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2019 Dodge Challenger Review and Buying Guide | Cause we still review awesome cars, too

The Dodge Challenger has now been kicking around without a complete redesign for a decade, yet it actually seems to be getting more popular in its old age. Credit a substantial overhaul a few years ago, constant tinkering, and a yearly roll out of exciting new variants. For the 2019 Dodge Challenger, we welcome the 797-horsepower Hellcat Redeye and R/T Scat Pack Widebody. However, there's an inherent honesty and unique goodness to the Challenger that allows it to still duke it out with the Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro – despite those age-old rivals' transformation into something more akin to a sports car. The Challenger, by contrast, is 100% muscle car more concerned with straight-line performance than handling precision. It's also much bigger and practical, lending itself better to daily driver duty. That, plus its distinctive style and diverse model lineup, make it easy to see why the Challenger continues to enjoy such massive success. You can certainly count us among its fans. What's new for 2019? We say goodbye to the SRT 392 and Demon, but hello to the 797-horsepower Hellcat Redeye and R/T Scat Pack Widebody. The regular Hellcat gets a 10-hp bump as well as a new "dual snorkel" hood. Further down the Challenger pecking order, you can now get all-wheel drive on the base SXT. What's the interior and in-car technology like? The Challenger's interior certainly isn't as characterful and flamboyant as its exterior would suggest. The Mustang and Camaro are more interesting and distinctive inside. Still, there are some interesting design flourishes that spruce things up, from the base trim's standard houndstooth cloth to the two-tone leather choices available as options. Besides, we're not sure how flamboyant you need the interior to be in a car available in electric orange, blue, green and purple paint colors. Furthermore, what the Challenger interior may lack in visual pizzazz, it makes up for with space (see below) and technology. A 7-inch touchscreen is standard, but all trim levels have an 8.4-inch version available as an option or standard. Both are among the easiest to use in the industry, and we prefer the 8.4-inch unit in particular to what's offered by the Camaro and Mustang. Heck, the Ford doesn't even come standard with a touchscreen, let alone the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto that are included on every Challenger. How big is it? For a performance coupe, the Challenger is enormous.

FCA cuts powertrain warranties to 60k miles

FCA US is cutting back the mileage of its powertrain warranty on some 2016 model year vehicles. Rather than the current five years/100,000 miles of coverage, the new amount is five years/60,000 miles for gasoline-fueled models from Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram. In March 2015, General Motors made a similar switch to five-years/60,000-miles of coverage for Chevrolet and GMC, and FCA US seems to be citing this as part of the reason for the shift. "Following changes already made by competitors, FCA US is adjusting powertrain warranty coverage for 2016 model year vehicles to be more consistent with industry practices," the automaker said in a portion of its statement. The bumper-to-bumper warranty for these vehicles is unchanged at three years/36,000 miles. According to Automotive News, Fiat's warranty is remaining at four years/50,000 miles. When it changed the mileage limit, GM also halved the number of free service visits for Chevy, GMC, and Buick to two from the previous four. The automaker claimed that the reason for the adjustments to its coverage was that a long warranty was seldom a reason for customers to buy a vehicle. Related Video: Response to Query: 2016MY Powertrain Warranty Adjustment Following changes already made by competitors, FCA US is adjusting powertrain warranty coverage for 2016 model year vehicles to be more consistent with industry practices. For 2016MY, Chrysler, Jeep®, Dodge and Ram Truck vehicles with gasoline engines will be covered by a 5 year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty. The basic coverage, also known as "bumper to bumper," remains at 3 years/36,000 miles. # # # News Source: FCA US, Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Mark Ralston / AFP / Getty Images Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM Car Buying Maintenance Ownership FCA warranty fca us powertrain

Hennessey Dodge Demon sets hellishly fast quarter-mile time

The Dodge Demon doesn't strike us as a muscle car much in need of a performance makeover. After all, this 840-horsepower MoPar machine's voracious quest for straight-line speed means it trims weight by jettisoning everything from a front passenger seat and rear seat, to its stereo and all carpeting in the trunk. The folks at Hennessey apparently think that's not nearly extreme enough. So, the Texas-based tuning outfit has turned the Demon into a 1,035-horsepower mega beast that runs a quarter-mile in 9.14 seconds at 152 mph. That's fast, really fast. In fact, the HPE1000 is now the world's fastest Dodge Demon, having set its record-setting pace at Lonestar Motorsports Park on May 8. "The 2018 Demon is a street-legal rocket from Dodge, but we wanted to take the car's impressive track times to an industry leading level." said president and company founder, John Hennessey. For comparison, the stock Dodge Demon is credited with running the quarter-mile in 9.65 seconds at 140 mph. The main HPE1000 modification involves replacing the stock 2.7-liter supercharger with one that's a staggering 4.5-liters in capacity. Also included in the Hennessey toy-chest are stainless steel long tube headers, a high-flow air induction system, upgraded throttle body, upgraded fuel pump and fuel injectors, along with custom engine management calibration. When all is said and done, the HPE1000 Dodge Demon delivers a total of 1,035 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 948 pound-feet of torque at 4,200 rpm. While the standard Demon accelerates from 0-60 mph in only 2.3 seconds, the Hennessey variant trims this down to only 1.9 seconds. That's quick enough to make a Bugatti Chiron blush. Hennessey hasn't stated what all this will cost, though the company did say production of these devilishly fast Demons will be limited to only 50 examples. Customers also receive a 1-year/12,000-mile warranty, which seems a nice touch for a car that's downright scary with its performance specs. Related Video: Featured Gallery Dodge Demon Hennessey HPE1000 View 30 Photos Aftermarket Dodge Coupe Performance supercharger Hennessey dodge demon quarter mile demon