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Dale Earnhardt's Iconic Black No. 3 Chevy Was Almost Light Blue

Dale Earnhardt's Iconic Black No. 3 Chevy Was Almost Light Blue

Yahoo10-02-2025

Dale Earnhardt Sr. drove a few famous cars in his career, but none is more associated with the Intimidator than the all-black Goodwrench car that he drove from 1988 through the entire remainder of his career. The iconic scheme birthed his other famous nickname, the Man in Black — but as it turns out, General Motors initially wanted the car to be blue. According to Earnhardt's long-time boss Richard Childress, the team had to fight to race the car in its now-signature colors.
Childress told the story on a recent episode of "The Dale Jr. Download," Earnhart's son's podcast. According to the championship-winning team owner, GM preferred the bright blue and white colors from its Goodwrench-branded brake boxes. The team mocked up half a car in that livery, but covered the other half of the car in black and silver duct tape. When presenting the car half-wrapped in the two different proposals, Childress stressed that the black car with white (or silver, in the case of the initial mock-ups) decals would contrast better with the black asphalt of a race track.
GM went with the black paint scheme, and the rest is history. Dale Earnhardt ran the same basic design for the rest of his career, winning four of his seven championships in the colors that would go on to be associated with his name for decades. The black Goodwrench livery was retired when Earnhardt died in 2001, and Kevin Harvick continued in a re-number No. 29 entry with a white Goodwrench paint scheme through the rest of the 2001 season.
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time39 minutes ago

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Vision Marine Secures U.S. Battery Supply Chain Through Strategic Expansion with Octillion Power Systems

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GM pledges $4 billion in new U.S. manufacturing investments
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'The One, Big, Beautiful Bill's tax cuts, pro-growth policies, and full expensing of equipment investments will only turbocharge this resurgence under President Trump.' Trump's 'Big, Beautiful' tax bill proposes, among other things, to kill the electric vehicle tax credit by the end of this year and penalize hybrid and electric vehicle owners with annual fees to compensate for lost revenue customers would have paid in gas tax. UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement that the union had said for months that the auto industry could utilize excess capacity at U.S. auto plants and invest billions into factories, communities and American autoworkers. 'While other companies drag their feet, GM is showing that strategic auto tariffs work with a massive $4 billion investment that will create thousands of good paying union jobs. Thanks to the dedication of our members, who have been speaking up about the damage done by bad trade deals, we are finally starting to see real progress,' he said. 'It's time to invest in blue collar America, and GM is showing how it's done. This is just the beginning.' U.S. Rep. and House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Bruce Township, said in a statement GM's decision follows a series of economic moves made by the Trump administration aimed at reversing decades of industrial decline. The Orion Assembly plant is located in McClain's congressional district. 'This investment is a game-changer for our district and a big win for hard-working Michiganders,' McClain said. 'For months, we have said the president's efforts would pay off and more companies would invest in America again. Putting our country first, for the first time in years, is working. This investment is proof. I'm proud to have helped deliver this major win for our community.' U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, also praised the decision. 'This is good news for Michigan's workers and our role as a leader in the global auto industry. In order to remain a leader, we must be producing a robust product line that consumers want, including electric vehicles,' she said in a statement. 'The global market wants EVs. This investment demonstrates the auto industry's commitment to this leadership, and U.S. policy must support it. I will continue to work with every stakeholder to invest in manufacturing here at home, bring back jobs from overseas, and support the workers and communities who have built their lives around the auto industry." GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement: 'We believe the future of transportation will be driven by American innovation and manufacturing expertise. Today's announcement demonstrates our ongoing commitment to build vehicles in the U.S. and to support American jobs. We're focused on giving customers choice and offering a broad range of vehicles they love.' GM also is retooling its Fairfax Assembly plant in Kentucky and the Spring Hill Manufacturing plant in Tennessee. Fairfax Assembly will produce the gas-powered Chevrolet Equinox beginning in mid-2027, and will start producing the 2027 Chevrolet Bolt EV by the end of 2025. The Mexico-assembled Equinox is one of GM's top-selling vehicles and the No. 1 single nameplate that GM produces in Mexico for the U.S. market. GM exported 257,000 gas and electric Equinox vehicles from its Ramos plant across 2024, Abuelsamid said. More: Trump scales back tariffs on automakers, but analysts still expect car prices to rise GM said it plans to announce further investments to Fairfax for electric vehicles in the future. As for Spring Hill, in addition to bringing the Chevrolet Blazer production up from Mexico, the plant will also produce the Cadillac Lyriq and Vistiq EVs, as well as the Cadillac XT5. Once these changes come into play, Abuelsamid said, vehicle costs may rise. 'GM will probably increase prices once they increase U.S. production,' he said. 'That's why these vehicles were built in Mexico in the first place.' Free Press staff writer Todd Spangler contributed to this report. Jackie Charniga covers General Motors for the Free Press. Reach her at jcharniga@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: GM pledges $4 billion in new U.S. manufacturing investments Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

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