Models
Dodge, in coordination with Contur Cabinet LTF and Swisstrax Corp, is running a promotional contest that will give one person a garage makeover valued at $20,000. While you do have to make some effort to enter, there is no gimmick that requires you to test drive a new vehicle, or even visit a dealership. All you have to do is visit Dodge’s Facebook page and register. Once you’ve registered, make a 60-second video showing off your Dodge and your makeover-needing garage, then uploaded it through Dodge’s Facebook app.
You must register and upload your video by September 21st to qualify for the contest. Your entry will then be judged against all others based on creativity and originality, among other things. The panel of judges will pick five contestants to move on to the final round that starts on October 7th. For the final round, those five videos will be publicly displayed on the Dodge’s Facebook page where everybody will be able to vote once a day for the best video.
The grand prize winner will receive a customizable storage cabinet from Contur Cabinet Ltd and customizable flooring from Swisstrax Flooring. The four remaining finalists will receive a smaller storage cabinet from Contur Cabinet. Those of you who don’t own a Dodge vehicle, but intend to vote will receive one entry into a $500 sweepstakes for every vote (limited to one vote a day.)
Continue reading for the full story.
Collections come in various shapes, forms and sizes, with some even being more expensive than others. That’s nothing in the auto industry where you have people with the financial resources to collect some of the expensive vehicles in the world.
But when it comes to Dodge Vipers, this couple from Texas trumps all of them — by a lot.
Apparently, they’re every bit the passionate Viper fans they make themselves out to be. In the past seven years, they’ve taken a significant chunk of their wealth and used them to buy Vipers. Not just one, two, or even 10 models.
65 models, in fact.
D’Ann and Wayne Rauh are the proud owners of 65 Dodge and SRT Vipers, a collection that could arguably be the largest Viper collection in the world. Now, there might some Middle Eastern man that has an equally huge — maybe even larger — collection out there, but for what it’s worth, the Rauh’s collection of Vipers is pretty incredible.
What makes their collection all the more impressive is that it only started its Viper collection in 2006 when they brought their first model. Soon thereafter, one model turned into two and two turned into four. Seven years later, their garage has just about every Viper you can think of, including the 2010 SRT10 ACR-X which isn’t even street legal.
Now that’s how you turn a fascination into downright obsession.
Click past the jump to read about the latest Viper of the lot, the 2013 SRT Viper
Cross-marketing stunts aren’t new in the auto industry.
It’s a great way for two companies to promote each other to two completely different audiences. Recently, a lot of auto brands and movie studios have taken this route to promote a particular movie and the car that will appear in said movie.
Alfa Romeo and Fast and Furious 6 recently did something like this a few weeks ago. Now, it’s Ram and Warner Bros’ turn to get in on the action.
With the upcoming "Man of Steel" movie set to hit theaters on June 14th, the two companies went ahead and unveiled a special edition, one-off "Man of Steel" Ram 1500 Power Wagon that was specifically built to promote the movie.
If this truck isn’t intimidating enough on its own, the specially designed Man of Steel-inspired styling will definitely get your attention.
Shortly after its unveiling, the one-off Man of Steel Power Wagon will head over to New York City on June 10th, just in time for the world premiere of the highly anticipated Superman movie. From there, the truck will go on its own tour around the country in the coming months before heading over to the auction block where it will be auctioned off for charity.
Click past the jump to read about how Ram dressed up this 1500 Power Wagon in the style of the Man of Steel himself
The one-off Dodge Challenger SRT8 belonging to Chrysler CEO Serio Marchionne and called "Pitch Black" has officially hit the auction block, fetching $175,000 during the Barrett-Jackson auction in Palm Beach, Florida over the weekend.
If you all remember, the one-off 2011 Challenger SRT8 was far from a run-of-the-mill model. It came packed with plenty of custom details that were included to make it stand out from the model line. And that’s on top of the 470-horsepower output the muscle car was capable of.
