Latest news with #customcar
Motor Trend
a day ago
- Automotive
- Motor Trend
Gold Rush: The Dodge Deora Is the World's Coolest Skateboard
[This story first appeared in the premier issue of MotorTrend Classic in 2005] Concept car? Custom? the Dodge Deora is both. It started as an idea for one of the most radical, cutting-edge customs ever made and became a concept vehicle shown by Chrysler. Built over two years and at a cost of $10,000, the Dodge Deora would stun the custom-car world and become an automotive icon that transcended the niche world of the chop-'n'-channel crowd. You probably have never seen the Deora in the metal; but if you were a car-crazy kid in the late 1960s, chances are you built the plastic, scale-model kit or loop-the-looped the Hot Wheels version in your living room. The Dodge Deora, a radical custom concept by Mike and Larry Alexander and designer Harry Bentley Bradley, became an automotive icon. Built on a Dodge A100, it featured a unique cab-forward design and innovative engineering, gaining fame in the 1960s as a model kit and Hot Wheels car. This summary was generated by AI using content from this MotorTrend article Read Next Detroit-based customizers Mike and Larry Alexander rightly take the credit for painstakingly crafting the Deora. But the radical cab-forward styling is actually the work of a former GM designer and Art Center lecturer, Harry Bentley Bradley. The Alexander brothers first noticed Bradley while he was still studying automotive design at New York's Pratt Institute. Bradley was a regular contributor to the sketchpad pages of magazines that specialized in customizing, such as Rodding and Re-styling, Customs Illustrated , and Rod & Custom . Within weeks of his arrival at GM Design Staff in 1962, he and the Alexanders had forged a relationship that would result in more than 10 Bradley-designed custom cars over the next eight years. The Deora is the most famous by far. The Deora project started in 1964 when the Detroit-based Alexander brothers decided they wanted to build a custom pickup based on one of Detroit's new cab-over pickups. They asked Harry Bradley to design a vehicle based on Chrysler's recently launched A100, figuring they'd get the company to supply them with a truck if they liked what they saw. But if Chrysler wouldn't play, the Alexanders had a back-up plan: They would approach cross-town rival Ford, which had its own cab-over pickup, the Econoline. "Of the three cab-forward pickups on the market at the time, the Dodge was unquestionably the homeliest," Bradley recalls. "What I wanted to do was get rid of that phone-booth cab and integrate the upper with the lower," he says. There would be no doors. "I didn't want cutlines. We were always told at GM to play down cutlines. If cutlines were wonderful, Ferraris would have them running all down their sides. I always thought of it as a conceptual proposal, rather than a customizing solution." To actually get passengers inside, Bradley proposed a front-opening hatch built using the lift-up rear window from a 1960 Ford station wagon. Mike and Larry Alexander loved Bradley's proposal. Surprisingly, so did Chrysler, which handed over a stripped A100 to be chopped beyond recognition. The Alexanders cropped the stock cab sheetmetal right down to the floorpan. When the roof, the first of the new parts, was tacked in place, it nearly rested right on top of the stock steering column. Bradley had originally intended the front hatch to be a top-hinged one-piece affair, like the tailgate of a modern hatchback or European sport wagon. But the narrow A-pillars just weren't strong enough to support it. The Alexander brothers instead developed a split-door arrangement, with the 1960 Ford window hinged at the top and controlled by an electric motor, and a handbuilt lower panel between the headlights that swung on a center pivot. Engineering it all to work was every bit as complex as it sounds. In place of the stock steering column, the Alexanders fabricated a horizontal strut that rotated forward from the left body side--to allow the driver to get in and out--and locked into place when you wanted to drive. The steering wheel was a drag-racer-style butterfly item; steering inputs were transmitted via a sprocket and a chain running through the strut to a vertical shaft in the left body side. Fortunately, the standard A100 pedals came through the floor, like those in a Porsche 911, and didn't have to be moved. Hurst engineers developed a special linkage to connect the floor-mounted shifter to the Chrysler three-speed manual transmission. To make room for occupants, the Alexanders moved the slant-six engine rearward 15 inches. It intruded well into the pickup