Tag Archives: Collectible Automobile Magazine

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2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody

2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody

Note: The following story was excerpted from the October 2020 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.

Camaro ZL1Nearly five years ago we took our first look at the Dodge Charger Hellcat. Now for 2020, Dodge has tweaked the car into the new “Widebody” variant. It’s different enough that we think it’s time for a Future Collectibles second look.

2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody

More muscle-car news, reviews and fun

2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody

The most obvious changes are to Charger’s four-door-sedan body, where add-on front and rear fender flares increase the car’s width by 3.5 inches. The flares integrate with new front and rear fascias and side sills. Up front there is a new grille, and out back a model-specific spoiler. The flares help create a vaguely retro road-racer look and visually lower the car.

More practically, the flares made room for bigger rolling stock, so the engineers specified 11-inch-wide alloys and 305/35ZR20 Pirellis. You may recall the 2015 Charger Hellcat ran nine-inch-wide rims clad in already generous 275/40ZR20 rubber. 

 

Widebody also benefits from revised underpinnings including an SRT-tuned adaptive “competition” suspension with three modes. There also are stiffer front springs, beefed-up sway bars, retuned shocks, and a power-steering system with driver-selectable settings.

The brakes are upgraded as well. Up front are 15.4-inch-diameter two-piece Brembo rotors squeezed by six-piston calipers, and the rear binders use four pistons apiece. Dodge claims the 60-0- mph braking in 107 feet, an improvement of four feet. Hellcat’s 707-hp supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi V-8 and eight-speed automatic are carried over.

Dodge supplied performance numbers of 0-60 mph in 3.6 seconds, a quarter-mile dash of 10.96 seconds, and a top speed of 196 mph. The car is said to run a 2.1-mile road course 2.1 seconds quicker than the 2019 Charger Hellcat—which Dodge asserted was equal to a 13-car-length advantage after one lap.

Dodge also celebrates the unforgettable 1969 Charger Daytona, with the 2020 Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition. We aren’t sure why the 50th Anniversary Daytona arrived 51 years after the original, but we are very confident that this car was given an extremely long name!

 

The Daytona special is limited to 501 units, like the ’69 original. Its engine is modestly retuned for 717 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. Daytona-unique details include the trunklid, rear spoiler, and rear quarter-panel decals that together very loosely recall the mile-high wing on the NASCAR-approved ’69. Daytona buyers can choose from four colors, including throwback B5 Blue not offered on other 2020 Chargers. Inside, the black interior receives blue accent stitching, embroidered Daytona callouts, and an individually numbered badge on the dash.

Pricing for the Hellcat Widebody starts at $69,645, with the Daytona edition coming in at $74,140. The destination charge adds a hefty $1495.

Future Collectibles: 2020 Chevrolet Corvette

Pros:

  • Widebody’s add-on flares and huge tires make the still-handsome Charger look lower and even more muscular. 
  • Impressive performance in a large and practical four-door sedan.

Cons:

  • The Charger Scat Pack Widebody looks nearly identical, packs an anything-but-mild 485-horse 392-cid Hemi, and takes just 0.7 seconds longer to go 0-60 mph. Perhaps most significantly it’s more than $23,000 cheaper than the Hellcat.
  • Can’t believe we’re saying this, but 707 horsepower isn’t as shocking as it was five years ago.

Final Drive:

If you thought Dodge had already turned the Charger up to 11 with the Hellcat, the 2020 Widebody bumps it up another notch or two. We think the best choice here is the “base” version. The Daytona doesn’t really capture our imagination, especially considering the near $4500 premium.

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Future Collectibles: 2020 Chevrolet Corvette

2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody

Car Stuff Podcast

Written by: Don Sikora II on October 14, 2021.

For GREAT deals on a new or used Chevrolet check out Ghent Chevrolet TODAY!

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Photo Feature: 1970 Plymouth Sport Suburban

1970 Plymouth Sport Suburban

Note: The following story was excerpted from the October 2018 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine

Frank Troost says his 1970 Plymouth Sport Suburban draws a common comment when he has it out: “We had one when I was a kid, but I haven’t seen one in years.” That’s not surprising since the American station wagon was immensely popular in the Sixties and Seventies, yet the survival rate has been low. 

