Minneapolis Street Sighting: Dodge Tradesman camper

This one's a rarity for me. I almost never see old camper/conversion vans, much less in semi-decent condition like this one. Being a bit of a fanboy toward Dodge, I am quite biased when I say I like the styling of these. Sure, the grillework is a tad over the top, and there isn't much in the way of badges, but dammit, it's a nice looking van. My interest is quite piqued by the sheer size of this thing, though. It's not often you get a campervan that is all that much longer than a contemporary (of the period) luxury car. This big van is, to be blunt, ginormous. I honestly don't know how anyone could parallel park such a big vehicle.
Outside, it appears to be in good nick, though I don't know what came stock on this Dodge versus what didn't. It appears that all the correct badges are in place, and even the factory stickers have held up well, too. I'm assuming the Xplorer badge refers to the company who did the conversion, though I'm not certain. The color scheme of this model is quite 1970s, but to be perfectly honest, it looks fine, and not garish like so many vehicles from the era. I will say that the "USA" sticker and the "First Xplorers" sticker are a tad tacky, though. Heck, the second one isn't even aligned straight. Oh well, it's not a major deal; I would leave them off if it were up to me.
I'm curious as to what engine powers this version though. I don't think a 360 would be strong enough to handle such a heavy vehicle, and certainly a 318 couldn't do the trick. The biggest engine Dodge offered in this generation was a 440, so that's what I'm hoping powers this particular example. Anything less, and this camper would have a hard time getting around, especially up the hills in St. Paul.
I love finding odd and off-the-beaten-path vehicles like this, and certainly hope to find more. Remember, this blog is about vehicles I find that interest me, not just cars.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Pontiac G8GT

With the demise of the Chevy Camaro, and Pontiac Firebird in 2002, GM was left without a muscle car to undercut the Corvette; they tried to capture enthusiast' fanfare multiple times, each without success, be it due to market failure, pricing fail, or just lack of know-how when it comes to promoting the vehicle. In 2004, the Australian-built Holden Monaro came to the States as a new age Pontiac GTO. Sadly, it was met with far more criticism than it deserved. For starters, auto journalists (and the public) complained that the vehicle was bland. Well? I'm sure it was only recently that people began thinking of the original GT0 as a fabled muscle car. Then there were complaints of the price. So? I'm sure the original GTO wasn't "cheap" either. And many cries were heard about its lack of "driver involvment". So? The original was built at a time when cars weren't cocoons for Starbucks loving yuppies. And I'm sure the people who bought the new GTO certainly bought it out of heritage, not because they wanted a world-beating "sports car".
When the original "new GTO" died for 2007, Pontiac was left with a void to fill for its upcoming (and last) year. Enter the Pontiac G8. Basically a rebadged Holden Commodore, this large sedan was pitched against the Dodge Charger as a performance sedan. For the money, you could not get a better car. Great interior, nice (if not typical GM) styling, and a pretty good wheel and tire package, even on the base model, you couldn't go wrong. Sadly enough, with GM's restructuring so soon after the G8's launch, Pontiac was killed. So was the G8. It's estimated that less than 50,000 were sold, with early 2008s being the rarest. While certainly not as "bling" friendly as the Chevy Impala SS and Caprice, these cars certainly do have their following. Along with the Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky twins, the G8 is proof that GM does not know a good thing when its right in front of their eyes.