bed, but as the Deora was never actually going to haul anything, it didn't matter. They also moved the radiator to the pickup bed and placed it ahead of the rear axle. Holes cut into the bottom of the bed allowed electric fans to draw through cooling air. It was a neat idea, but it meant the fuel tank had to be moved from its standard position behind the rear axle to the pickup bed just behind the cab. To hide everything, the bed was covered with a hard tonneau secured by chrome hood-lock pins. At its first public showing, the Deora caused a sensation, with Chrysler claiming it represented a major advance in modern vehicle styling. Even now, more than 40 years after it was first drawn, the Deora looks modern. Of course, it was designed in an era before crash tests and crumple zones, and that slammed cabin is a tight fit for most people. "The Alexanders were small guys," says Bradley. Those with a sharp eye for detail and a good memory will recognize a surprising number of Ford parts used on this "official" Chrysler custom. Apart from the 1960 Ford tailgate, the rear window is from a 1960 Ford sedan, and those side vents (for the exhausts) are actually 1964-1/2 Mustang taillight bezels. The ingenious taillights, hidden under the wood veneer panel across the rear and visible only when reflected in the angled chrome strip underneath, are the sequential turn-signal units from a Thunderbird. "Chrysler never seemed to understand we used Ford parts to build this car," says Bradley. Although driveable--"Mike and Larry's customs were always well engineered," says Bradley--Chrysler leased the car for a year to appear on its stand at car shows. At the 1967 Detroit Autorama, one of the country's leading custom shows, the Deora won nine awards, including the coveted Ridler Award. In 1968, it became one of the 16 cars in the original Hot Wheels lineup when Bradley left GM to join Mattel. "At one stage, Mattel figured out that every kid in America had 1.3 Hot Wheels cars," says Bradley. That meant a lot of Deoras. "I don't think many knew it was a real vehicle." Chrysler leased the Deora for a second year, but asked for changes, including a coat of lime green pearl paint. When the lease was not renewed at the end of the year, the Alexander brothers sold the Deora to custom-car enthusiast Al Davis, whose son, Al Jr., still owns it. Al Davis Sr. died in March 1970, and the Deora was put into storage. "I was 12 at the time," says Davis. "When I was 18 or 19, I pulled it out, restored it--though not to original condition--and put it back on the show circuit. I won a championship with it in 1982 and used the money as a down payment on a house." Davis pulled the Deora out of storage in 1998 and asked Harry Bradley to help restore it to its original 1967 look. The color is greener than the original gold--Mike Alexander kept none of the original paint numbers--and Harry Bradley remade the exhaust boxes from templates supplied by Alexander so the Mustang taillight bezels could be refitted. As usual, the detail stuff took time to find, but the only pieces missing are the center console between the seats and the special Firestone tires made for it in the 1960s--the engineering drawings were rediscovered recently at Firestone, but the dies were destroyed years ago. The Deora starred at the 50th-anniversary Detroit Autorama in 2002 as part of a special display of classic Alexander brothers customs. "The reaction was unbelievable." More than 40 years on, the Dodge Deora is still turning heads. Except one. To this day, the man who designed it, Harry Bentley Bradley, has never seen the finished truck and is in no hurry to do so. "Building a custom is more engrossing than owning one," he says. Detroit Copies VW The Dodge A100 was the last in a string of smallish, forward-control pickups launched by Detroit automakers around this time--Jeep had kicked off the vogue in 1956 with the launch of its 4WD Willys FC-150 styled by Brooks Stevens; Ford had followed with the Econoline. GM, most radically of all, used Corvair running gear to produce the rear-engine Chevy Loadside and Rampside pickups, trucks whose layout most closely resembled the inspiration for all these vehicles, VW's Transporter pickup. Although the A100's power--it used Chrysler's 170- and 225-cubic-inch slant-six engines, mounted between the front seats--and its interior package were perhaps the best of the bunch, consumers' enthusiasm for forward-control trucks lagged behind that of the automakers by the time it launched for 1964. Chevy had already killed off its Corvair-powered pickups, and Econoline pickup sales were slow. Ford axed the Econoline pickup after 1967; the A100 lasted barely two years more.
