eight grandchildren. He was 70 years old.

2015 Ford F-150 named Truck of Texas, Lincoln and Jeep also awarded at Truck Rodeo

The Ford Motor Company has a lot of reasons to celebrate after winning eight categories in this year's Texas Auto Writers Association's annual Truck Rodeo. Most important among them, the Blue Oval's latest 2015 Ford F-150 earned the prestigious Truck of Texas award, ending the Ram 1500's two-year winning streak. The 2015 Lincoln MKC also grabbed the honor as the CUV of Texas, and Ford was named Truck Line of Texas.
FoMoCo even took trophies for best technology with its extensive use of aluminum on its latest F-Series and best commercial vehicle for the new Transit 250. It wasn't a total sweep, though, because the Jeep Grand Cherokee grabbed the title of the SUV of Texas for the fifth straight time.
This year's event put 60 auto writers in 75 pickups, SUVs and crossovers and challenged them to find the best in a plethora of categories. All of the winners are listed below, and scroll down to read the full announcements from the Texas Auto Writers Association and Ford.