2003 Dodge Dakota R/t Extended Cab Pickup 2-door 5.9l on 2040-cars

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Chrysler earns $1.7B in 2012, revises product plans for US

Hot on the heels of Ford's earnings announcement for the year that was, Chrysler today reported a 2012 net income of $1.7 billion, up substantially from the comparatively minuscule $183 million profit earned in 2011 when it repaid its US government loans.
Chrysler's good year ended with an excellent fourth quarter that saw net income rise 68 percent from $225 million in 2011 to $378 million. Where are all those extra earnings coming from? Market share, which Chrysler saw increase to 11.4% last year on sales of 1.65 million vehicles. In fact, the Auburn Hills, MI-based automaker out-paced the industry's market growth of 13 percent last year with sales up 21 percent for the year.
The company also revealed an updated product plan for its Chrysler Group and Fiat brands that looks all the way out to 2016. It's an updated version of the plan introduced in 2009 shortly after Fiat took control of the American automaker, and includes such new additions as an Alfa Romeo model, likely the 4C, to be introduced in the US this year, as well five more Alfa models by 2016. Likewise, Fiat will be growing by an additional seven models in the coming few years.

Roadkill builds crazy-cheap 1968 Dodge Charger rat rod using an old motorhome

Certain requests for description simply cannot be fulfilled, like if someone asked you to describe Picasso's Guernica or Gilliam's Brazil. There is only one appropriate answer to such entreaties, and that is: "You just gotta see it." That's where we are with the latest episode of Roadkill, wherein Messr's Freiburger and Finnegan dig out a 1968 Dodge Charger that Freiburger acquired in exchange for a set of cylinder heads, and intend to stuff it with the big-block motor from a long-bed, three-quarter ton Dodge pickup.
Only the pickup is too nice to tear apart, and the Charger needs a whole lot more lovin' - and parts - than initially expected. Enter, stage right, the Class A Dodge Pace Arrow motorhome with a 440 big-block purchased for $1,000, and a retired Plymouth Fury from a previous episode.
What ensues over the course of the 40-minute installment is more cuttin', yankin', leakin', stallin', hammerin' and smokin' action than you've seen in a long time, and some techniques that would have made even Cooter wonder, "I'm not sure if we should do that." By the end, though, the payoff is good enough to make you think about perusing AutoTrader for a '68 Charger just to see if maybe...

2003-04 Dodge Viper recalled for sudden airbag deployment

As if driving the old Dodge Viper (not the fancy new SRT model) isn't intimidating enough, imagine trying to wrangle that V10 beast and then suddenly having the airbags deploy. Yikes. That's apparently what could happen to some 3,660 Viper models from the 2003 and 2004 model years, and as such, Chrysler has issued a recall.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, part of the car's airbag control module may fail, causing the bags or seatbelt pre-tensioners to deploy without warning while the vehicle is in operation. That's a dangerous scenario in any car, let alone one offering insane horsepower a near-total paucity of safety nannies should things get squirrely.
Owners will be notified this month about the recall, though a remedy is not expected to be available until later this year. Scroll down for the full NHTSA statement.