Troost bought this Sport Suburban in 2008. The Oak Brook, Illinois, resident doesn’t know the history of the car except that it sill wears the badge of a Louisville, Kentucky, dealer. Subject to less wintertime road salt than in more northerly climes, the Plymouth was well preserved, and is original except for the paint and floor mats. Now the nine-passenger model with a rear-facing third-row seat is a favorite spot for Troost’s grandchildren.

Longroof Madness! 13 Classic Ads Featuring Station Wagons

Photo Feature: 1970 Plymouth Sport Suburban

1970 Plymouth Sport Suburban

The Sport Suburban was Plymouth’s premium wagon. It had interior trim comparable to the Fury III sedan and woodgrain vinyl panels on the sides and tailgate as a badge of rank.

Plymouth’s full-size line was redesigned for 1969 with Chrysler Corporation’s “fuselage” styling that made the big cars look even more massive. The wagons rode a 122-inch wheelbase, had an overall length of around 220 inches, and weighed 4260 pounds. For comparison, a modern Chevrolet Suburban SUV is only about five inches longer, but is substantially heavier at 5808 pounds.

The 5 Most-Expensive American Wagons of 1969

Photo Feature: 1970 Plymouth Sport Suburban

1970 Plymouth Sport Suburban

The Plymouth was big inside too, with 104.2 cubic feet of cargo room when the back seats were folded. The Chevy Suburban wins with a 121.7-cubic-foot capacity, but the Plymouth beats the current Dodge Durango’s 84.5-cubic-foot capacity.

The two-way tailgate opened both as a tailgate and as a door. Convenient chrome handles on either side of the opening aided entry. Popular Mechanics commented that the handles “give a long overdue helping hand.”

A standard deflector directed air over the tailgate window to help keep the glass clean. This feature was found on many wagons of the time, but Plymouth’s deflector worked better than the Ford and Chevrolet versions. In a test of 1969 wagons (Chevrolet Kingswood, Ford Country Squire, Sport Suburban, and Pontiac Catalina), Popular Science said, “During PS tests, the Plymouth always had the cleanest tailgate window.” The magazine’s Sport Suburban achieved a 0-60-mph time of 10.4 seconds with a 330-horsepower four-barrel-carburetor 383-cubic-inch V8. Plymouth had the worst fuel economy of the group, averaging only eight mpg—but the best was Pontiac’s 10.4 mpg, so none of the big wagons were exactly frugal.

Woodie Madness! 5 Classic Car Ads Featuring Wood-Sided Rides

Photo Feature: 1970 Plymouth Sport Suburban

1970 Plymouth Sport Suburban

Plymouths were facelifted for 1970 and gained a loop-style front bumper. The Sport Suburban and Sport Furys received a hidden-headlight grille. 

The ’70 Sport Suburban’s base engine was a 230-horse, 318-inch V8. The featured car has a 290-horsepower 383 with a two-barrel carburetor, but peak performance was available via a 350-horsepower 440-cube V8. 

Ford traditionally led in full-size wagon sales, and won in 1970 with 189,015 units sold. Plymouth trailed at 36,813. Among Plymouths, the nine-passenger Sport Suburban was the most expensive at $3804 but the most popular with 9170 sold. Add in the less popular six-seat version and a total of 13,573 Sport Suburbans were built for 1970.

Rising gas prices and changing tastes would soon doom the big station wagons, but in 1970 these welcoming gentle giants still were family favorites.

Woodie Madness! Classic Ads Featuring Small Wood Sided Wagons

Photo Feature: 1970 Plymouth Sport Suburban

1970 Plymouth Sport Suburban

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Listen to the Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast

1970 Plymouth Sport Suburban Gallery

(Click below for enlarged images)

Longroof Madness! More Classic Wagon Ads

Written by: Jack Stewart on August 9, 2021.

