By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Welcome to another edition of the CarDomian Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot, in which I highlight a car that I think is a Muscle Car, and then try and convince you that it belongs in the Parking Lot. Performance cars were waning in the late 70′s due to emission regulations and two fuel embargoes, but Chrysler still tried to create a performance image for the “F” body cars, known as the Plymouth Volare and Dodge Aspen. These cars had an ever-growing reputation for poor quality, and numerous recalls, so Chrysler was eager to spruce up their image any way they could. So, are these high performance coupes worthy of the Parking Lot? Let’s explore the Plymouth Volare Road Runner, and the Dodge Aspen R/T.

Continue reading "The CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot: The Dodge Aspen R/T and Plymouth Volare Road Runner" »

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Welcome to another installment of the CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot, a regular feature which aims to expand the definition of what a muscle car is, and to find out if there is such a thing as four cylinder muscle while doing so. The Dodge division of Chrysler had a marketing coup during the early 1990′s because it sponsored a series of races called the International Race of Champions, or IROC. This series was promoted as the equivalent of the all star game for Major League Baseball, or the equivalent of the Masters Golf Tournament. In this series, drivers raced identically prepared stock cars, in an effort to make it a test based on just the drivers ability. The series started in 1974 with Porsche Carrera RSR’s, but quickly switched to Chevrolet Camaros the next season, and was the car of choice for the next 12 seasons. It was Dodge that provided major sponsorship for the 1991 IROC season, and the cars would assume the shape of the Dodge Daytona for the next three seasons. However, since the Daytona was really a FWD Sports Coupe, there was no relationship between race car and production car. But, let’s not dismiss the IROC Daytona R/T, because it was one very potent car.

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot: The 1992 – 93 Dodge Daytona IROC R/T" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

And at what price? I’m waiting for Magnum R/Ts to dip under $10k…

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I thought Nick’s clear-hood HEMI idea was pretty cool, and he’s got some other great gems on his ride page–his avatar, for one, is a Disney Cars version of his “Top Banana” Daytona R/T Charger. Other treats include the dragstrip pics on page 3 and the shifter-mod pics on page 2–nice yellow pool ball! Definitely check him out.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Robin McQueen sold this E-body back in the 80s and now he wants it back. It was last seen up on jackstands in Winnipeg (Lockport), Manitoba in 1986. According to Robin:

The hood is the most distinguishing feature. When I got the car, it had a fiberglass hood scoop riveted on top of the factory R/T hood, and a hole was cut under it. I took the hood to a body shop, and they cut out the entire center raised portion aft of the scoops. A very large piece of metal was welded in, resulting in a hood that looked original from outside, but the surgery was evident underneath. It had a piece of styrofoam between the hood brace and the sheet metal.

Anyone know this car? More pics, details and Robin’s contact info at Maple Leaf Mopars

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Dodge brought two Challenger R/Ts to NAIAS. One came equipped with the Classic package, which means it had stripes, old school Challenger badging and 20 inch five spoke wheels. The other R/T came equipped with a bunch of Mopar Performance bolt-ons, including a hood scoop, cue ball shifter, exhaust, strut tower brace and intake. I was hoping to see a B5 blue car but I’m told it will be another month before they start building those. More pics after the jump!

Continue reading "Dodge Challenger at NAIAS" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Going into this week’s Showroom Showdown I was pretty sure the Camaro would win. And some people thought that this match-up was unfair since the Challenger has been out for a while and there has been so much anticipation around the Camaro. But when I counted the 120+ votes I came up with a dead heat! Heck, a lot of people voted for both! (I really enjoyed Blake87′s rant about t-tops.) So props to Dodge and Chevy. I guess we’ll have to take this one to the drag strip…

For Veterans Day I took the Challenger out for for a little family jaunt around Bainbridge Island. Man, the ferry ain’t cheap—$18 to get there and $11 to get back. And I think Bainbridge Island drivers are even slower than Seattle drivers.

First of all, you can’t go anywhere in the Challenger without being mobbed. In the ferry line. On the ferry. Off the ferry. Mopar guys. Regular guys. People who think it’s the new Camaro. People who don’t know what it is but like it anyway. Basically, everyone wants to stop and talk about this car. Continue reading...

Continue reading "Challenger R/T on Bainbridge Island" »

We just got our hands on a 6 speed Challenger R/T. Man, it’s easy to roast the tires on this thing, even with the traction control on. The car feels pretty porky, but it sticks through corners. I think I preferred the overall proportions of the Bullitt we had last month, but the Mustang doesn’t come with a Hemi or IRS. Anyway, we have the Mopar for a full week, so stay tuned…

Continue reading "6 Speed Challenger R/T at CarDomain Headquarters!" »

This 2009 R/T was destined for the crusher until it was scooped up by the Mopar Undergound team, who has just started modding it for SEMA. First off, they are tweaking the nose and rear spoiler a bit to make the R/T look a bit longer and pay more tribute to the 1970 original. More pics and details at Automobile.