Reportedly driven by Dale Earnhardt Sr. early in his career, this 1974 Challenger test mule for the Chrysler Kit Car program will be offered at the Mecum Auctions Kissimmee sale in January. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ United Auto Workers members at supplier Nexteer Automotive in Saginaw, Michigan voted to approve a new contract, avoiding a strike that could have stalled the Detroit automakers. More at The Detroit News.
+ Volkswagen plans to rotate executives through key positions to improve corporate oversight, chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. More at Reuters.
+ A Tooele, Utah county judge has blocked the planned sale of Miller Motorsports Park to the Geely Holding Group of China, the owner of Volvo. More at the Salt Lake Tribune.
+ The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will hold a hearing Jan. 14 in Detroit to get public input on updating its 5-Star Safety Ratings for new vehicles. More at the Detroit Free Press.
+ Audi will unveil a hydrogen fuel cell-powered version of its Q6 e-tron quattro concept at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month. More at Autocar.
+ Hyundai Motor is set to sell fewer vehicles than projected in 2015 for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, due in part to the economic downturn in China. More at Bloomberg.com.
+ A 1974 Dodge Challenger test car for the Chrysler Kit Car racing program believed to have been driven by Dale Earnhardt Sr. will be featured at the Mecum Auctions Kissimmee sale Jan. 15-24. More at Hemmings Daily.
+ Judy Allison, wife of NASCAR Hall of Fame member Bobby Allison and mother of deceased NASCAR drivers Davey Allison and Clifford Allison, has passed away at 74. More at NBC Sports.
+ The 1949 Buick Roadmaster convertible that starred in the Oscar-winning film Rain Man, fresh off a frame-up restoration by Wayne Carini, will be featured at the Amelia Island Concours in March. More at Automobile.
+ NHRA has restored Heartland Park Topeka, now under new ownership, to its 2016 schedule with the NHRA Kansas Nationals on May 20-22. More at Motorsport.com.
Read the previous Executive Briefing from December 18 here.
Photo by courtesy of Mecum Auctions.
Nice to see Heartland Park Topeka back from the dead.
A car that Earnhardt MAYBE had driven.
While an interesting piece it is too a degree grandpas axe as it has had different bodies on it.
This car does appear to have been set up for road racing? The alloy wheels etc are not oval track even now.
I remember Chrysler offering a Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare “kit car” like that. One of the mags of the time, maybe HotRod, had a big write up on it. Don’t know if they sold many or not.