Autoblog

Click above for hi-res gallery of the Dodge EV in the wild

While a lot of the legwork was done for them by Lotus, we still have to give Chrysler a little credit for getting an electric vehicle prototype on the road so quickly. When we first saw the Dodge EV a couple of months ago, it looked like it was ready to roll, with a Tesla-like blend of Lotus platform and electric powerpack. Soon after we heard that the car was likely to make it to production, with a delivery date that would challenge the Chevrolet Volt. While it had appeared that Chrysler was way behind its domestic rivals in developing an electric car, we know that through their GEM subsidiary, Chrysler has actually accumulated a lot of EV expertise and become the nation's leading electric car seller in the process.

The Dodge EV is essentially a Lotus Europa, but uses lithium batteries and a 268 hp electric motor in place of the standard 2.0L four cylinder engine and transmission. It promises a range of 150-200 miles and a 0-60 time of under 5 seconds. It's a full-blown, plug-in EV, just like the Tesla Roadster, and should require a 4-hour recharge from a 220V outlet or 8 hours on a 110. To help launch Chrysler's new ENVI electric car division, the Dodge EV has been traveling the show circuit, but today we spotted it at one of our favorite local cruise-ins.

It attracted quite a crowd. Not surprisingly, many folks at the show mistook it for a Lotus until they saw the Dodge badges. Even then a lot of people figured it was some type of joint venture between the two firms. Most were amazed to learn the car might be in Dodge showrooms by 2010. Try as we might we couldn't wrestle the keys from the Chrysler reps. Hopefully the car and the company make it through our current economic crisis so we can sample one when they hit the streets.


Photos copyright ©2008 Frank Filipponio/Weblogs, Inc.

With the domestic auto industry hurting like never before, most analysts expect budgets for motorsports activities to drop dramatically in the coming few months. This slowdown of funds will surely impact NASCAR, which sees participation from each of the Detroit 3 along with Toyota. Despite being one of the most visible racing organizations in the United States, it's also one of the most expensive for teams to operate, with some estimates pegging a single day's worth of track testing at over $100,000 per car. Large teams can expect to save a few million bucks per year in expenses due to the new policy.

Just a few months back, however, NASCAR teams were pushing for more testing sessions at more tracks, and officials had proposed a new plan that would have increased testing sessions to 24 per year. That tactic would have increased the amount of money that teams and sponsors would need to spend by a substantial figure. Although we're not big NASCAR watchers, we tend to think that the change could actually benefit the series, since it could level the playing field and make for better racing. We'll see if we're right in just a few months.

[Source: NASCAR]

Click above for high-res gallery of the ProCharger Challenger SRT8 supercharger

As we found out at SEMA, performance parts are coming fast and furious for the Dodge Challenger. The Camaro may have been the official vehicle of the Las Vegas show, but the Challenger was the car of choice for many of the tuners in attendance. We were especially fond of the pair of Group 2 Widebody Challengers from Classic Design Concepts, one of which featured a ProCharger intercooled supercharger system. The blower wasn't unique to the car, however, and we found that ProCharger is offering two separate kits for Challenger owners, both of which boost horsepower by at least 150. Both feature ProCharger's P-1SC-1 centrifugal supercharger pushing 6 psi of boost, a 3-core air-to-air intercooler, upgraded fuel system and all necessary tubing and brackets. The Stage II kit pushes the bar further with a dedicated drive system for the supercharger and an upgrade air intake. You can check out full details on each system in the press release following the jump.

[Source: ProCharger]

Joining Denny's, Dunkin' Donuts and Dairy Queen, Dodge has rolled out its version of a discount for the geriatric among us. While the aforementioned restaurants will cut prices for anyone generally over the age of 50, Dodge is seeking card-carrying AARP members (it's $12.50 per year, in case you need to join). Presenting a valid AARP card at the time of sale will get you "Employee Pricing" (or better) on all 2008 and 2009 Dodge vehicles except the Sprinter, Challenger, and Viper SRT 10 ACR models. According to the fine print, the program isn't compatible with other national incentives and it expires (the incentive program, not Chrysler LLC) on January 2, 2009. There's also a $200 fee just to be eligible for the offer, which our penny-pinching parents aren't going to like one bit. Thanks for the tip, MarkWeb!

[Source: Dodge, Photo by taberandrew | CC2.0]

We left last week's SEMA Show in Las Vegas with a much deeper respect for the Dodge Challenger. We're so used to seeing Mustangs dominate the automotive aftermarket trade show and expected the new Chevy Camaro, which was actually the Official Car of SEMA this year, to make a big splash. But it was the Challenger that was on hand in droves, be it from independent shops and tuners who got their hands on one to play with or Dodge itself, which showed up at SEMA with three Challenger concepts, the most impressive of which was arguably the Challenger SRT10 Concept (the other two were the Challenger Targa and Blacktop). Imbued with the Viper's 8.4L V10 producing 600 horsepower, as well as functional upgrades like a ram air scoop, carbon fiber front splitter, Bilstein shocks and bigger wheels and brakes, the Challenger SRT10 arrived in Vegas ready to do business. Unfortunately, the business at hand was looking pretty in Dodge's display. Thankfully we found this video online of the Challenger SRT10 doing what we want it to: convert solid rubber into a gaseous state. Follow the jump for a video of the Challenger SRT10 not only doing burnouts, but hustling around corners and blasting down straights like it was meant to do.