Motor 1
a day ago
- Automotive
- Motor 1
‘That's Obviously a Villain Car:' Man Spots Honda Fit in Parking Lot. Then He Notices the Back
A customized Honda Fit is leaving people speechless. The vehicle was recorded by Skylar (@theoneskylar) and posted on TikTok. As of this writing, it's accrued over 12.7 million views. Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily. back Sign up For more information, read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . 'A Honda Fit bro,' the text overlay in the clip reads. Skylar circles the vehicle to give people the full view. It appears the car has been fashioned to resemble a 1940s Ford Deluxe with swooping back indents rendering it akin to something the Penguin might drive in Batman: The Animated Series . It appears that the owner tacked a body kit onto the vehicle to give it this look. Hapdash Honda Fit Trending Now Man Says He Bought a Nissan Frontier Because of These Standard Features. Should You Consider the Same? 'I Bet You Didn't Know This:' Woman Discovers This Little-Known Perk to Driving A Subaru. Then Her Order Comes in the Mail The kit on the Honda Fit seems to have considerable flaws, however. For instance, there's a large indentation on the section of the Fit where the add-on joins the roof. There are also smaller depressions pockmarked throughout the entirety of the kit. The augmented car has limited rear visibility because the panels completely cover the passenger windows. The Fit's smaller rear windows have been left unobstructed, however. But there are glaring inconsistencies where the panels meet the windows. There's nary a straight line on the Fit. Further, the black paint job seems to have been self-applied. It doesn't match the rest of the vehicle. 'What the [expletive]? That's a [expletive] Honda Fit, bro,' Skylar says as he videos the car. A caption on his post reads: 'Someone find the owner of this car. Craziest welding job and fiberglass molding.' To Kit or Not? Car body kits come with pros and cons. Some, like this crafted carbon fiber kit for the Lamborghini Revuelto, can improve performance. As Motor1 reported, it reduces a car's drag coefficient and overall weight. It can give the vehicle more acceleration and enable it to reach top speeds more quickly. It may even improve gas mileage figures. However, as Torque points out, they can also have downsides. Installing kits that make vehicles less aerodynamic can have the exact opposite effect. Furthermore, if not engineered, manufactured, and installed by a professional, they can result in a final product akin to the Honda Fit shown in Skylar's TikTok. Unfortunate Vehicle Modifications There's no shortage of automotive enthusiasts who enjoy collectively wincing at unfortunate vehicular modifications. For example, Redditors both loved and hated a BMW Mini Cooper whose owner transformed it into an open-engine bay drag roadster. Another Honda owner caught flak for attaching a body kit to their vehicle. The car features a number of curved metallic slabs buckled into the Civic VX's body. Ultimately, this results in a 'ratchback' aesthetic, severely inhibiting rear windshield visibility. Some modifications aren't as dramatic, however. People are generally in favor of the car with a fake gauge cluster on the dash. Many said it reminds them of Top Gun . 'Goooooooose!!" wrote one, referring to a character from the first film. 'Blindspot of Doom' Folks who replied to Skylar's video seemed equally troubled by the existence of such a vehicle. 'Imagine describing this car to a 911 operator,' one user pointed out. Another highlighted how the modifications affected the vehicle's functionality. 'Blindspot of doom and despair,' they remarked. Someone else said that the car is akin to something a broke Batman would drive. 'Bruce Wayne hit a bit of a financial rough patch,' they joked. One commenter attributed the vehicle's design to another fictional character. 'This Despicable Me car.' Whereas one TikTok user didn't believe the car was a modification at all. Initially, they thought Skylar had uploaded footage of a Honda Fit that had been in a bad accident. 'I thought it was crashed at first.' One person thought the car has a particularly villainous vibe, writing simply: 'Evil Honda Fit.' Motor1 has reached out to Skylar via TikTok comment for further information. We'll be sure to update this if he responds. More From Motor1 Honda's 2.6 Million-Vehicle Fuel Pump Recall Is The Year's Largest The Golf GTI Edition 50 Is The Fastest VW Ever at The Nurburgring 'I Was Like Bait:' Woman Drives a 'Fishbowl' Car. Then She Reveals Why You Shouldn't 'Don't Get Fooled, Ladies:' Man Says GMC Quoted Wife $900 to Put $6 Amazon Part Back on Car. He Does It in 1 Second Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
Motor 1
