ASC-McLaren Dodge Viper NAIAS showcar for sale

Yes, it's a McLaren tuned Dodge Viper. The American Specialty Cars (ASC) built Viper made it's debut at the Detroit Auto Show in 2006. At the time the car made sense, since Chrysler was still owned by Daimler, which had ties with McLaren. The Diamondback Viper Concept sported a McLaren tuned V-10.



The concept featured a host of carbon fiber body panels and an "OmniCarbon" hood to show off the car's 650 hp V-10 tuned by McLaren Performance Technologies. The American outfit based near Indianapolis was started by the same Bruce McLaren behind the F1 team, but with a focus on preparing his Can-Am racers for competition in North America.



Whatever the association with the legendary Kiwi, the Diamondback was a real show-stopper. Unfortunately, only the one example was made, but that show car is now available for a lucky buyer to take home. It cost ASC about $750,000 to build the Viper back in 2006, but only 55 miles later, it's up for grabs for $295k. Follow the link for more information on this one of a kind snake.

2010 Mustang to appear on Knight Rider tonight

Image by Irish Typepad via FlickrIn a move that should surprise no one, the just revealed 2010 Mustang will appear in tonight's episode of Knight Rider. From the press release:



The 2010 Mustang will be seen in the episode "Knight of the Zodiac" inside the Satellite Surveillance Chamber, also known as the SSC or "KITT Cave." The 2010 Mustang poses as KITT during an inspection and impresses everyone.



As crazy as it sounds, this particular bit of product placement may be more subtle than the pathetic shilling of Goodyear tires that NBC cooked up for last week's episode, during which KITT actually utters, "The tread is from a Goodyear Assurance ComforTread. It's one of the most popular brands of tires sold and distributed in North America."

Does Mercury matter anymore?

Image via Wikipedia's Mercury brand, long the lucky recipient of models identical to Ford with a different grille, has been rumored to be on it's way to the Oldsmobile/Plymouth graveyard. It's been a very long time since the brand had anything that caused any kind of excitement (with the possible exception of the Marauder). Mercury was originally designed by Ford to compete with Buick and Cadillac. But since Ford already has Lincoln, is this really a necessity? And competing with Buick is pretty pointless anyway unless you want to get in good with Grandma. The whole purpose of the brand seems to have lost it's way. What's the point of buying a Mariner when you can get an Escape? To have an Escape with fake wood accents? In spite of all of this, Ford announced last week that it would have new product for Mercury, including a small car in 2010. It appears that they finally have a goal in mind for the brand, which is to become a destination for importing European Ford models. Ford says it will build the European Mondeo sedan in North America beginning in 2010. The Mondeo is slightly smaller than the Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan/Lincoln MKZ. Ford has also said that it will build an all new Taurus in 2010, but has not made any mention of a new Sable. In Europe, the Ford Mondeo is a relatively upscale small-midsize sedan designed for a market that will pay a premium price for such a car. Giving it a Mercury badge gives Ford room to charge a bit more for it than Fusion sticker prices, and of course North American production will be much cheaper than European production. The other new Mercury will a version of the crossover of the Ford Kuga. The Kuga is a small Escape-ish style SUV that looks distinctly different from the current Mariner. This is all well and good, I suppose. But if you want to get people more excited in the Mercury brand, why not bring back the Cougar? I'm not talking about the Probe like previous model either. I'm talking about the late 60's/early 70's one. With the current retro styling of the Mustang, it would make perfect sense. I think it would be a great shot in the arm for the brand and would bring people into the showrooms. But please Mercury, no more fake wood grain dashes.