Tag Archives: Dodge

1968 Dodge Charger at the New Hope Car Show

August 28, 2014 Albert S. Davis 2 Comments

Recently, I featured “Dodgezilla” on Mind Over Motor. Well, here’s another 1968 Dodge Charger, but this one is a completely different animal. It’s tame, bred in captivity, as opposed to being fed steroids through a funnel down the carb. This ’68 is a regular Charger with the 383 big block V8, a four-speed manual transmission, and all of the lines that made the ’68-70 a heartthrob both then and now. This white example sported a red interior–a bit unusual for a Charger, but considering that this one was restored as more of a cruiser than a bruiser, that’s perfect. This was a brutally cool car in its day, and the Charger’s aura has aged well, rather like a fine wine. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading 1968 Dodge Charger at the New Hope Car Show →

Cars We've Seen

Alex Roy’s Citroen SM and Michael Musto’s Dodge Charger spotted in Carmel, CA

August 21, 2014 Albert S. Davis 2 Comments

This past week, Nick and I became familiar with how certain cars will show up almost everywhere. Alex Roy, the owner of a Citroen SM, and as a result a man with impeccable taste, was in Monterey all weekend, and we first saw his car parked in the parking lot at The Quail on Friday evening. The next day, Nick and I were looking for a parking spot after spending the entire day at Laguna Seca. We spotted Roy’s SM once again before coming across Michael Musto’s (of /DRIVE’s Big Muscle series) slick black 1968 Dodge Charger, in all of its glory with chrome rims and red Bumble Bee stripes. After taking photos until the sun came down, Nick and I walked down the street and ran into Mike Musto, who we began talking to, until Alex Roy sprinted up the sidewalk at breakneck speeds. When Alex returned and told the two of us possibly the most hilarious pair of stories I’ve ever heard, we spoke to the two of them and found that these two chaps are incomparably hilarious car guys with plenty to say and great taste in automobiles. Enjoy the photos of the Charger and the SM. Continue reading Alex Roy’s Citroen SM and Michael Musto’s Dodge Charger spotted in Carmel, CA →

Auto Idolatry, Car Shows, SHOWCASE

Say hello to “Dodgezilla”, everyone, the monster of the River Edge Car Show.

August 12, 2014 Albert S. Davis Leave a comment

I’m a sucker for the second-generation Dodge Charger. Produced for a scant three seasons, it’s a representation of the Charger at its very best–a bruising, but sexy muscle car with equal parts testosterone and paunch. It’s difficult to improve these cars…but the owner of this absolutely evil ’68 has managed to do it. With its dark green finish and matching interior, the lines were well-represented on the exterior, but the lack of a hood belies this car’s true intentions. The owner calls it “Dodgezilla”. I couldn’t agree more, especially in green. In the place of a small-block V8 typical to this particular car lies a stomping 440-cid V8, with twin carbs and a high rise intake below the enormous hood scoop. This is not a Dodge for the faint of heart. It may not be terrorizing Japanese workers and tearing down buildings, but it’s green and looks like it’s up to no good anyway. It’s not Godzilla. It’s Dodgezilla. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading Say hello to “Dodgezilla”, everyone, the monster of the River Edge Car Show. →

Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE

Jay Leno Takes The Challenger Hellcat For A Spin!

August 8, 2014 ndubs77 1 Comment

Jay gets his hands on Dodge’s new beast, the Challenger SRT Hellcat. Feel the fury of 707hp!