For GREAT deals on a new or used Toyota check out Gosch Toyota TODAY!

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1992 Toyota Supra

1992 Toyota Supra

Cheap Wheels

Note: The following story was excerpted from the June 2020 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.

The first two generations of the Toyota Supra were well-equipped, long-wheelbase, six-cylinder variants of the Celica hatchback. Then in 1986, the two cars went separate ways. Celica transformed into a sporty front driver, and Supra went off on a new rear-drive sports-car platform. It’s that first Celica-free Supra that we think would make for a nice set of cheap wheels.

More from Collectible Automobile Magazine

1986-1992 Toyota Supra

The 1982-vintage “A60” Celica Supra continued into early ’86, when it was replaced by the new “A70” third-generation model. Exterior styling evolved. Details included pop-up headlamps and muscular fender bulges. A body molding that carried the grille’s thin horizontal line around the car was a signature element.

Newly optional was a lift-off one-piece Sport Roof; it was similar in concept to the contemporary Chevrolet Corvette’s removable roof section. Top popped, the new Supra looked great. Unfortunately, Car and Driver reported a noticeable loss of body stiffness with the panel removed.

The engine was the 7M-GE DOHC 24-valve 3.0-liter inline six. It was rated at 200 horsepower and 196 pound-feet of torque. Transmission choices were five-speed manual or four-speed automatic. The new Supra ran a double-wishbone independent suspension all around and rolled on 16-inch Goodyear “Gatorback” rubber. Curb weight was nearly 3500 pounds, which Consumer Guide® noted was almost 500 pounds more than the old model.

C/D was largely impressed with the car’s handling and liked the luxurious 2+2 interior, but opined that the driver’s seat was not up to the lofty standard set by the previous Supra’s throne. Also noted were an unimpressive 0-60-mph time of eight seconds and an estimated starting price around $18,000.

In 1987, Toyota added a new Supra Turbo model. Its turbocharged and intercooled 7M-GTE variant of the six was rated at 230 horsepower and 246 pound-feet of torque. Transmission choices remained the same. Antilock brakes were a new option for all Supras.

The ’87 Supra Turbo came standard with the Sport Package that was optional on the base car. It included a limited-slip differential and the Toyota Electronically Modulated Suspension. The driver could select “Sport” or “Normal” settings, and the system would electronically adjust the shocks to one of three firmness levels depending on road and driving conditions. Exterior appearance was nearly identical to the base Supra, but the Turbo did get a hatch-mounted rear wing. The Turbo’s starting price was $22,260.

For 1989, the Supra was tweaked and exterior styling was touched up. A new front-bumper assembly added a vertical element that bisected the grille and swept up to the overhang above it. Out back there were new taillamps and a larger three-piece spoiler.

Under the hood, the Turbo’s 3.0-liter six was modestly reworked. Horsepower was literally up a couple to 232, and torque was now set at 254 pound-feet. Car and Driver reported the ’89 Supra Turbo could reach 60 mph from rest in 6.2 seconds, which was 0.2 of a second quicker than its ’87 Turbo tester. Base price had reached $25,450.

In total, Toyota sold nearly 109,000 gen-three Supras in the United States.

The 15 Fastest Cars of 1982*

Pro:

  • We think this Supra’s vaguely angular late-Eighties styling has aged well, and that’s especially true of the facelifted 1989 and later models.

Con:

  • Naturally aspirated Supras are notably slower than their turbocharged siblings.

Final Drive:

Many enthusiasts will tell you a fourth-generation Supra is the one you want. Sure, but those wheels aren’t cheap, and the gen-three ones are. Considering today’s market realities, this straight-six-powered rear-drive Toyota sportster is compelling in its own right.

Listen to the very entertaining Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast

1992 Toyota Supra

Photo Feature: 1971 Toyota Celica ST Hardtop Coupe

1992 Toyota Supra

Written by: Don Sikora II on May 5, 2021.

For GREAT deals on a new or used Subaru check out Gold Rush Subaru TODAY!