So yeah, it was quite the exclusive steed that Marchionne dutifully sent to auction to benefit the United Way for Southeastern Michigan community group. As far as the winning bidder is concerned, the lucky man was apparently an avid car collector who added a pretty impressive one-off Challenger SRT8 to his collection, as well as a 540-horsepower Hemi V-8 crate engine from Mopar.
A unique Challenger SRT8 and a Hemi V-8 engine? Sounds like an impressive haul at an auction, even for its $175,000 price tag.
Click past the jump to read more about Sergio Marchionne’s Challenger SRT8 Pitch Black
Our ears are still ringing from all the firecrackers signaling the New Year, but we couldn’t help but notice a new project from Ultimate Auto involving a Dodge Challenger. Admittedly, we didn’t need our ears to appreciate this beauty of a project, especially when you look at the menacing stance the program gives to an already imposing muscle car.
Ultimate Auto’s custom wide-body kit comes with plenty of new components, which includes composite body panels, a new front and rear bumper, and a clear plexiglass window on the hood to show off the Challenger’s shiny and new supercharger system.
The custom two-tone finish also adds a touch of panache while wider, vented fenders with matching side skirts, a boot lid spoiler, new headlamps and front grille, and a set of enormous 24-inch Savini forged wheels wrapped in Pirelli tires round out the exterior modifications.
As for the aforementioned supercharger, Ultimate Auto installed a Magnavox blower on the Challenger’s V-8 engine. Also added in is a new Magnaflow exhaust system, completing what we can only imagine to be a doozy of a program for the American classic. Unfortunately, Ultimate Auto didn’t hint us in on what kind of output this updated Challenger has, but it’s safe to assume it’s a significant boost over its stock 470 horsepower.
On Friday afternoon, I was cruising down the road, heading to the gym, and the familiar sound of a pair of turbochargers came whistling by my late-1990s Saturn – yeah, I know... Being one of my favorite sounds ever, I quickly looked to my right and just in front of the passenger side fender was a bright orange 2008 Challenger.
Assuming I was just hearing things, I had to roll down my window and get a good listen as it pulled away. Sure enough, there was the whistle again. After debating whether to sacrifice a few sets of much-needed bench presses in favor of flagging down the driver of this beastly muscle car, the car suddenly pulled into a Hess gas station so I decided that was my sign to stop and talk to the guy.
I rolled up to this bright-orange Challenger expecting the worst – some inflated-ego 20-something that doesn’t have the time to deal with some dude in a Saturn that claims to write about cars – but instead I met Mr. Don MacLachlan, a friendly local that loves to talk about his car. After a quick exchange, I found out that he was heading to a local car show right then and would love to talk more. With my having nothing more than my camera phone, I opted to schedule a future meeting. Fortunately, Don was heading to another car show the following day, so we chose to meet there for an exclusive review on his nasty Challenger.
With the review complete and plenty of pictures taken, we are now set to present to you, Don MacLachlan’s Challenger.
Click past the jump to read our full review.
You’ve just gotta love rally racing. No barriers, limited pavement, a co-driver telling you where in the hell to go and high rates of speed all make it a blast... to watch, at least. Sometimes after a gnarly crash, the driver and co-driver have a little chit-chat about what went wrong and in this case, the co-driver and driver obviously have a good relationship as they joke about the track “drops outside,” which means the outside edge has a steep drop-off.
The fun starts with the Brakim Racing driver getting the co-driver’s “drops outside” warning a little too late and comes in a little too hot. The car rolls down an embankment and the two have a joking exchange before finally figuring out how to get out of their rolled over Dodge Neon.
The co-driver decides that his window is the best exit path and starts climbing out. Well, we guess the crash wasn’t quite over at that point, as the co-driver needs some pretty quick reflexes to keep himself from getting smashed.
What exactly happened? Well, you’ll have to check out the above video to find out. Keep in mind that some of the language in this video is a little NSFW, so you might want to save this one for when you are at home.
