By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Yeah, I’ve got mixed feelings about the 2010 Mustang redesign–I want to love it, but with its melted contours and bubble-butt, it’s kind of been doing the opposite of growing on me. However, if anyone can make the best of Mustang design, it’d have to be Saleen. Fragmentary teaser pics of the revised S281 have been floating around for awhile now, but with just a few days to go before SEMA kicks off, full images of the hot new Mustang have found their way onto the internet–strategically, I’m guessing. It looks promising, and thankfully subtle–I’m digging the retro blackout treatment and the fastback-style solid C-pillars. We’ll be sure to get all the details for you at the show next week! See more pics below the jump.

Via MotorTrend.

Continue reading "2010 Saleen S281 "Leaked" Before SEMA Debut" »

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Wow. We knew that Sallen was shopping for a buyer but this one hit us upside the head. MJ Acquisition was the purchaser and they are already in the high-performance industry, overseeing the operation of several companies. Read the release after the jump. It’s not incredibly clear about what exactly is going on, but it definitely paints a picture that the new owners will be carrying the torch.

Continue reading "Breaking News: Saleen Sells Off All Its Assets" »

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Within the last week, Barrett-Jackson held their Spring Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. This is THE sale that usually determines the pricing that prominent collectible automobiles and trucks might be able to command over the next year. Because of the importance of this particular event, it is being covered by almost every automotive blog, print journal, and cable television channel, including Speed, Car and Driver, and of course, CarDomain. Based on the winning bid prices hammered at the close of the event on Saturday evening, it looks like the collectible car is being sought as a safe haven for an attractive investment. Out of over 320 Cars, Trucks, and Motorcycles sold on Saturday, 125 of them fetched over $100,000, Like the car illustrated below, the Buick Blackhawk, which sold for an astonishing $522,500, on a Scrap Title no less! Only one vehicle went over $1 million, and that was in fact the Ford Tri-Motor Airplane.

Continue reading "Final Bids at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale: Too Low, Too High, or a Mixed Bag?" »

Saleen developed a Ford Ranger for SCCA truck racing in the 80′s, and the rules stated that in order for it to be legal, an equivalent model had to be made available for public purchase. So 24 civilian-issue Rangers were rolled out in ’88, along with the tiny handful of competition models built between 1987 and 1990. Here’s one of them, in virtually mint condition, on eBay. The non-competition version has a 2.9L V6 and a five-speed, plus some pretty burly suspension upgrades and a bodykit. I dig the totally-80′s striped velour interior. But the real kicker is seeing the Saleen lettering on the humble Ranger pickup. Check out the auction!

You can now get your Fast Lane Daily fix here on CarDomain, as we will be serving up their videos every weekday. Today’s episode, hosted by Derek D, brings you a bunch of hot new stories from the web, including a look at the new Saleen-tuned Ford Focus. Hey, it’s almost as cool as the Focus we built for SEMA last year.

CarDomain member MoparRob07 was one of those who entered his car for the Fast and Furious casting call we ran in the blog earlier this year. Though his gorgeous Daytona Charger didn’t make the final cut for that film, our friends at Rich King Casting were so impressed by his ride that they called him back many months later to offer the car a role in the new Knight Rider TV series! Last week they went out to the California desert for some filming, and Rob got a bunch of cool spy shots. Even the "Attack Mode" KITT that Dave blogged last week was in attendance. Check out the very bottom of Page 3 of Rob’s ride page for all the pics!

As Nate pointed out, this week’s Showroom Showdown was mostly based on styling, since it was difficult to find two supercharged models from these builders that matched up well in terms of price and hp. And yes, I agree with many that the price is a bit steep for these considering you don’t get much in the way of a performance increase over a stock GT. Still, I was surprised that the Saleen dominated this one so brutally–Roush only got a handful of votes. Maybe in the coming weeks I’ll pit a supercharged Saleen against one of the Griggs no-nonsense track cars. That might be interesting.

Saleen and Roush are two heavyweights when it comes to Mustang tuners. For this Showroom Showdown, I’ve pitted their entry-level pony cars against each other–the Saleen S281 3V vs. the Roush Stage 2. Both come with various suspension and styling tweaks (and the Saleen comes with a very mildly tuned engine to bump the hp up to 335 vs. the Roush’s stock 300hp). Depending on how you option them, both cars will come in somewhere south of $50k. Motor Trend preferred the Saleen in their test. Which would you choose?

Oh, and thanks to Nate for the idea!

The last one of only 15 ever made, this SR7′s got an impressive motorsports pedigree. It’s known as Chassis 00067—racecars, which often endure multiple engine swaps, wrecks, and component changes, are typically identified by chassis number. 00067 scored three 1st-place finishes in last year’s FFSA French GT Series, and placed 5th in the 24 Hours of LeMans endurance race. It’s been driven to victory by Oreca teammates Laurent Groppi and Bruno Hernandez, and comes complete with all its trophies. Think you might want to add it to "the collection"? Go for it! Bidding starts at only $1,000,000.

Ok, so this one wasn’t even close. The Saleen won by a 2-to-1 margin. Lambos haven’t been doing too well in our Showroom Showdown. The last Lambo got smoked by a Ferrari. Oh well, maybe next time…