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1960 Edsel Ranger

1960 Edsel Ranger

by Don Sikora II

Note: The following story was excerpted from the April 2011 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine

Introduced by the Ford Motor Company in September 1957, Edsel was Ford’s attempt to capture a larger portion of the medium-price new-car market. But by the start of the 1960 model year, the brand was on very shaky ground.

More Collectible Automobile Photo Features

1960 Edsel Ranger Two-Door Sedan

1960 Edsel Ranger

1960 Edsel Ranger

As the medium-price market developed in the years between the world wars, Ford really didn’t do anything to address this growing—and profitable—part of the business. The 1939 Mercury was the company’s first medium-price offering, but it had to compete with Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick from General Motors; Dodge, DeSoto, and Chrysler from Chrysler; and a collection of strong independents including Nash and Hudson.

Ford executives recognized the importance of this market soon after the end of World War II. Still, serious strategic planning didn’t begin until the Fifties.

Carefully orchestrated leaks and media speculation preceded the introduction of FoMoCo’s new medium-price car, the 1958 Edsel. Despite the planning and hoopla, the Edsel faced major problems even before it ever went on sale. 

Dead-Brand Madness! 10 Classic Edsel Ads

1960 Edsel Ranger

1960 Edsel Ranger

The new car found itself caught up in a perfect storm of brutal office politics, a dramatic sales downturn in the medium-price field, and the worst economic conditions since the end of World War II. With sales failing to live up to expectations from the start, and powerful opponents in company management, Edsel quickly lost support inside of Ford, even before New Year’s Day 1958. It was branded a loser, but no matter how good or bad the ’58 Edsel truly was, it probably never really had a chance to succeed. 

Edsel offerings were dramatically scaled back for 1959, and by 1960, the Edsel was little more than a badge-engineered Ford. Introduced on October 15, 1959, the ’60 Edsel arrived in one series, Ranger. Body styles included two- and four-door sedans and hardtops, a convertible, and six- and nine-passenger Villager station wagons. 

Model-Year Madness! 10 Classic Ads From 1960

1960 Edsel Ranger

1960 Edsel Ranger

Unique sheetmetal was at a minimum, with the hood and the small sections of the rear fenders next to the decklid being the differences. Edsel’s signature central vertical grille was jettisoned, and the new front end looked quite similar to a 1959 Pontiac. At the rear, vertical taillamps set the car apart from the ’60 Ford with its horizontal lenses.

Dealer and customer response was tepid, allowing the company to officially throw in the towel on Edsel a little more than a month after the 1960 model’s introduction. Production ended by November 30, 1959, and totaled a mere 2846 units. 

The featured car is owned by Judy Doster of Abilene, Texas. The two-door sedan was the price leader of the line at $2643 to start, and the second-most popular 1960 Edsel with a run of 777 units.

A 292-cubic inch “Ranger V8 was standard, but this car has the 223-inch “Econ-O-Six,” a $83.70 credit option. It’s joined to an extra-cost automatic transmission.

No Laughing Matter: 5 Cars We Make Fun Of, But Maybe Shouldn’t

1960 Edsel Ranger

1960 Edsel Ranger

Listen to the Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast

1960 Edsel Ranger Two-Door Sedan Gallery

(Click below for enlarged images)

Written by: The Daily Drive staff on April 21, 2021.

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Town Sedan

1929 Cadillac Series 341B

by Leigh Dorrington

Note: The following story was excerpted from the April 2012 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine

Cadillac was due for a “quiet” year in 1929, considering the previous season had seen the arrival of all-new Series 341 cars. They came with attractive styling by Harley Earl, fresh off his success with the 1927 LaSalle; a new 90-bhp 341-cubic-inch version of Caddy’s established L-head V-8 engine; and a chassis with wheelbase stretched to 140 inches, a switch to torque-tube drive, and the adoption of 32-inch-diameter tires.