Travis Pastrana and his 2013 Dart rally car have had a run of bad luck in this year’s Global RallyCross Championship, as a series of crashes have knocked him out of just about every race. Well, Travis’ run of bad luck appears to be coming to an end, as the Dart he pilots finally won a RallyCross race.
The win came on the New Hampshire Motor Speedway last weekend and it began nearly as well as it ended. Travis pulled in a 3rd place start, giving him an advantage over the majority of the field. He took advantage of his great positioning to overcome the two cars ahead of him and pull out the checkered flag in this heat.
Thanks to that win in his heat, Pastrana got a front-row seat to start the final race and managed to secure and keep hold of 1st place through the race. Needless to say, Travis has been rather disappointed with his results so far this year, as he was quoted saying “It’s been so long, I almost forgot what it’s like to win.”
Pastrana is definitely a TopSpeed favorite, thanks to his openness to hop in front of the camera and give us witty comments, awesome rally videos, or even challenge his own teammates, so to see him finally bring home a checkered flag is nice. Here’s to many more this year and we hope the worst is behind him.
Travis and his Dart tackle their next race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on September 28th and 29th.
You can check out the above video to see the summary of the entire event.
Any fan of professional wrestling is used to seeing per-produced challenges/invitations via video and in dramatic fashion, but racing fans rarely see such drama. Well, that was until Travis Pastrana decided his competition at the upcoming X-Games just wasn’t tough enough this year and sent a video challenge/invitation to 8-time WRC champ, and fellow Red Bull athlete, Sebastien Loeb.
This was far from the professional wrestling-esq “I challenge you to a cage match” style of challenge, as Travis’ video was short, sweet and complimentary to Loeb‘s skills as a rally driver. Red Bull put together Loeb’s response in a much more dramatic fashion, as it was dubbed over with some music and had a plethora of information regarding his super-fast car built just for this event. It even included an auto show-like red cloth veil removal. Still it wasn’t an over-the-top wrestling response, but it was still a tab on the dramatic side relative to Pastrana’s original video.
So let’s have a look at what Pastrana has gotten himself into… Loeb is running a car built-to-suit by Citroen Racing. It comes with a 2.0-liter four-pot that pumps out an unreal 545 ponies and 590 pound-feet of face-deforming torque. According to the video, the hot Citroen will hit 60 mph in just under 3 seconds.
Needless to say, Pastrana and his 2013 Dodge Dart are not only going up against the best rally driver that the world has to offer today, but also a car that is as good as any in the X-Games. Has Pastrana bitten off more than he can chew? Only time will tell, so we will have to wait until the RallyCross event kicks off on July 1st to find out.
We’ll keep you up to date with any other news that pops regarding this friendly rivalry.
You can see Pastrana’s challenge video above and Loeb’s acceptance video after the jump.
Anybody that has set his or her sights set on the very first production model of the 2013 SRT Viper will have to pay a whole lot more for the opportunity of owning it.
SRT has announced that the Viper model that was on display at the 2012 New York Auto Show will be auctioned off with the proceeds from the sale going to the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer. The car will be auctioned off at the Barrett-Jackson event in Orange County so if you’re interested in making bids on it, be sure to be in attendance and have your checkbook in hand.
According to Jim Osborn, co-founder of the Austin Hatcher Foundation, the first production SRT Viper is not only an absolutely gorgeous car, but the proceeds will go to the many families faced with pediatric cancer. "We are thrilled that SRT has chosen us to be a part of this extraordinary opportunity," he said. "We are tremendously excited to see the 2013 SRT Viper. It is an amazing vehicle. We just can’t thank Mr. Gilles and his team enough."
Just in case you’ve forgotten, the new SRT Viper is powered by a new 8.4-liter all-aluminum, V-10 overhead-valve engine that delivers a total of 640 HP and 600 lb.-ft. of torque – the most torque of any naturally aspirated engine in the world. It is mated to a six-speed manual transmission.
