1987 Dodge D350 1 Ton Stake Bed 44,000 Orginial Miles Highly Maintaned on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Edmunds ranks the best used cars for 2013

When people ask us what car we would recommend for them, it's usually not easy to answer. To make a useful recommendation we must consider which of the numerous vehicle segments fits their needs best, and then choose one of the many vehicles offered in each segment. For some people, new cars don't meet their expectations of value, because they lose so much of it the moment they are purchased and driven off the dealer lot. For them, there's always the used-car market, where great deals can be found, but cars' histories of reliability and maintenance records - and perhaps that Certified Pre-Owned warranty - become ever-important factors playing into purchase choice.
To help out, Edmunds has done us the favor of assembling a list of the best used vehicles money can buy, covering model years 2006-2011, according to what it considers the most important criteria when shopping for used autos: reliability, safety, value and availability. That means unreliable, unsafe, super-expensive or limited-edition models don't appear on the list, but instead cars from each segment that are more likely to satisfy the general population.
There are some real goodies on the list, including but not limited to vehicles such as the capable Honda Fit, the cultish Honda Accord coupe (which can be had with a 240-horsepower V6 and a six-speed manual transmission some years), and the powerful Chevrolet Corvette. While Edmunds' choice of the Volvo C70 for best used convertible baffled us at first (not that it's a bad car), it redeemed itself by stating that the Mazda MX-5 still is an unofficial top choice if you don't require more than two seats.

New Viper 'is a possibility,' Sergio Marchionne says

It was thought the door to the future for the Dodge Viper had closed last year, but Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne reopened it during his press conference at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show. Marchionne said the current Viper is the only FCA product to use the ZD platform, which "doesn't make sense to me." Yet, "given the architectural development within the brand, there is a possibility that a new version of the Viper may surface." Automobile reports that the company uses a versatile, rear- and all-wheel drive Giorgio platform for Alfa Romeo and Dodge. It will support the Alfa Romeo Giulia (Alfa Romeo's larger BMW 5 Series competitor), the next-generation Dodge Challenger, Charger, and rumored Barracuda, and it could support a new generation of Viper. We're probably talking about a different kind of Viper, though, with Automobile saying, "the current car's truck-based V-10 no doubt would be scrapped along with its platform." A Viper without a V10 doesn't seem like a Viper to us, but we'll wait to see what happens. In the midst of contract negotiations for a new labor agreement between FCA and the United Auto Workers last year, it emerged that the Conner Avenue Assembly plant that builds the Viper hadn't been given any new product after the end of Viper build-out in 2017. That led most to reason that the current Viper would be the end of the 25-year run of America's hairiest sports car. How long we'll be waiting is unknown. Marchionne had no timetable and admitted that a future Viper might not appear on the heels of the current one. With a renewed commitment to being debt-free by 2018, FCA is likely more focused on getting Alfa Romeo running properly and cranking out the volume variants for the Giorgio platform first. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2014 SRT Viper GTS: Review View 36 Photos News Source: Automobile via World Car FansImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Detroit Auto Show Dodge Coupe Performance Sergio Marchionne FCA conner avenue assembly plant

Daily driving a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat

I took delivery of my 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat at Ron Carter Dodge in League City. Bobby Pate and the entire Ron Carter team made the buying experience painless. Thanks, guys! It was worth the nine-month wait to get a new Challenger Hellcat at sticker price. My Hellcat is Phantom Black Tri-coat Pearl with a black interior. The car has the six-speed manual transmission and UConnect. Yes, I know the eight-speed automatic is faster, but the manual transmission provides a level of enjoyment that must be experienced to be appreciated. My original intention was to write daily about my experiences with the Hellcat, but I have been having too much fun with the car. The first 100 miles required incredible self-control to keep the car under 55 mph and engine speed under 3500 rpm. The difference in the driving experience after 500 miles was – and I am only exaggerating a little – life altering!The Red Key To paraphrase Morpheus in The Matrix, "You take the black key, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red key, you stay in wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes." The black key is in a place where it will stay until the red key is snatched from my cold, dead hand. The red key is the only key. The red key is "The Key." All 707 horsepower are available with the red key. You can lower the horsepower to only 500 using the SRT pages, I have heard, but why? I have driven the Hellcat in bumper-to-bumper Houston traffic in red-key mode. I have driven the Hellcat in the pouring rain in red-key mode. I have driven the Hellcat to the mall, to the grocery store, to the movies, and to Killen's Steakhouse in Pearland for a 100% Japanese Wagyu steak from the Kagoshima Prefecture. (It was a birthday present from my son. My money goes into the gas tank of my Hellcat.) Just for fun, I used the SRT Pages to put the car in valet mode. For those of you who do not know, valet mode limits the horsepower to: oh, hell! Who cares? The car felt like the parking brake had not been disengaged. I have heard rumors that the Tremec six-speed transmission has a 1-4 skip-shift feature. My Hellcat has never been subjected to this travesty.Questions, questions, and more questions Q: How much over sticker did you have to pay? A: Zero Q: What kind of gas mileage do you get? A: ROTFL Q: How did you ever talk your significant other into letting you buy the Hellcat? A: I didn't ask.