Auto News - Custom Toyota Tundra pickup raises $100,000 for charity at Barrett-Jackson

Auto News - Custom Toyota Tundra pickup raises $100,000 for charity at Barrett-Jackson. If you take just a quick glance at this 2011 Toyota Tundra you might think that it's had a pretty hard life, but a closer look reveals that the rusty appearance is actually a custom paint job from Sherwin-Williams. Built by NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer as a tribute to America's Heartland, the truck features many classic design cues including a vertical bar grille, a wood bed floor and vintage looking 20-inch wheels. Much of the paint job is hand-painted including the white pinstripe to the lettering on the doors, and the interior has a vintage appearance as well, with a set of custom cloth seats.

Toyota graciously donated the truck for the auction here at Barrett-Jackson in Orange County with the goal of raising money for the Emporia Community Foundation, a charity that benefits the citizens of Emporia, KS. Bidding for the truck started out slowly, sticking at $30,000, but after Bowyer added a driver suit and a trip to next year's Daytona 500 the price tag skyrocketed to a final price of $100,000.

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Auto News - First production 2013 SRT Viper nets $300,000 at Barrett-Jackson

Auto News - First production 2013 SRT Viper nets $300,000 at Barrett-Jackson. It's become customary for automakers to offer up the first production example of collectible cars, so it was no surprise that SRT announced earlier this year that 2013 Viper GTS VIN #1 would be selling at Barrett-Jackson's Orange County auction. Adding to the auction's appeal, proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Austin Hatcher Foundation, an organization that helps children and families dealing with issues resulting from pediatric cancer.

With the Viper's 640 horsepower V10 and beautiful carbon fiber bodywork shining under the lights, bidding for the red snake rose quickly past the six figure sticker price to a quarter of a million dollars. At this point an SRT Track Experience and a trip to this year's Petit Le Mans were thrown in as a bonus to go with the car, but it couldn't entice any bidders to go much higher and the hammer fell at $300,000.

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Auto News - Last 900 Saabs heading to auction

Auto News - Last 900 Saabs heading to auction. If you've been wanting to get your hands on one last new Saab but missed out on the great Saab sell-off when Saab Cars North America declared bankruptcy, well, your ship has now come in.

Actually, it came in last year – but hundreds of new Saabs got waylaid at ports in California and New Jersey because of the bankruptcy, according to SaabWorld.net. Those cars are now slated for auction, some 900 of them, which will be available for dealers, exporters and rental car companies to bid on beginning next week. Eventually, 300 of these cars should make their way to Saab dealers, where they're expected to be sold off at 30- to 50-percent discounts. The other 600 will either be exported or used as rentals, according to the report, so "the price of Saabs will not be severely depressed."

Besides the new cars, some 67 company cars, including some interesting stuff like a 1960 Saab Quantum IV and a 1970 Sonnett III, will also be auctioned off, according to the report. Of the new cars, just over half are 9-5 models, some 400 are 9-3 sedans, another 60 are 9-3 wagons, and about a dozen are convertibles. According to the report, 28 are actually 9-4X crossovers, which is more than 10 percent of Saab's total 2011 sales for that model.

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