1971 Dodge Challenger Convertible on 2040-cars

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Junkyard 1983 Dodge Rampage has Franco-American roots

Lee Iacocca and the K-Cars get most of the credit for saving Chrysler after the company's 1979 bailout by the US government, but the success of the Simca-derived Omnirizon platform was a large, if overlooked, component of Chrysler's early-1980s resurgence. The Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon were sold in the United States for the 1978 through 1990 model years, and variants included the 1983-1987 Dodge Charger and the Rampage, this well-worn example of which I spotted in a Denver self-service wrecking yard last week. The early Omnirizons came with a Volkswagen-sourced 1.7-liter engine, but all of the Rampage pickups (and their near-identical Plymouth Scamp siblings) came from the factory with a 2.2-liter K-Car engine making 96 horses. This truck has a 4-speed manual transmission, which would have made it reasonably quick by Malaise Era standards. This one had plenty of body filler and rust, even before the crash that sent it on that final tow-truck ride to this place, so it wouldn't have been worth restoring. Still, we can hope that some of its parts will live on in other L-body trucks. Related Video: Featured Gallery Junked 1983 Dodge Rampage in Denver View 16 Photos Chrysler Dodge Automotive History Truck Classics dodge rampage

2013 Dodge Charger AWD Sport

We won't beat around the bush: The all-wheel-drive Dodge Charger is not a brand new car. This generation launched in 2011, AWD models and all. But for 2013, Chrysler has added an optional sport package to the AWD model, available with both the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 or the sweet, sweet 5.7-liter Hemi V8. The upgrades for this new sport pack are mainly cosmetic; a gloss black grille, new 19-inch alloy wheels and body-colored rear spoiler make up the list of exterior changes. Inside, there are new sport seats and paddle shifters, and the eight-speed automatic transmission has been reflashed for better performance.
But because vehicles like the Dodge Charger mainly stick out in our minds as being rear-drive bruisers, Chrysler wanted to give us the opportunity to test out the LX platform's foul-weather prowess. And perhaps no place more appropriate to test such a system was way up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula in the dead of winter.
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Dodge could return to NASCAR, Marchionne says

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne said he'd "love to" bring Dodge back to NASCAR. The news could signal a potential shift in America's favorite motorsport away from today's three-manufacturer arrangement, but we're wondering just how much sense Dodge's return would make amid NASCAR's dwindling television ratings and attendance figures. It took a visit from Ferrari at NASCAR's biggest icon, Daytona International Speedway, for the Ferrari Challenge World Finals to get Marchionne on the subject of Dodge and stock car racing. When asked about the possibility on Sunday, the FCA boss revealed he'd just spoken to NASCAR executive vice president Jim France the night before about Dodge's return. Dodge announced its NASCAR departure in 2009, as it was in the grips of a major bankruptcy alongside cross-town rival General Motors. While GM's Chevrolet brand stuck it out and won three of the last four manufacturer championships, the final Mopar-powered team flipped to Ford in 2012. Marchionne takes the blame for the decision, citing reasons that are, frankly, very good. "I am the guilty party at the table. In 2009 we came out of bankruptcy; we couldn't [justify] racing in NASCAR when I was trying to pay bills and make payroll," Marchionne said, according to Autoweek. "I think we're in a different place now." NASCAR is in a different place, too. The sport has struggled with disappointing television ratings in the past several years, and it's not uncommon to tune into races at some of the sport's marquee tracks, like Bristol Motor Speedway, and see scores of empty seats. Sponsorship dollars are also drying up. That could explain Marchionne's non-committal follow-up comments. "We need to find the right way to come back in," Marchionne said, adding that he'd revisit the idea with Jim France and International Speedway Corporation CEO and NASCAR board member Lesa France Kennedy "in short order." Related Video: