By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Welcome to another edition of the CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot, where I find Obscure Cars that should be considered Muscle Cars, and then try and convince you that they belong in the Parking Lot. Chrysler Corporation was at the forefront of the muscle car era, offering iconic high-performance machines such as the Road Runner, the Charger, the Super Bee, the Plymouth GTX, the Baracuda, and even the Chrysler 300. There is one division within the company, Imperial, that produced more of an understated luxurious automobile. However, by 1969, Imperial shared most of its body, chassis, engine, and even its dimensions with its Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth stablemates. With this in mind, one could purchase a coupe version of the Imperial, equipped with a 440 CID V-8, and have almost as much performance as either the Dodge Polara, or Plymouth Fury GT, in a more refined package. So, is the Imperial an Obscure Muscle Car? Let’s find out.

Continue reading "The CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot: The 1969 – 73 Imperial Coupe" »

By Sam Barer

Sound Classics

If you read the major car publications it’s easy to get the feeling that all automotive journalists agree on everything. When journalists sing universal praise, throw jeers or are notoriously silent, it’s hard for readers to disregard.

There are plenty of conspiracy theories that blame editors beholden to advertisers scaring writers into not even trying to say something good about one car or bad about another. Personally, I buy more into the explanation of groupthink, as it’s easy to be confident in your opinion when others have come to the same conclusion time and time again.

I, however, being totally independent (not to mention subtle-as-a-chainsaw) have no problem saying where I differ from the rest. So here is my list of Top Ten Automotive Things About Which I Disagree With My Colleagues.

10) Chrysler 300C: I’ve owned plenty of Chryslers in my time, so maybe this is why I approached the 300C with a more critical eye. Consequently, I never liked the 300C (and its lesser variations) as much as the rest of the automotive journalists.

Everyone else saw a good-looking car with ample power from the “Hemi V8″. I saw past the nice styling and focused on a huge car with sub-Honda Accord-sized leg and knee room (courtesy of typically ultra-thick, but not very comfortable front seats). As nice as the Hemi (sans hemispherical combustion chambers) was, it couldn’t overcome the totally numb steering and spongy braking that made the car feel cumbersome. Plus, as someone who lived through Chrysler ownership, there was always the certainty that the 300C would be just like Chrysler’s other vehicles — engineered at low cost to ensure high failures, which would only be made worse by one of the most poorly trained dealer service networks in America.

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "Top Ten Automotive Things About Which I Disagree With Most Other Automotive Journalists" »

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

Okay, so I’m a sucker for a station wagon, especially one with that wonderful faux wood siding that always seemed to age faster than the rest of the car. Of course, nothing screams Seventies quite like Avocado Gold Metallic (or all 27 variations of brown), which is exactly what’s slathered on this 1975 Chrysler Town & Country with an asking price of $13,950. From the seller’s description:

1975 Chrysler New Yorker Town & Country 9 Passenger Wagon – 84,000 One Owner miles on this very well cared for mid 70’s Full Size Luxury Wagon! 440 TNT Motor – Factory A/C – 50/50 front seat (LH power) – Power Tailgate, Window & Lock – Avocado Gold Metallic in color with Black vinyl interior – No Rust Here!!

See more pics at Hemmings

By Mike Musto

RideLust.com

Over the last few years values in the collector car market have gone up and down more times then Oprah’s scale. Cars that were once in the six-figures are now in the five-figures with more market flux to come. Buyers who are new to the market can easily become confused and it is very easy to get taken advantage of by sellers who are less than honest.

I get e-mails constantly inquiring as to what cars to pick up as future collectibles. I also get asked my opinion on what the best bang for the buck is amongst these automobiles. After doing a bit of research, I’ve put together a list of automobiles that I would classify as having “future collect-ability”. These are cars that can be purchased right now and are priced between: $8,000 – $20,000.

