Section: Dodge
Written By: Stan Baldwin
May 12th, 2008 10:30 AM
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Though Darlington is famous for beating up cars Kyle Busch returned the favor Saturday night during the Dodge Challenger 500 Sprint Cup race. Between wayward lug nuts and frequently testing the concrete with the right side of the Indiana Jones wrapped Toyota, no one would say the #18 Joe Gibbs machine had an easy run to victory. After being sent to the back of the pack for a pit infraction on lap140, Kyle spent the next 130 laps climbing his way back up through the field before the #18 Toyota again took the lead with 130 miles to go.
Greg Biffle led the race for 95 laps despite complaining of vibration. At the half way point, Biffle reported his transmission “broke”. Apparently a premature diagnosis, as he was still leading at lap 210. Yet, something of significance was not right with his car. 31 laps further on a hugely frustrated Greg Biffle coasted into the pits and parked his #16 Ford in the pits, oil spreading out under the engine bay.
(Click through the jump to read more.)
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Written By: Winding Road Staff
May 8th, 2008 10:30 AM
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Our thoughts on the 2008 Dodge Charger R/T AWD are pretty unanimous. We are big fans of the 340-horsepower Hemi V-8 under the hood but the fun starts to diminish when the road begins to curve. As for interior refinement, our test car was loaded up with all of the bells and whistles anyone could want, but the build quality and materials used just aren’t as nice as something we could get from Europe or Japan.
Click through the jump to read our staff’s impressions of the Charger and click the images below to launch a gallery.
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Written By: Seyth Miersma
March 19th, 2008 3:00 PM
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Dodge has unleashed the rest of its Challenger line here in New York today, pulling the wraps off the R/T and SE versions of its box-fresh muscle car.
While the top-end SRT8 debuted last February in Chicago, tipping the styling hand of the Challenger, enthusiasts with just a few less disposable bucks will be happy to see the pony car body as a less pricey proposition.
The 2009 Challenger R/T may be a bit of a step down from its full-fat SRT8 older brother, but it is still likely to pack a healthy punch with a 375 horsepower (in manual trim) 5.7-liter V-8 working. The SE trim level should appeal to the most budget conscious buyers, coming equipped with Dodge’s 3.5-liter V-6, but with all the Challenger moxie of the high-po models.
Have a look at the two new trim levels in our galleries below or follow the jump for the official Dodge press release.
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Written By: Evan McCausland
March 19th, 2008 7:30 AM
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The Challenger SRT8 was the buzz of February’s Chicago Auto Show, but Dodge waited until now to show off the other members of its revived Scat Pack. Making their debuts at the New York Auto Show are the “lesser” Challenger variants, the eight-cylinder R/T and V-6 - powered SE models.
Second only to the top-end SRT8 model is the R/T - and from the exterior, one may be hard pressed to spot the differences between the two cars. Although it isn’t sporting the stripes and badging worn by the SRT car, the Challenger R/T looks virtually identical to its bigger brother. In fact, both cars will be offered with a new six-speed manual transmission, a first for the LX platform, and not available on the SE.
(Click through for a gallery and more on the two new Challengers, including a release from Dodge)
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Written By: Winding Road Staff
March 13th, 2008 12:00 PM
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Mistakes can become learning opportunities. Take the Chrysler Pacifica. Chrysler’s first crossover had the makings of something good. Engineered in a corporate environment flush with optimism after the Daimler purchase, the Pacifica hit the road with loads of old Mercedes E-class parts in its bones. Quality and handling were good. About the size of a minivan, the one-box shape looked smooth. But the Pacifica never became the sales hit Chrysler hoped for. Buyers reportedly stayed away because the vehicle was too heavy and it looked boring.
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Written By: Seyth Miersma
March 11th, 2008 7:30 AM
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More than 17 years after Dodge turned the American motoring world on its head with the lunatic Viper sports car, the automaker has reported that car number 25,000 will roll off the line at the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant on Wednesday, March 12, 2008. Dodge has planned a number of events in celebration of the milestone, including handing over the keys to a new 2008 Viper SRT-10 ACR to NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Kurt Busch.
The Viper has played the role of America’s primary super car since its inception in 1991, bringing and sometimes besting, the performance of the finest European exotics for a fraction of their cost. Even today, with a base price of $87,000 the Dodge coupe offers speed and acceleration figures that make a Porsche 911 look tepid. Of course it also has the fit and finish of a Chrysler product, but we digress.