Do you want to win a Penske Racing-inspired 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392? If you think that lady luck is on your side, then don’t hesitate in joining Pennzoil’s "Join the Pursuit" sweepstakes for the chance to win a special edition Challenger.
The car is a complete one-off that was custom-built by Chrysler’s own Street and Racing Technology Group. It comes with the standard 6.4-liter HEMI V-8 engine that delivers 470 horsepower and 470 lb/ft of torque, but we’ll let the standard horsepower fly since it comes with its own unique dual-finish black paint scheme, a new custom cat-back exhaust system, a new set of 20" alloy wheels, leather seats with accent stitching, and a plethora of Pennzoil and Penske Racing badges.
To enter the sweepstakes, you have to head to your nearest Pennzoil oil change location or Pennzoil.com to get a ticket or a code. Enter that code online and you’re in. Of course, you can get a second ticket if you get a Pennzoil synthetic oil change.
Entries will be accepted until 11:59 CT on October 31, 2011. So if you’re feeling the itch to play and confident that good fortune will come your way, head over to Pennzoil’s website and enter the contest for the chance to win this one-off Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 "Penske Racing Edition."
The boys from Top Gear USA were back this week and they are starting to pick up a little bit of speed in terms of entertainment value. The discussions still tend to be a little too rehearsed, but we didn’t want to turn off the television as soon as they started talking. Well, except for when Adam opened his mouth, but we’re used to that.
The main focus this week was trying to figure out which truck was the best in America. After spending the entire first episode trying to convince us all that pick-up trucks could be convinced by two-door models, this was a welcome change. Other segments included battling it out between the Local Motors’ Rally Fighter and an airboat, and a trip around the Top Gear test track with actor/comedian Bill Engvall.
Hit the jump to check out the full details on Top Gear USA: Season 2 Episode 3.
To anybody who’s ever thought that Utah was a boring state, you may want to retract it after watching this video.
This, dear folks, is a Dodge Charger patrol car. But while most police vehicles of this stature are already more powerful than their standard variants, this particular Charger patrol car is unlike any of its brethren either. Why, you ask? Because it has an output of 900 horsepower.
In a world of don’t-ask-don’t-tell, we’ll spare the questions of why the Utah Highway Patrol has a car this powerful in the first place. What’s important to us is that this Dodge Charger is absolutely and insanely packed with ponies. And as the video will show you, it can do a pretty mean burnout, too. On top of that, it was done for the Coats for Kids charity event, which makes sense because charity benefits like this could always use a spectacle that includes a 900-horsepower burnout from, of all things, a highway patrol car.
A lot of us may be too young to remember the glory days of auto movies in the 70s, but for those old enough to remember a movie called Vanishing Point starring Barry Newman, this little tuning project may be if interest. In the movie, Newman plays the role of Kowalski, man who makes some sort of bet that he could take a white 1970 Dodge Challenger and drive it all the way the from Colorado to San Francisco in just 15 hours. Apparently, Vanishing Point was one of the most iconic car movies of the era, having enjoyed cult status to its fans, including one Bob Frederick.
As the dealer of New Wilmington Dodge and a long-time fan of the movie, Frederick decided to do something really cool to pay homage to one of his favorite flicks by unveiling a special edition model of the 392 Inaugural Edition Dodge Challenger SRT8 and calling it the “Kowalski Edition”.
Hit the jump to read more about the Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 "Kowalski Edition."
Sure, you have American car companies, German car companies, Japanese car companies, and so on and so forth. These determinations are based pretty much on where auto manufacturers are headquartered, but when you get right down to it, are the labels really accurate?
One would assume that when he/she buys an American car, that car was more or less manufactured in America, with American parts. And the same would go for German, Japanese, etc nameplates. This is simply not so in a lot of cases.
For example, according to the Internet Auto Guide, Toyota, a Japanese nameplate, uses mostly American-built parts in its models. In fact, they use more American parts than any of the American manufacturers -Ford, Dodge, and Chevrolet included. Some of those Toyota models are also assembled in the United States.
