Se 3.6l Cd Air Conditioning Vanity Mirrors Vehicle Stability Assist Am/fm Radio on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Rare Dodge Shelby Dakota is a very '80s sport truck

The late-great Carroll Shelby built an incredibly successful career of making all sorts of cars faster, more often than not, with a bigger or more potent engine under the hood. The icons are well known—legends like the Shelby Cobra, GT350 Mustang, and the big GT500. But by the 1980s, Shelby was plying his trade over at Chrysler, at the behest of chairman Lee Iacocca, churning out special editions like the Dodge Shelby Charger, zippy CSX, rorty GLHS, and this—the 1989 Shelby Dakota muscle truck. 1,500 of these racy pickups were built for just one year and a whole two-and-a-half decades later they still turn heads. This one especially. The spotless pickup recently turned up for sale online , and its odometer reads a claimed 25,307 miles. So what makes these rarified work trucks special? As with most Shelbys, it starts under the hood. Up until 1989, the standard Dodge Dakota pickups were offered in only four-cylinder and V6 variants. But Dodge (and Shelby) wanted more, so the larger 5.2-liter Magnum V8 from Dodge's full-size pickup was shoehorned into the midsize Dakota, albeit not effortlessly. To fit, Dodge had to swap the V8's belt-driven fan for an electric unit mounted in front of the radiator. That did the trick, as well as earned the V8 a few extra ponies, pushing the special Dakota up to 175 horsepower and 270 lb.-ft. of torque. That performance may sound paltry by today's standards, but in 1989 it was seen as quite sporty, and netted a zero to 60 mph dash in 8.5 seconds. A four-speed automatic with lockup torque converter transmitted that power to the rear wheels. Additional Shelby performance goodies included a limited-slip differential, transmission cooler, along with a host of eye-catching body mods, including a unique air dam and bumpers, Shelby floor mats, monogramed seats and door panels, a "CS" steering wheel, 15-spoke hollow alloy wheels, and shouty body graphics. While the Shelby Dakota didn't return for 1990, its V8 legacy did continue, and in 1991 the 5.2-liter eight-cylinder became an option on new Dakotas. Of the 1,500 Shelby Dakota pickups built, 860 were dressed in red while a rarer 640 came adorned in Bright White. This '89 is said to be #245 of those white trucks, sold new to its original (and sole) owner in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, for $15,985 (the Shelby package cost $3,933 in its day). Currently, it's demanding bids north of $10,000 for its low-mileage originality. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party.

Dodge Viper returning to Le Mans this year?

If you were among the fans disappointed by Chrysler's recent decision to end the Dodge Viper's racing program, we may have some good news for you, as the racing outfit behind the campaign is reportedly working to bring the American supercars back to Le Mans this year. That racing outfit is Riley Technologies, a constructor perhaps best known for its Daytona Prototypes, but it has also prepared its share of GT racers, too. Chrysler charged Riley with leading its racing program for the new Viper GTS-R, campaigned it in the United SportsCar Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Auburn Hills made the unfortunate decision back in March to pull its Vipers out of Le Mans, and then in October to withdraw from the US series, as well, thereby effectively ending the program altogether. Disappointed though it surely was, Riley remains defiant. The North Carolina-based company is planning on taking the existing Vipers back to Le Mans on its own, with or without factory support. The Viper has, after all, proven a capable machine, having taken both the drivers' and teams' titles in the United SportsCar Championship this past season. "With Le Mans, every driver and every manufacturer needs to have their first trip there, and it isn't always what you want it to be, but we did show reliability and did have some pace," Bill Riley told Racer.com. "Since then, we've worked hard on the cars, they're now strong, front-running cars in the US, and we're working with the ACO on the BoP to make sure the cars are strong at Le Mans. They're super-reliable and fast, and we'd expect to be right in the mix with the other cars." Riley has kept the existing support staff in place, and once it secures its driver lineup and sponsors, chances look good that it could represent America well at Le Mans this year in either the GTE Pro or GTE Am class. Its predecessor did, after all, complete a three-year winning streak that saw it dominate the GTS class right up until its withdrawal in 2000. News Source: Racer.comImage Credit: FCA Motorsports Dodge Coupe Racing Vehicles

Autoblog Podcast #414

Episode #414 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, and Seyth Miersma discuss the new 2015 Shelby GT and go over the finer points of Elon Musk's recent speech during the Detroit Auto Show. Of course, the podcast starts with what's in the garage and finishes up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #414 Topics 2015 Shelby GT Elon Musk speech in Detroit In The Autoblog Garage 2015 Lexus LX 570 2015 Dodge Charger Pursuit 2015 Toyota Prius C 2015 Lincoln Navigator Hosts: Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, Seyth Miersma Runtime: 01:17:58 Rundown Intro and Garage - 00:00 2015 Shelby GT – 32:41 Elon Musk – 41:33 Q&A - 54:48 Get The Podcast UStream – Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Podcasts Dodge Lexus Lincoln Toyota toyota prius c shelby lincoln navigator lexus lx