-Nick

Car Shows, SHOWCASE

Highlights from the 2014 River Edge Car Show

July 15, 2014 Albert S. Davis 2 Comments

On Sunday, I attended the River Edge Classic Car Show in River Edge, NJ thanks to a tip from my aunt, who happens to live there. I was expecting this show to be another small neighborhood car show in a small town in Bergen County. To say the very least, I was completely and utterly wrong. Despite the rain all over New Jersey and the threatening, humid air hovering over the city park, the show went on and was a runaway success. Admission was free, food was reasonably priced, and the atmosphere was friendly and full of good vibes. All sorts of cars were welcome, from a gorgeous early 1930s Chevrolet sedan all the way up to a restored 1970 Plymouth AAR Cuda, among many other fantastic cars. There were muscle cars, hot rods, offbeat classics, Mustangs, and even a Lotus Esprit V8. I was incredibly impressed at the variety and the caliber of cars on display out on the street on Sunday afternoon. The weather held up, everyone had a great time, and I even saw a 1969 Mustang Mach 1 that I’d judged in 2007 (more on that car in a future post). A great day was had. Enjoy the photos, everyone!

Continue reading Highlights from the 2014 River Edge Car Show →

Car Shows, SHOWCASE

Happy Birthday, America! Today, we celebrate burnouts.

July 4, 2014 Albert S. Davis 1 Comment

Hello everyone, and welcome to Independence Day. On this day in 1776, our forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia to mark the birth of our great nation, the United States of America. And on this day in 2014, I would like to feature some of the best burnout pictures we have from the CF Charities Supercar Show last month in Warminster, Pennsylvania–just a stone’s throw from Philadelphia. The burnout may not be distinctly American, but few other automotive gestures are quite as fitting in this great nation as stepping up to the plate and spinning the rear tires into a pulp of rubber, smoke, and mayhem. These great citizens, some of which brought a few foreign cars (this cementing this American smoking institution as a great melting pot), were more than happy to show off their tire-shredding skills. Everything from a slightly crunchy BMW E36 coupe to a hard-boiled Ford F-350 dually packing a 7.3L PowerStroke turbo diesel V8 (with copious amounts of added diesel soot) took part, and much fun was had by all. Enjoy the photos, and happy Fourth of July. Continue reading Happy Birthday, America! Today, we celebrate burnouts. →

Opinions

The Hellcat Challenger is here! Fathers, hide your daughters.

July 3, 2014 ndubs77 3 Comments

It’s America’s birthday this week, and to celebrate Chrysler has released the glorious details on their new 6.2L supercharged Hellcat V8 engine. Commies run for cover!

In a stroke of PR genius, their previous release had said that the new engine would produce “at least 600hp,” but when they announced the real number it was a massive 707hp! This comes as a massively pleasant surprise from Chrysler as their product line has been a bit lacking in recent years compared to rivals from Ford and GM. But just as we thought the horsepower wars might be tapering off for a while, as focus turns to lighter weight, Chrysler launches their long-awaited counter-offensive, and it’s about damn time!

Continue reading The Hellcat Challenger is here! Fathers, hide your daughters. →

Car Shows, SHOWCASE

1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 440 Six Pack Convertible at the Greenwich Concours

June 26, 2014 Albert S. Davis 3 Comments

Right about now, the Dodge Challenger is playing third fiddle to the current Mustang and Camaro. It’s not selling as well as its competition, it’s not as fast, and it’s quite a lot heavier. However, there are a few things it does better than the other two pony cars on the market, and the same was true 44 years ago when the Challenger first launched in 1970. It looked more aggressive and had slick lines for its era, and offered style that the Camaro and Mustang couldn’t match. Today, the same is true–the Challenger, despite its oversized dimensions now, has strong lines, just like this sexy convertible. Retina-searing orange, black stripes, and a black interior never looked so strong in the sunshine.

Clad in Hemi Orange paint, this 1970 convertible looks like a high-class, high-speed machine of the early Seventies, and that’s exactly what it was for. The Challenger never sold as well as the Mustang or Camaro, and the convertible is quite a rare machine, especially in eye-catching R/T trim. This one in particular sports the same engine as the black Road Runner I featured here a few weeks ago–the rip-snorting, eardrum-liberating 440 Six Pack V8. Unlike that Road Runner, this Challenger is controlled by the timeless four-speed manual transmission topped with the Hurst Pistol-Grip shifter. This is quite a rare combination–according to the Standard Catalog of Chrysler, only 61 R/T convertibles were equipped with this engine and transmission combination out of 1,070 R/T convertibles. As a result, KBB lists the value of this particular car at close to six figures. I’m not at all surprised–although values of muscle cars have stabilized, Challengers, and especially ones of this pedigree, are still worth an absolute suitcase of money and I can see why. I haven’t seen too many Challengers, especially 1970 models–but this might be one of the best convertibles that’s not at an auction right now. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 440 Six Pack Convertible at the Greenwich Concours →