The AIG site recently published a list of the seven cars with the most American parts under the hood. Granted, the top two were models from American manufacturers - the Dodge Avenger and the Chrysler 200 - but, according to the report, Toyota uses more American parts, across the board, than any of the so-called American manufacturers. Their models ranked third (Camry) and fourth (Avalon) on the list. These two vehicles not only used American parts, but are also built in the U.S. at a facility in Georgetown, KY. In a sense, aren’t these really American cars then?
Full story after the jump.
Chrysler’s aftermarket company, Mopar, is preparing their latest tuning project for the Dodge Charger. Following in the reins of the 2010 Mopar Challenger, the tuning company is turning its attention to the 2011 Charger to make it one of the fastest, meanest, and more powerful Chargers out on the market.
According to Pietro Gorlier, Mopar’s president and CEO, the company is working hard to make the Mopar ’11 Charger a step up from what was a successful 2010 Challenger model. "After the success of our Mopar ’10 Challenger, we moved on to the iconic Dodge Charger and added even more performance,” he said.
"The Mopar ‘11 Charger takes the ‘head- turning’ factor up a few notches," said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group’s service, parts and customer-care brand. "By adding some of the most distinctive accessories to an already strong performer, we’ve created a special-edition car for enthusiasts."
Updated 04/13/2011: Dodge has revealed the new special-edition Mopar Charger at the the company’s Mopar Complex in Center Line, Michigan. This special edition will be limited to only 1000 units, 900 for the U.S. and 100 for Canada, and will be priced from $39,750.
More details for the Dodge Mopar Charger Special after the jump.
Who would’ve thought that in a world of spy photos and teaser shots, you’re going to find the first image of a new vehicle – in this case, the next-generation Dodge Charger in, of all things, a t-shirt.
The scene was the Mopar Nationals at the National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Ohio last weekend. In celebration of its 30th anniversary, the event caught the attention of auto scribes because of something that was printed on the T-shirts that were being given out during the weekend. It might take a closer look at the tee, but once you scan the printed graphic on it, you might notice the rear end – the distinct rear light bar, to be more specific - of a car that looks suspiciously like a Dodge Charger.
Nobody knows who was behind the graphic design of the shirt, but given that it was in fact included with the rest of the regulars at Mopar gives credence to the growing rumor that the new Dodge Charger may very well inching closer and closer to reality.
The collective teaser scarring we all had to endure with Ford and those mind-numbingly frustrating teaser photos of the 2011 Explorer hasn’t stopped us from showing all of you a new batch of teaser photos. Yes, we’re gluttons for punishment like that.
This time, though, these teasers are courtesy of the Chrysler Group and their latest offering under the Dodge brand, the 2011 Durango.
We’ve already caught a glimpse of the soon-to-be released SUV courtesy of a teaser video released by Dodge and, unlike the wide-scoping – and oddly confusing - teaser photos of the Explorer, these photos are what teasers should look like: not too revealing and not too vague either. And yes, no photos of smiling company execs, too.
These photos are actually part of a recent marketing campaign by Dodge that also includes the aforementioned teaser video and a recently launched 2011 Durango-dedicated website.
As far as specs are concerned, the word is that it would come with either a Pentastar 280 horsepower 3.6-liter V6 for the standard unit and a 390 horsepower 5.7-liter Hemi V8 for the higher-end version.
There’s no word yet on when the new Durango will make its world debut, but from what we’ve heard, the company is looking to roll out their new crossover possibly by the end of 2010.
A few days ago we took a small trip down the road a few miles to Best Buy to look at some of the new televisions that are currently on the market. In the newly redesigned Best Buys, they have added a massive back wall full of screens playing movies, previews, or nature shows, in an effort to show us how good these shows can look in high definition. Every size, make, and model is available and you could stand there for hours watching each one of them. The picture is incredible, but after a while you have to run and hide in the speaker section, just to get away from the intense light and colors.
