1967 Dodge Coronet R/t Hardtop 2-door 7.2l on 2040-cars

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2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition celebrates an icon

Fifty years ago, Dodge commissioned Creative Industries to build the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona as a homologation special to satisfy NASCAR rules. The extraterrestrial-looking coupe conquered at the race track, broke records, and frightened any onlooker possessed of a weak constitution; it's claimed that even the carmaker's general manager at the time, Bob McCurry, considered the Charger Daytona the ugliest car he'd ever laid eyes on. Time having worked its magic, Dodge is celebrating the now-iconic Winged Warrior with the 2020 Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition. The new model goes without a nose cone and vertical stabilizers, but it does loose 717 horsepower from its 6.2-liter supercharged V8, which is 10 more than the standard car. The grunty sedan will be available in four colors: Pitch Black, Triple Nickel, White Knuckle, and B5 Blue exclusive to this model. B5 was the original paint code for a Blue Fire Poly hue available on Dodge and Plymouth products built between 1969 and 1972. Evoking the original as well as highlighting the decklid spoiler on the new Charger, the black, nickel, and blue sedans get white "Daytona" decals on the rear quarter panels and a white spoiler, matching white Hellcat badges on the front fenders. White cars get blue "Daytona" decals and spoiler, and Hellcat badges in a bright finish. Twenty-inch Warp Speed wheels finished in Satin Carbon on all-season Pirellis and black Brembo brakes complete the exterior overhaul. Inside, heated and cooled 12-way adjustable performance seats are trimmed in Nappa leather and Alcantara, with blue cross-stitching joining seatbacks embroidered with the word "Daytona." The flat-bottomed, suede-wrapped steering wheel with silver stitching and "velour-bound" floor mats will only come in this model, the festival of special appointments also including the dynamica suede headliner, carbon fiber instrument panel and bezels, light black chrome trim pieces, and blue stitching on the dash, shifter, center console armrest, and door panels. Dodge will only produce 501 units, said to match the number of cars necessary for NASCAR homologation at the time, and each wears a plaque identifying it as "X out of 501." NASCAR rules in 1969 demanded 500 units, actually — the car Dodge built in 1968 to race was called the Charger 500, in fact. Also, Creative Industries built 503 1969 Charger Daytonas for the U.S. and another 40 for Canada, but who's counting?

NHTSA investigating 110,000 Ram 2500s and 3500s, one death alleged

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched an investigation focusing on 110,000 Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500 pickups from model years 2004 to 2006. One death has already been reported, according to NHTSA, due to a potential fault with the clutch interlocks on manual-transmission versions of the heavy duty pickup.
According to the report, these trucks can be started without depressing the clutch. There have been three reports so far, and as we mentioned above, one very sad incident seems to have resulted in the death of a child.
"One complaint involved an incident that occurred when a child was able to enter the vehicle and start the ignition without depressing the clutch. The vehicle then moved forward striking another child resulting in a fatality," NHTSA said in the investigation bulletin, which you can view below.

Chrysler Recalls Over 566,000 Trucks, SUVs

Fiat Chrysler is recalling more than 566,000 trucks and SUVs in two recalls for malfunctioning fuel heaters that can cause fires and a software glitch can disable the electronic stability control. The recalls bring the newly merged company's total for the year to 6.4 million vehicles worldwide and 5.1 million in the U.S. as it continues to struggle with reliability problems. It was not immediately clear whether those totals were annual records. On Tuesday, its longtime quality chief abruptly left after Fiat Chrysler performed poorly in Consumer Reports magazine's annual reliability rankings. The largest of two recalls announced Wednesday covers almost 382,000 Ram 2500 and 3500 pickups and Ram 4500 and 5500 chassis cabs from 2010 through 2014. In trucks with 6.7-Liter Cummins diesel engines, corrosion on a fuel heater terminal could cause overheating, fuel leaks and fires. Chrysler is not aware of any fires or injuries. Owners could be warned by an odor of diesel fuel. Customers will be notified by letters starting in December. Dealers will install upgraded terminals and fuel heater housings could be replaced. The second recall covers more than 184,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango SUVs from 2014. A debris cover over a circuit board in the steering column control module can disrupt communications and disable the stability control. The problem was discovered when dealers started getting reports from customers that electronic stability control warning lights were coming on. Fiat Chrysler says it knows of no crashes or injuries caused by the problem. Technicians will upgrade software to fix the SUVs, and customers will be notified in December. Fiat Chrysler has issued 33 global recalls and 27 in the U.S. so far this year. Doug Betts, its longtime quality chief, left the company to pursue other options after Consumer Reports' survey-based rankings this year showed four FiatChrysler brands at the bottom of its list. Dodge, Ram, Jeep and Fiat performed worst of 28 brands ranked by the magazine. Company spokesman Eric Mayne said Fiat Chrysler's recalls average fewer than 200,000 vehicles each, below the industry average of 301,000. That means the company is responding quickly to problems, he said, adding that eight of its 27 U.S. recalls were announced before the company received any consumer complaints. Chrysler is not alone with a high number of recalls so far this year.