The Demo Site

2009 Dodge Ram HD

The 2009 Dodge Ram Heavy Duty was left to rumble on its own out back while the electric concepts took to the Chrysler stage at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. But the hulking oil-burner certainly deserves mention. Powerplants come in two flavors on the 2500 models: a 5.7-liter V8 with 355 hp and 395 lb-ft. of twist and twizzle, and the big daddy 6.7-liter Cummins with 350 hp and 650 lb-ft. The 6.7-liter diesel particulate filter reduces NOx emissions by 90%, meaning the car passes 2010 standards right now, and if you step up to the Ram 3500, you get the 6.7-liter standard - because obviously you go by the name Hoss.

Inside, the manual is no longer an option with the 5.7-liter, but Dodge wants to make that up to you with an available Infinity sound system, Internet connectivity with uConnect, and a power-sliding rear window. You'll want to make sure you choose your truck carefully, though - Dodge touts them as the longest lasting trucks out there: the 6.7-liter is expected to get you 350,000 miles before its first major overhaul. You can learn more than you ever wanted to know about Dodge Rams after the jump, and check out the gallery of high-res photos below.

Dodge Circuit EV

The circuit is one of those things that makes us go "Hmmm." It is not particularly attractive, not particularly innovative, and not particularly noteworthy except that it's an electric car with "Dodge" written on it. The 200kW (268 hp) motor get the "Tangoreen" 2-door to 60 in less than five seconds, and the quarter-mile is a 13-second affair.

Still, as the continuation of what might be considered last summer's cynical exercise we have nothing against the Dodge Circuit -- but unless they price it a great deal lower than a Tesla or make it a great deal cooler than Lotus' (possibly) coming range-extended Evora Europa, then we aren't sure what to do with the Circuit for now. You can read the press release after the jump and check out the high-res gallery of photos below... But for our money, the Chrysler 200C Concept is what the future of the Pentastar is all about.

Dodge Circuit EV

In spite of the large Dodge EV branding that was on this car when it first appeared last fall, it was obvious to all that it was simply a Lotus Europa. In spite of Chrysler's seemingly inexorable drive to insolvency in recent months, the engineers and designers in Auburn Hills have continued to try make the best use of the time they have left with a paycheck. The electric sports car now known as the Circuit EV has been the beneficiary of cross-hair nose job that is actually an improvement over the Lotus original. The tail has also been revamped and the plug socket has moved from the passenger side to the driver's side flank.

The specs haven't changed so the Circuit is still a bit slower than a Tesla Roadster with a 0-60 time of under 5 seconds. The range is also estimated at 150-200 miles. It's anyone's guess what the real world range would be though since no one outside Chrysler or Lotus has thoroughly tested the Circuit yet. The other guess is whether Chrysler LLC will be around long enough to actually sell the Circuit to customers. Maybe we should start a pool to see which company will hold longer, Chrysler or Tesla?

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.

Yesterday we got a preview of the Classic Design Concepts Group 2 Widebody Challenger, and today we made sure to hunt down both versions on the SEMA show floor to get some photos. Both feature an appearance package including widened fenders, stainless steel mesh grille, and functional aluminum shaker hood. Both are supercharged, although the black car comes with a Vortech and the white packs a Procharger. Additional performance upgrades include a Pypes cat-back exhaust system, KW adjustable coilover suspension, and 15-inch Baer brakes. We love the look of both cars, and the extra wide fenders give them a particularly aggressive stance. We're sure we'd appreciate the supercharged Hemi as well.

2009 Dodge Challenger crash pics, and here to view video

We like our pony cars to have that muscle car look with the power to back it up. The Dodge Challenger makes good on both counts (at least when it's sporting a V8) and now has a five-star safety record to match its performance. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration slammed some Challengers into brick walls to test the new pony car's crash-worthiness, and the results were five stars for both the driver and front passenger in frontal and side impacts. A front crash impact score of five stars means that there is a 10% or less chance of serious injury at 35 mph, and the five-star side impact score indicates a 5% chance of serious injury at 38.5 mph.

Follow the jump to watch video of the Dodge Challenger taking on the NHTSA's infamous wall of punishment. The Challenger's sheet metal does a good job of absorbing the 35-mph blow in the frontal crash, and the driver door performs brilliantly in the side impact.

The 2009 Dodge Ram isn't just for hauling these days; it can also act as a mobile WiFi hotspot and connect multiple computers and cell phones to the Internet, as Fast Company reports. That's in addition to the truck's satellite TV, MP3-compatible stereo system, and rear backup camera.

"Dodge Challenger SRT10″.

Got a helluva nice ring to it, dontcha think?

The current top-o-the-line Challenger, the SRT8, is a pretty beastly muscle car, one that delivered more than its rabid fans had expected. Quite frankly, its performance statistics are more than enough.

Dodge's high octane SRT team apparently didn't think so. I bet what happened is one day after work one of the SRT boys was a little more depressed than usual: the Viper is getting axed, performance now bows to mileage, the days of the muscle car is ending, etc. So he decided, screw it, if we're going to go out, then we're gonna go out with one hell of a bang.

Which left the question: how? Well I bet that was solved rather quickly, just get a bigger engine, and a bigger engine means only one thing: going to the Viper for its V-10.

Performance info and pics (including that of the Challenger SRT10 chillin' with the Viper) after the jump.

The 8.4 liter V-10 engine boasts 600 horsepower and 560 pound-feet of torque. No word yet on performance statistics, as this is just a show car. Exterior modifications include a functional carbon fiber shaker hood, a carbon fiber front splitter and rear deck, a new spoiler, Bilstein shocks, larger wheels, bigger brakes, and beastly quad exhaust tips. The interior is decked out in carbon fiber and features the push button engine start found in the Viper as well.

I certainly hope Dodge will consider building this, perhaps as a low-volume competitor to Ford's Shelby GT500 KR.

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German tuning specialist GeigerCars that already has high-voltage versions of the Corvette Z06, Ford F650 and even the Hummer H2 GT (this one was fitted with a pair of Lambo-doors), has finally offered its first tuning program for the furious 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 muscle car.

2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 tuned by GeigerCars