Sure, these 50-inch LCD machines are very impressive, but they will also cost you a full week’s paycheck. Yet, that is the way things are in today’s market. If you dare ask for a tube television you will be laughed at and thrown out of the store. Probably not, but the chances of finding an old school telly are pretty slim.
The addition of new technology happens every year in the automotive world too. There are certain devices that once graced the interior, or exterior of our cars that are now only found in the history books. The cassette deck, roll-up windows, and bench seats all seem to be making an exit from the modern vehicle. There are even vehicle body styles that have faded from memory.
These are the top ten devices, vehicles, or gizmos that are no longer found in today’s automotive marketplace.
Hit the jump to see the list.
Now that the America’s stint in the World Cup was unceremoniously dispatched by Ghana, it doesn’t look like all those promotional ads urging Team USA to perform well in the World Cup did anything for the team.
Nevertheless, the new Dodge Challenger ’Freedom’ ad, which debuted before the US’s opening stage match England, was one of our favorite auto commercials to come out in a while. So with no other team to root for, this behind-the-scenes look at the commercial is about as good as it gets for us.
Fortunately, the video is good enough consolation for us, especially after finding out that the three Challengers used in the commercial didn’t have any doubles doing their stunts for them. It may not mean much in the bigger scheme of things, but knowing what the new Challenger is capable of - that is to say that it’s not afraid to get its paint job dirty - shows us that this muscle-bound machine is more than capable of giving us something the US team never quite lived up to: a rollicking awesome car that can give us a thrill ride of a lifetime.
Although we think that it’s nearly impossible to have a manly minivan, certain companies are trying. Toyota is working on making the Sienna SE cool by airing commercials of dorky parents who are acting like teenagers. Apparently, Toyota believes that this will make their Sienna cool, but we think they have failed.
Now Dodge is trying with their granddaddy minivan, the new Grand Caravan. The reason people buy this sort of van is because they need to haul children. Not saying that this is a bad thing, people carriers were made for a reason. Just don’t expect to look cool or manly behind the wheel.
Yet, Dodge is trying to change all that by appealing to men. They are planning to give the Grand Caravan a sportier looking front end with a black and gray interior. Although they tried, Dodge needs to do a bit more.
The new model will be based on the Caravan R/T that was shown at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show and it could be here as early as three months. We think that this van will flop. Dodge needs to give the van an overhaul, not orange paint and body kits.
The World Cup match between powerhouse England and it’s former colony, the USA, was just this past weekend and Dodge made good use of its advertising budget to ensure that their presence was felt on one of America’s biggest soccer games in history. Sure, the good ol’ boys of the red, white, and blue, were decidedly huge underdogs against the English chaps, but they were not going to lay down easy and ended up tying it up with those blokes.
This ad by Dodge, which they called "Freedom" most likely fueled even more fire, patriotism, and passion from die-hard American soccer fans as they rooted for their country’s team while the showdown with England took place. While this was just another group match for England, this match meant the world to the USA.
If Dodge CEO Ralph Gilles has his way, the Dodge Viper will live on, maybe not as a road car, but as a race car - at least until a redesign gets underway. Gilles hinted as much in this video, which was recorded just this week at Michigan’s Gingerman Raceway.
According to Gilles, Dodge is looking at the possibility of continuing to build race versions of the Viper, similar to what has been done to the current-generation ACR-X, just to ensure that the Viper name remains afloat until after a new design for a road car gets drawn up. Then again, seeing as the future of the Viper line remains up in the air, there’s no telling when - or even if - that’s going to happen now or anytime soon.
Ever the optimist, Gilles remains hopeful that a a new Viper road car could still find its way into production, hinting that it just might happen somewhere down the road, although not anytime soon. "Racing is a great way to keep the car out front and people appreciating what the car is capable of," he said. "When it’s time to do a successor to the car, hopefully there will be a great fanbase for it."
We’re not arguing your point, Mr. Gilles. When it comes to the Viper, there will always be a great fanbase for it.