Car Shows

Highlights from the CF Charities Supercar Show

June 16, 2014 ndubs77 Leave a comment

We showed you the American hypercars last week, but there were many more awesome cars present at the CF Charities Supercar Show as well. Everything from a Bugatti Veyron to an Ultima GTR to a full-on dragster, the crowds were stunned repeatedly.

Enjoy the highlight gallery of this fantastic show!

Continue reading Highlights from the CF Charities Supercar Show →

Car Shows

Classic American Muscle and Majesty at the Greenwich Concours

June 4, 2014 ndubs77 2 Comments

These are the American classics and muscle cars that stood out for us at last weekend’s Greenwich Concours d’Elegance.

The rumble of many V8 engines ran thickly through the air as the award ceremony began. First the rare Shelby GT350 R came to life, then the furious Roadrunner fired its 440 six pack, all as they prepared to parade in front of excited show-goers. Muscle cars sure have a mighty amount of presence, you can feel it in your bones.

After the Muscles were flexed, we were treated to some 50’s metal in lively colors. Everything from the cliché pink Cadillac to a turquoise Chevy Impala paraded through the show, and I felt a sudden urge for a burger and a nice big milkshake.

Enjoy the photos of all this classic iron!

Continue reading Classic American Muscle and Majesty at the Greenwich Concours →

Cars We've Driven, Exotic Supercars

SRT Viper Review (7.5/10)

March 28, 2014 ndubs77 4 Comments

What is it?

The SRT Viper, formerly known as the Dodge Viper, is the iconic American sports car for people looking to get more out life than a Mustang or a Corvette can offer.

Intended to be a modern incarnation of the legendary Shelby Cobra, the Viper was developed by Chrysler with the help of Carroll Shelby to try and decimate the Chevrolet Corvette in the early 1990s. Where the Corvette of the time had a 300hp V8, the Viper went for the jugular with a 400hp V10. That was just the beginning, and as you will see, things have gotten even crazier since.

But has the Viper become too crazy for the times? Those of you who follow the car industry will know that Viper sales are in the toilet, so much so that Chrysler has actually had to halt production and even pull its Vipers out of racing competition. The Viper could have a serious problem here, and its survival may well be on the chopping block as we speak. Having finally sampled a Viper for myself, I will will use my experience with the car to muse on why it is that the sales of this beast are struggling.

It may seem cold and heartless to us car enthusiasts, but sales are the end-all-be-all in the car industry, especially for low volume production cars such as this. Ferrari and Lamborghini no longer offer manual transmissions in their cars because, plainly, nobody bought them, and now the Viper may be facing a similar situation.

Continue reading SRT Viper Review (7.5/10) →

Cars We've Seen

1968 Dodge Dart GTS 383 Spotted in Lower Manhattan, NYC

March 11, 2014 Albert S. Davis Leave a comment

While on a mafia history tour of what used to be Little Italy, I got temporarily distracted by this post-apocalyptic 1968 Dodge Dart GTS 383 hardtop. Not only was it a GTS, but it was marked as (and the VIN tag corroborated) a 383ci V8 equipped car, so I felt obligated to stop and take a shot of it before we moved to the next set of streets. This particular area of Manhattan used to be a hotbed for Mafia activity, featuring murders, speakeasies, alcohol stowaways, and plenty of other illicit activities. The area’s been cleaned up over the years but near where this car was parked is the KGB bar, one of only a select few speakeasies still operating in Lower Manhattan, on West 4th Street near 1st Avenue.

Spotted by: Albert S. Davis