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- Motor 1
First-Time Shopper Buys Her ‘Dream Car.' Then the Salesman ‘Scams' Her out of Her Audi
One Houston woman says she had a nightmare experience trying to custom order her dream car, only to be steered toward something else entirely by an unscrupulous salesman. Creator Jenna Bowdary (@jennabhee) claims she got the runaround at an unnamed dealership during her recent attempt to trade in her aging sedan for the car she had her heart set on: a black Audi Q5 Sportback Legacy Edition. In two TikToks—the first of which has more than 197,000 views—she details her months-long experience with a salesman named Billy. Bowdary said she made it clear from the beginning that she was ready to buy, had a firm monthly budget and a preference for sporty styling and a modern, premium interior. Instead, she claims she got the bait-and-switch. Billy initially seemed eager to help but quickly steered the conversation into increasingly vague territory, Bowdary says. He told her the model she wanted wasn't available for her budget, but assured her that a new version was about to drop. He claimed the new Audi Q5 combines the exterior style she loves with the panoramic tech-forward interior she'd seen in one of Audi's EVs. There was just one catch: it wasn't in the United States yet. But it would be soon, Bowdary claims he said. Probably. Maybe. In April. Or May. Billy assured her that the new Audi Q5 was definitely worth the wait. Designing the perfect car Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily. back Sign up For more information, read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . Bowdary agreed to pre-customize the Audi. She chose a black-on-black Q5 Sportback with the Black Optic package. She said Billy repeatedly reassured her that she wasn't locked into anything—no credit pulled, no money down—and that if the vehicle arrived and didn't match her expectations, she could walk away. The build sheet made it sound perfect. The communications that followed, however, did not. As the weeks went by, she kept checking in. Billy rarely responded, she said, and when he did, it was vague. He offered no updates on pricing, no clear delivery window, no firm specs. The Audi arrives at long last Bowdary says that when the vehicle finally arrived, it was nowhere close to what she ordered. The trim was gray instead of black. The body style was a different shape. The grill and rims didn't match her specs. The sleek, sportback silhouette she'd fallen in love with was nowhere to be seen. In her words, 'Imagine ordering a Maybach and getting a… Lamborghini.' Bowdary also claims the price was $500 a month more than her stated max. This was after she'd spent two months waiting for the Audi Q5 while driving a 'hoopty' with busted windows and a gas pedal that made the whole car shake. Misleading car salespeople Trending Now Man Buys $70,000 Ford After Dealership 'Played With the Numbers' for Him. 2 Years Later, He's Speaking Out Woman Gets Dealership Oil Change For Her Brand-New Toyota Tundra. Then She Catches the Technician In a Lie As it turns out, the Black Optic package isn't even available until August, and the model she ordered may have been phased out altogether. Bowdary says that none of that was disclosed until she was standing in front of a car she didn't recognize, looking at a salesman who had suddenly gone silent. The way Bowdary describes it, the entire process seemed designed to exhaust her into saying yes. From the start, Billy told her no other cars were available in her budget, which wasn't true. He promised features that aren't even shipping yet, dangled vague timelines to keep her from shopping elsewhere, and ignored her budget. Car salespeople are notorious for strong-arming people into buying. Some of the most common tropes include: "The Only One in Your Budget" Trick: Telling a buyer that only one vehicle fits their criteria, even when others may be available, to steer them toward specific inventory that needs to move. Edmunds has documented this tactic in detail. "The Phantom Car" Strategy: Hyping a vehicle that isn't yet available — or may not even be real — to keep buyers engaged and emotionally committed. This leverages anticipation to bypass skepticism. "Payment Packing": Quoting monthly payments that include extra fees or hidden add-ons, hoping the buyer won't notice the inflated total. "Gender-Based Suggestion": Making patronizing recommendations based on gender, which continues to be an issue despite industry efforts toward equity. These tactics are often employed to direct the buyer toward a deal they didn't intend to make, under terms they didn't fully agree to. Finally the right car for the right price Bowdary refused to buy the Audi Q5. Instead, the next day, she says she walked into a nearby Mercedes-Benz showroom and bought a new black sedan on the spot. 'There's no amount of questions you can ask to avoid a shady deal,' Bowdary says in closing. 'Always have a plan B.' Bowdary didn't immediately respond to an email sent Tuesday morning. Motor1 reached out to Audi for comment via email. We'll be sure to update this article if either responds. More From Motor1 The New Base Audi E-Tron GT Is Still Plenty Powerful Fiat Finally Makes a Cool Car, But You Can't Buy It Yet Tesla Prevented Lease Buy Outs to Sell Used Cars at a Profit Dealerships, Desperate to Survive, Could Use Robotic Salespeople Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