[Source: Road2Road.com]

Top Gear is widely regarded as the best television show ever produced about cars. The production values are outstanding, the hosts are amusing and their tamed racing driver, "the Stig", is amazing to watch as he improves his mind while hustling cars around the test track. A few months back we all got wind that Jeremy, Richard and James had returned to the U.S. for another road trip. This time around they headed to the West Coast to drive a new Corvette ZR1, Cadillac CTS-V and Dodge Challenger SRT-8 from San Francisco to the Bonneville Salt Flats. Along the way, Jezza decided to stop at some desolate spot somewhere in Nevada or Utah to lay down some black lines on the pavement. Now while we generally love to watch Mr. Clarkson playing with fast cars, he doesn't quite seem to have mastered the art of the burnout. If you start about 9 minutes into the first clip after the jump and continue to the second and third videos, you'll see our favorite limey trio attempting to shred their tires during last night's second episode of Series 12 (Download via bittorrent here). Compared to Clarkson in the ZR1, Hammond and May were utterly hopeless in their Challenger SRT-8 and Cadillac CTS-V, respectively. After that, watch the last video with GM's Chris Berube showing us all how it's done properly in both the ZR1 Vette and Caddy CTS-V.

[Source: YouTube]

The Dodge Avenger wasn't exactly selling like hotcakes here in the US, even before the auto market took a nosedive. We can't imagine the Avenger ever sold well overseas as an export to the UK, and the under-developed Dodge's newest incentive supports our assertion. Car-buyers in the Kingdom can pick up a nicely equipped Avenger SXT 2.4 saloon at the MSRP of £18,255. As a reward for taking the Avenger off the dealer's hands, they'll get a second Avenger free of charge. Broadspeed.com is offering the buy one, get one sale with the aim of easing the massive amounts of stock dealers are carrying right now. The problem isn't exclusive to the Avenger, though, as many dealers are sitting on six month inventories due to slow sales on the island. Given the massive problems selling cars in the UK, the deals on the Avenger still stand out as incredible. Maybe Dodge dealers here in the US will take note, though we're sure there are plenty of people that think the only thing worse than owning an Avenger would be having two. Thanks for the tip, everyone!


[Source: AutoCar]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Charger Coupe

We had heard rumors that there was going to be a Dodge Charger Coupe at SEMA this year. We had hoped it would be something like the Charger show car from several years ago, the black one that looked a lot like the bad guy's car in Bullitt. In fact, that car was supposed to be made and shown at SEMA, but we never tracked it down. What we did find was probably just as good. If it wasn't going to be black, it might as well have been orange, and orange it was. Orange with a black confederate flag on the roof and a big "01" on the doors. Yep, it was the General Lee. In a year when we saw a Fast and Furious real Charger, a Bullitt movie Mustang, the Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters, and a smart fortwo that had made a trip to the Batcave, it was probably inevitable that we would find the General amidst all of the Challengers and other MOPARS on display. Not that we're complaining or anything.


Photos copyright ©2008 Frank Filipponio/Weblogs, Inc.

Demonstrating that good cop cars can also go bad, Chrysler has announced a recall of Dodge Chargers and Magnums equipped with the police package and column shifter. While the cars aren't exactly taking sides with the villainous, they are having difficulty displaying the proper transmission gearshift position on the dash. This error is leading to more than a few headaches for men and women in uniform, and can be downright dangerous if they're not in the gear they think they are. The recalled cruisers are 2006-2009 models, and they number more than 20,000 strong (including the 150 sold to Kuwait). Dealers will reportedly add a locking mechanism to the gearshift cable to keep the displays honest.

[Source: Good Car Bad Car]

The Chevrolet Camaro may be the "official" vehicle of SEMA, but you can't walk more than a few feet without tripping over the Pentastar's new pony car. The Dodge Challenger is a ubiquitous presence on the floor this year, only matched by the number of mediocre booth babes and the appropriately cheap parts they're paid to shill.

With so many Challengers lining the halls, it's almost impossible to get the details on each coupe, but we've assembled a list of our favorites, ranging from Mopar's own offerings to the mom-and-pop shops that have made the Challenger the un-official muscle car of SEMA.

Click the button below to start wading through Challengers, and note that the name of each vehicle links to either our post on the car or to more high-res images.