More from Collectible Automobile Magazine

Those core features were indeed carried into 1929, but Cadillac was still able to make some noise in the automotive field—ironically by quieting things down. The marque introduced the “Synchro-Mesh” transmission, which made it easier to shift into second or third gear without a gratingly audible clash of metal. Other improvements for ’29 included internal-expanding brakes at all four wheels (external-contracting bands had been used previously at the rear), double-acting Delco shock absorbers, safety glass, and an adjustable front seat on most models. Fender-top parking lights replaced cowl lamps.

1929 Cadillac Series 341B

1929 Cadillac Series 341B

The 1929 Series 341B came in 11 “standard” models with Fisher bodies, plus another dozen “Fleetwood Custom” styles. Among the former was the “Town Sedan” featured here, a close-coupled five-passenger four-door model with a shortened body that made room at the back for a large detachable trunk.

Written by: Guest Author on December 1, 2020.

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1964 Ford Galaxie 500

1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Four-Door Sedan

Note: The following story was excerpted from the June 2011 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine

By John Biel

When Gary Spracklin answered the classified ad in a hobby publication, he thought he was buying a whistle-clean daily driver. What he wound up with was an unlikely “trailer queen,” a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 four-door sedan that gets the royal treatment because he decided he wants to keep the odometer reading below 1000.

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That’s right: Spracklin’s 47-year-old Wimbledon White-over-Rangoon Red Galaxie has just 920 miles on it and he’d like to keep it that way. With a few minor exceptions, it’s an homage to originality and preservation.

1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Four-Door Sedan

1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Four-Door Sedan

Faced with a loss of storage space, the Galaxie’s previous owners in New York State put the car up for sale in 1997. A fan and collector of full-sized ’64 Fords (a convertible was his first car at age 16), Spracklin thought the demure four-door sedan would make ideal transportation for someone with his interests. But once he got the Galaxie home to Omaha, Nebraska, he realized that his anticipated “driver” was really a virtual time capsule of how Fords were made in 1964.

At the time Spracklin purchased the car, it had a mere 905 miles on the odometer. Only the original battery and fanbelt had been replaced by earlier owners. Almost immediately he opted to maintain the car as a showpiece of originality. The 15 miles the Galaxie has accumulated since Spracklin obtained it were mostly added in increments necessary to move it around his shop or show fields. In his care, only the engine pulleys and a leaking heater core have been replaced—and Spracklin still has the original pulleys. Though they’re showing signs of age, the bias-ply tires are the same ones that have been on the car since it left the factory.

Photo Feature: 1958 Ford Del Rio Ranch Wagon

1964 Galaxie

1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Four-Door Sedan

Full-sized 1964 Fords were at the end of a four-year styling cycle. However, that didn’t prevent two- and four-door sedans from receiving a new roof design that had a bit more of a forward slope than the Thunderbird-inspired unit of recent years.

Wheelbase stayed pat at 119 inches. Leaf springs supported the rear of big Fords for the last time.

With five body styles, the Galaxie 500 series offered the broadest availability of models and was the volume leader among “standard” Fords. The Galaxie 500 Town Sedan—company nomenclature for a four-door sedan—accounted for 198,805 orders, making it second only to the Galaxie 500 two-door hardtop for the affections of Ford customers that year.

Photo Feature: 1966 Ford Thunderbird

1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Four-Door Sedan

1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Four-Door Sedan

Gary Spracklin’s age-defying car comes pretty close to depicting a Galaxie 500 four-door sedan in its $2667 base state. Blackwall tires, hubcaps, and a three-speed column-shift manual transmission were all standard-equipment items.

The handful of extra-cost options found on Spracklin’s Galaxie starts with its 289-cid V-8 engine. With a two-barrel carburetor and 9.0:1 compression, it develops 195 horsepower at 4400 rpm. As a replacement for the standard 223-cube inline six, it added $109 to the sticker price and was just the first of several available V8s that ran all the way to a 425-horse 427-cube job. Other add-ons to the featured car include its two-tone paint, AM radio, and seat belts.

Photo Feature: 1960 Plymouth Fury Hardtop Coupe

1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Four-Door Sedan

1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Four-Door Sedan

1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Four-Door Sedan Gallery

1964 Ford Galaxie 500

Written by: John Biel on September 7, 2020.