Celebrate the 25,000th snake off the line with a browse through our gallery of the SRT-10 ACR below, and be sure to tell us your favorite Viper memory in comments.
(Click through the jump to read the official Dodge press release.)
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Written By: Seyth Miersma
March 10th, 2008 5:00 PM
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The seller of this 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona seems to be more than just a little bit enamored of the pristine muscle car, and with good reason. The car has only recorded three miles in its extremely sheltered life, yet it has still undergone a complete, six-year restoration.
The result of this lavish attention is a Charger that looks almost as if it has been untouched by human hands. The owner seems almost defensive about this point, fully admitting that the car has been “over-restored,” but not willing to bow to what he describes as the “cult of correctness.” Fair enough.
Without fully diving into the many arguments surrounding the proper way to restore a car (or whether its wheels should be allowed to touch the ground), we’ll just point out that if anyone is looking for a perfect Charger Daytona, they need look no further.
+ eBay Motors: 1969 Dodge Charger
If you’ve got an idea for Question of the Day, a funny photo for Caption It, or just want to share a news tip, let us know at windingroadtips@gmail.com
Written By: Seyth Miersma
March 10th, 2008 12:30 PM
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While the 7,100 soon-to-be owners of Dodge’s 2008 Challenger SRT will undoubtedly know many joys in their new cars, they won’t have the pleasure of manually running through the gears. That’s because every year-one example of the Challenger comes fitted with a five-speed automatic transmission; no manual is available.
More hands-on muscle car enthusiasts will have to wait until the 2009 Challengers arrive, to select a car with a Tremec 6060 six-speed box. That unit is a modified version of the gearbox that’s used in the Dodge Viper SRT10, and should be up to the challenge of coping with the Challenger’s prodigious power.
Model year 2009 will also see the launch of two more budget conscious Challengers, available with less powerful engine choices, including a variant with Chrysler’s 3.6-liter V-6.
+ Automotive News: Manual for Challenger waits until ‘09
If you’ve got an idea for Question of the Day, a funny photo for Caption It, or just want to share a news tip, let us know at windingroadtips@gmail.com
Written By: Seyth Miersma
March 10th, 2008 9:00 AM
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Just a day after announcing that it would be contracting its North American design operations into one facility, Chrysler says that it has big plans to grow its auto sales outside of the U.S. The automaker has said that it could even build an assembly plant in Russia, as a means to attaining its goal of doubling sales outside of North America by 2012.
There is certainly a lot of room to grow for Chrysler in Russia; the automaker sold a tiny 5,636 units in the country last year. Chrysler sold 238,000 total vehicles outside of the U.S. and Canada during 2007.
(Click through the jump to read on. Would the 2008 Dodge Caliber SRT4 make a good fit in Russia? Take a look in our gallery below.)
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Written By: Dustin P. Walsh
March 4th, 2008 1:30 PM
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The Dukes of Hazzard’s General Lee is part representative of Southern culture, part fantasy for every American boy – well, those born in the era – and part auto icon. The General Lee, like KITT, was the real star of the show.
Now, the 1969 Dodge Charger General Lee will be up for grabs in the April issue of The DuPont Registry magazine. This is the original, not the General Lee used in episode 94 “Hazzard Hustle”, but the Charger used in the opening credits. (Yes, we know the above pic is not from the original television show). Hell, although, it’s been fully restored, the first General Lee still has a crack in the windshield from the whole police-car-jumping scene in the opening credits.
(More details after the jump)
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Written By: Dustin P. Walsh
March 3rd, 2008 3:30 PM
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Last week we brought you Consumer Reports’ Top Picks of 2008. Now, we’re letting you in on the worst 11. Chrysler takes a huge hit from Consumer Reports with four out of the bottom 11 belonging to the struggling automaker.
The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited bottoms out on the list, along with the Hummer H3. Both were cited for poor fuel economy and poor reliability. However, keep in mind that Consumer Reports does not take into the off-road ability of the vehicles. The Wrangler and Hummer are both championed as off-road vehicles, so, (maybe?) they didn’t get a fair shake.
(More details after the jump)
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Written By: Dustin P. Walsh
February 23rd, 2008 8:00 AM
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As far as luck goes, it wasn’t on their side. Or, was it?
An Auburn, Maine couple was taking their 1987 Dodge Dakota to the dealer for a trade-in on a 2007 model. As Marie Cooper followed her husband in the couple’s other truck, she noticed flames billowing out from the underbody. She called him on his cell phone. By the time the Richard Cooper had pulled over and leapt out, the truck was engulfed.
(More details after the jump)
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