Car and Driver
07-06-2025
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
Spohn DV-13 Convertible on Bring a Trailer: You're Not Likely To See Another
This coachbuilt custom car hails from Germany and is fitted with a Cadillac V-8. Would you believe, only a handful were built? It's the concours winner nobody was expecting. The Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance features awards in several categories, including engineering excellence, historical significance, and special mentions. It also has an award for "most audacious exterior." The car pictured here is the 2013 award winner, and audacious doesn't even begin to cover it. This is a 1957 Spohn DV-13, and the customized roadster is up for auction on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos). Bring a Trailer The Spohn is the offspring of a German coachbuilder with a long tradition of clothing the finest cars in the world in gorgeous design. Before WWII, Spohn bodywork was worn by Maybachs and Mercedes-Benzes. In the postwar period, it, uh, got a little more creative. Okay, let's stop beating around the bush: This car looks like what Powell Motors would have built as the sporty followup version of The Homer car from The Simpsons. It is an acquired taste, like sea urchin or accordion solos, and on first glance looks supremely goofy. Remember the part in The Fly when Jeff Goldblum gets his DNA crossed with a housefly while experimenting with teleportation? This is like that, except it's a 1949 Cadillac and a Daimler SP250 having a transporter malfunction. Bring a Trailer Bring a Trailer Bring a Trailer Brendan McAleer Contributing Editor Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. Read full bio
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
$150K Camaro stolen from influencer during Southern California event
An influencer's celebration of her custom car being turned into a die-cast model quickly turned to panic as the vehicle that inspired it all – a custom $150,000 Chevy Camaro – was stolen at a local event. Autumn Spooner is an automotive influencer who flew in to SoCal to celebrate and promote the launch of a die-cast replica of her custom real-life Chevy Camaro ZL1. Her prized possession was stolen on Friday evening while it was being displayed in the parking lot at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, according to a spokesperson for Spooner. She had left it in the care of Jada Toys, a brand that was displaying the car as part of the launch, the spokesperson said. 'This was meant to be a milestone moment for Autumn, as her real-life ZL1 inspired the release of a die-cast replica,' the spokesperson added. 'Instead, it's become a nightmare…no formal agreement was signed transferring liability, and the situation has left her devastated and without answers.' Spooner herself posted a video to Instagram to clarify the situation, saying she was 'literally on the plane' to California when she received the gut-wrenching news. 'Basically, I transported it [to California] and got [to Costa Mesa] around 2 p.m.,' she said in the video, which was posted late Friday night. 'As I was boarding the plane, I got a call that my Camaro was stolen, which definitely was not the call I wanted to get.' Posts to Spooner's Instagram story allegedly show the car being driven eastbound on the 91 Freeway near the interchange with the 57 Freeway. The Camaro, which she had wrapped in purple, had been unwrapped and the license plate removed; however, according to Spooner, her Instagram handle was left on the car. A video previously posted by Spooner, who has more than half a million followers across her social media platforms, indicated that the die-cast model was part of Jada Toys' Pink Slips line, and the toy maker's website states that the car, a 1:24 scale model, becomes available for pre-order on Saturday afternoon. That said, the $25 model was already sold out by 7 a.m. Saturday. Spooner's Instagram bio states she is an Arizona resident who, in addition to the Camaro ZL1, also owns a BMW G80 M3 and a BMW E36 M3. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