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2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt, 2019 Mustang Bullitt

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of iconic movie “Bullitt” and its fan-favorite San Francisco car chase, Ford introduced the cool and powerful 2019 Mustang Bullitt.

Camaro ZL1

by Don Sikora

Note: The following story was excerpted from the October 2019 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.

Arguably the most famous Mustang of all is the dark-green 1968 Mustang GT fastback that Steve McQueen’s character Lieutenant Frank Bullitt drove in the 1968 motion picture Bullitt. Ford celebrated that iconic car with special-edition Bullitt Mustangs in 2001 and again in 2008-09. For 2019, Ford has released a third Bullitt Mustang, and like the others, it’s our choice for a future collectible. 

More Collectible Automobile fun

2019 Mustang Bullitt

The 2019 Bullitt is based on the Mustang GT Premium with Performance Package. Like the movie car, the exterior is lightly modified for a cleaner, more purposeful appearance. Up front there are unique upper and lower grille inserts, and the upper grille’s usual “pony” emblem is deleted. Subtle chrome accents around the grille and side windows further the retro vibe. Out back, the GT’s decklid spoiler has been left off and a simulated gas cap with a Bullitt logo rests on the panel between the taillamps. There are also quad exhaust tips finished in “NitroPlate Black.”

Exterior colors are limited to Dark Highland Green—like the original movie car—and Shadow Black. Bullitts roll on 19-inch “Heritage” alloy wheels with dark-finish five-spoke centers, and inside the rims the beefy Brembo-brand brake calipers are painted red. Mustang Chief Designer Darrell Behmer described the latest Bullitt this way: “As a designer, it’s my favorite Mustang—devoid of stripes, spoilers, and badges. It doesn’t need to scream about anything—it’s just cool.”

Under the hood, Mustang’s 5.0-liter V-8 received the Shelby GT350’s intake manifold, an Open Air Induction System, and a Bullitt-exclusive tune. The result is 480 hp and 420 pound-feet of torque. A “regular” Mustang GT has 20 less horsepower but the same torque rating. 

Bullitt Mustangs are exclusively available with a six-speed manual transmission, and Ford says the car’s active exhaust system has been retuned to give the Bullitt its signature exhaust burble. A strut-tower brace runs above the 5.0, and it wears an additional Bullitt logo. Top speed is a claimed 163 mph, eight more than a stock Mustang GT.

Moving inside, the office is black with Dark Highland Green accent-stitch detailing. The Bullitt logo appears on the steering wheel, dashboard, and door-sill plates, while the shifter is topped with an old-school white “cue ball” knob. The standard 12-inch digital instrument cluster features Bullitt-specific welcome graphics. Recaro sport seats with additional Dark Highland Green stitching are optional for $1595.

There are only two other options. A $2100 Bullitt Electronics Package adds a blind-spot monitoring system with cross-traffic alert; upgraded 12-speaker stereo with trunk-mounted subwoofer; memory functions for driver’s seat, side mirrors, and ambient lighting system; and touchscreen navigation. Also, MagneRide semi-active suspension is available for an extra $1695.

Base price of the Bullitt is $46,595. For comparison, a 2019 Mustang GT Premium with Performance Package starts at $42,945.

More Mustang news and reviews

Pros: 

  • Price premium not crazy for a special-edition car
  • Consumer Guide® was impressed with Bullitt’s muscle-car power and attitude,
    along with the great brakes and shifter

Cons:

  • Some buyers might wish Mustang GT’s 10-speed automatic was optional on
    Bullitt
  • Expected muscle car shortcomings, including a small rear seat and mid-teens
    fuel economy, are part of the deal

Final Drive:

The 2019 Bullitt deftly applies the “less is more” design motif of the original 1968 movie car to the latest Mustang GT. The Dark Highland Green paint, five-spoke wheels, and subtle chrome accents work together surprisingly well, making this Bullitt a definite head turner and quite desirable.

Snake Eyes: A 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Gallery

2019 Mustang Bullitt

Written by: The Daily Drive staff on August 13, 2020.