Ever wondered what’s it like to run a long-distance vintage car rally in a 1951 Chrysler New Yorker? Well, consider this: the car is as heavy as it is unbreakable.At least that’s what owner Jake Auerbach says in the following Petrolicious video about his 1951 New Yorker, a car that unfortunately hit and killed two deer at the same time during a rally and carried on like nothing happened.Bought from eBay, the car has an impressive racing pedigree. It ran in the famed La Carrera Panamericana race in Mexico and the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in Colorado. Since Auerbach and his father bought the Chrysler, they drove many miles in it, running the New York-to-Vancouver leg of the Trans-America Challenge in 2012 in addition to numerous other events.
Remember the Volvo P1800? Well, you want the S version because it was built in Sweden instead of Scotland, along with many of the Chrysler-Rootes Group cars.ranwhenparked has more:
The Chrysler-Rootes plant in Linwood, Scotland was pretty terrible. It was constructed specifically to build the Hillman Imp (full disclosure, I actually kind of like that car, my dad’s British expatriate friend had one for decades).
Chrysler wanted to build the car at their existing factory in Ryton, but oh no no, the UK government had other ideas. With Scotland’s shipbuilding industry essentially dead (partly, OK, heavily due to government policy), the idea was to replace it with car production. So, Chrysler was denied the necessary permits to expand the Ryton plant, but was given generous subsidies to build a new factory in Linwood and really needed to build the car somewhere, so they went with it.
All their suppliers were still located in England, Linwood was basically in the middle of a vast no-man’s land for the auto industry, which led to high transportation costs and frequent parts shortages. The local workforce was inexperienced in car assembly, which led to poor quality and low productivity (the rush to get production going was also to blame, as it shortened training time). Turnover was high and labor problems were rampant – there were over two dozen strikes in one year alone. The factory operated deep in the red throughout its existence and was ultimately closed in the mid ’70s after only 13 years in operation.
Well, you want the S version because it was built in Sweden instead of Scotland, along with many of the Chrysler-Rootes Group cars. ranwhenparked has more: The Chrysler-Rootes plant in Linwood, Scotland was pretty terrible. It was constructed …
5/14/1969 – Last Corvair build. If you know only a little about automotive history or maybe politics or the consumer safety revolution of the 60’s and 70’s you’ll know the name Ralph Nader. With a little Google’in you’ll find various search results linking him to the demise of the Chevy Corvair (and apple pie and America) – most are not flattering to Mr. Nader. According to most accounts the last Corvair carried 6000 as the last 4 digits of it’s serial number. The car was blanketed by the press when it rolled off the assemble, but then disappeared. There are various stories as to the actual disposition of car #6000 but it remains a mystery. We do know it was a two door, hard top, Monza, Olympic Gold was the color and it likely had a Service 140 replacement engine.
I’m seeing the Corvair but can’t help notice the Nova’s on the rail car.
The last Corvair convertible was #5997 which was a Forest Green Monza that has come up for sale a few times.
The last Corvair ‘vert.
If you are a Corvair fan you’ll enjoy this read: 1969 Corvair: Finger Tip Facts by Corvair historian Dave Newell.
5/17/1868 – Horace Dodge was born in Niles, Mich. Horace and his brother started out working in a boiler plant and invented a dirt proof ball baring and begin producing bicycles (1897). In 1901 they began production automotive parts which led to a contract in 1902 to build transmissions for Oldsmobile. The following year they refused a contract renewal with Olds and began producing engines for Ford. By 1913 the Dodge boys were producing trucks, ambulances and other vehicles for the military. The produced their first commercial car in 1917.
Dodge Half-Ton Military pickup
1913 Dodge Brothers Touring car.
Thanks for reading. If you have an auto factoid, drop me a note.
Just a field full of vintage Mopar metal!!!! You’ve gotta love the prices that these car brought.
I often read where automotive writers type, “Where are all the classic/muscle cars?” They really need to get out more. There are many places just like this one across the U.S. Take a drive a cross the Painted Desert. I’m sure I saw at least 10 muscle Mustangs in the backyards, garages and car ports!!!