1. 1983-1984: VW Rabbit GTI
90 hp / 106 ft-lbs tq. 1.8-liter 4 cylinder, Top Speed: 114 mph

What you are looking at here is the first real hot hatch to be brought into the United States. Even though it only had 90 hp, the high-revving GTI was a total blast to drive. It was quick, handled great and looked the business with its signature grill and wheels. Good examples can be had for between: $8,000 – $10,000.

See the rest of the rides on my list at Ridelust.com

By Katherine Helmetag

Atomicalex

It’s a good thing that Chysler hasn’t messed with the Wrangler. About the only thing you can do to it without messing up what could be the perfect vehicle is come out with new appearance packages. The Islander trim includes neoprene seats with tiki images, island blue paint, and some new hood stickers. 100% show, but who cares? It’s still an Wrangler underneath. More pics after the jump.

Continue reading "Tiki Jeep" »

By Ron Honig

WaytooFurious

Well Christmas is now well and truly behind us. I found it tough getting back into the swing of things at work after my break. However when I think about it I really don’t have anything to complain about, after all Santa was reallllly good to me. It’s not every year that you have a new car show up in your driveway on the day before Christmas.

Okay Santa didn’t buy me a car, I did. As they say the best presents are the ones you buy for yourself. For a number of reasons I recently decided to sell my Valiant station wagon. Being a Mopar guy my daily driver obviously had to be another Mopar so I decided to buy myself a VJ. The VJ was Chrysler Australia’s attempt to stop themselves from plunging into obscurity. It actually worked for a while because it turned out to be their largest seller with 90,000 plus cars being picked up by the public. Unfortunately it couldn’t stop their eventual demise. Back in the day the VJ came standard with a number of items that you usually had to pay good money for. Among them were standard front disc brakes, retractable seatbelts and a lockable glove-box! I just love the look of a lowered VJ with a decent set of mags, and I can’t wait to get mine on the road. It’s currently with my mechanic getting roadworthied so hopefully it wont be to long before I have it registered. I will keep you updated as project VJ progresses.

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

After yesterday’s HFOD, I decided to go looking for an under-$10k two-door on Hemmings.com, just to prove to myself that they do exist, and quickly stumbled upon this one, a 1983 Chrysler Town and Country convertible that looks to be in great shape out in Palm Springs, California. From the seller’s description:

This is a two owner Chrysler LeBaron Town & Country Convertible (Mark Cross Edition). One of only 1500 Marc Cross editions made in 1983! Powered by a 2.6 liter 4 cylinder engine with an automatic transmission. Equipped with air conditioning, power windows & door locks, power top, remote mirrors, AM/FM cassette stereo, cruise control, power seats, digital dash, premium Mark Cross leather, and more… Car had new top installed one year ago.

See more pics at Hemmings

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

This is the poster-child for what is currently wrong with Chrysler. It’s another special edition PT Cruiser, a car that was suppose to be killed off a year ago. The only thing forward thinking with this car is the deep red interior. If anything, this show signals the return of reds for interior appointments. So what do you think?

Continue reading "NAIAS: The Sad Sad state of Chrysler; A Special Edition PT Loser, er Cruiser" »

By Katherine Helmetag

Atomicalex

The FIAT merger seems to be a go now. This Chrysler-badged Lancia Delta surprised us – we propose calling it the Atlantica. It is smaller than the Pacifica….

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

On Sunday I’m flying out to Detroit to cover the North American International Auto Show with Katherine and Jim. We’ll be talking to folks at GM, Ford, Chrysler and VW, and of course reporting on everything cool we find at the show. I had a blast last year and I’m looking forward to going to the Designer Night party again this year. So is there anything in particular you guys want me to ask about or report on? My buddies at Moparts already loaded me up with a ton of questions about the Challenger. We’ve also set up meetings with a bunch of the Mustang designers and engineers, so definitely post your Mustang questions here. We’ll be posting plenty of pics in the CarDomain Events section, and a ton of video on StreetFire as well, so stay tuned…