Ok, let’s get overly simple: Your classic Mopar has come from the factory with a leaf-spring suspended rear end. This setup has been installed in cars and trucks since the automobile’s humble beginnings. It works well in factory-designed situations …
With over 30,000 members, ForABodiesOnly.com has become the largest and leading authority online for information focused on “A” Body Classic Mopar cars and is pleased to celebrate a decade of serving the community. Chicago, IL — (SBWIRE) …
I guess Chrysler….or…um Fiat…can’t seem to generate enough interest in the new Viper selling only 91 cars so far this year. Nor did they sell that great last year only 591 went to new homes.
2013
2014
Chrysler laid of about 90 employees recently at SRT and now the Viper assembly plant is closed until June.
A source in the supplier industry tells Autoline Daily that the Viper assembly plant will be shut down for 15 weeks. Chrysler says it will be shut for 11 weeks starting the week of April 14. The plant was originally going to shut for …
Here are your Auto Factoids for the week of April 20, 2014;
Only 3 major hits this week.
The first is that the American Motor Corporation (AMC) was formed by the merger of Nash and Hudson that happened on 4/22/1954. It was actually Nash-Kalvinator and Hudson. Cars were still produced under the Hudson name until 1957.
Hudson Hornet Hollywood.
You know that AMC brought you some pretty out of the ordinary cars (Gremblin, Pacer) as well as some class muscle, (AMX, Javelin, Rebel).
There is great article on a Rebel in the May 2014 Hemmings Muscle Machine on a 1970 AMC Rebel.
Next up Chrysler purchases Lamborghini on 4/23/1987. What? Yes….funny now Chrysler is owned by an Italian car company (Fiat). Oh it was a smoking deal, only $25 million dollars. That lasted until 1994 when Chrysler sold Lamborghini to an Indonesianan company. In 1998 Volkswagen took over Lamborghini.
Finally this week back on 4/25/1970 Mazda’s first cars show up on U.S. shores.
Mazda’s 1970 RX-2
Thanks for reading.
Tim
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If you blinked, you missed it. The limited-edition Mopar ’14 Challenger, the latest Chrysler Group LLC vehicle to come straight from the factory already upgraded with Mopar products, has sold out in just the first day after being made available to dealers.
The Mopar ’14 Challenger is the most recent limited-edition vehicle offered by the brand, continuing the success of the Mopar ’10 Challenger, Mopar ’11 Charger, Mopar ’12 300 and Mopar ’13 Dart in demonstrating how owners can personalize their rides with Mopar products — even before driving away from the dealership. With only 100 built, the Mopar ’14 Challenger is the rarest limited-production Dodge Challenger offered to date.
Dodge resurrects ‘shaker’ hood, Scat Pack Club to mark centennial. The shaker hoods surround working cold-air intakes mounted to the Challenger’s 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engine. They are engineered to meet noise and safety regulations, Chrysler officials said.
While it’s hard to discount the Chrysler K-cars’ historical significance (they did, more or less, save the company under Lee Iacocca’s leadership), most owners viewed them as disposable transportation, to be driven to the point of failure and then discarded. Recently, however, survivor K-cars have been turning up at auctions with surprising selling prices, such as the 1983 Chrysler Town & Country Mark Cross convertible that drew a winning bid of $13,750 (including the 10 percent buyer’s premium) at last weekend’s Auctions America sale in Auburn, Indiana.
Collectible K-Cars? Of course!!!! But did the K-Car really save Chrysler?
No Chrysler K Car Convertible (even if it was owned by Jon Voight)? Seriously, you’re going to include aftermarket jobs that nobody has ever heard of and not the infamous K Car? 6/08/12 11:49am. NovaloadUZundfolge. 1. L.
And what a car Neil had prepared for us- a 1970’s Chrysler K car convertible. Apparently, the parade assembly folks had spotted this classic in front of the Handy Bros. Garage earlier that morning and asked Neil if the thing still …
