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Dodge says three new variants of the Charger and Challenger are on their way

Introduced in 2008, the current Dodge Challenger is one of the oldest new cars on the American market. It's not ready to retire, and documents published by Canadian union Unifor confirm it will remain in production until at least 2023. Better yet, the company announced it will release several new versions of the car in the coming years. Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) narrowly avoided a costly strike by signing a new three-year agreement with Unifor, the union that represents most of its Canadian workers. It pledged to inject $1.58 billion Canadian (about $1.2 billion U.S.) into its local operations while creating 2,000 new jobs in the nation. Some of that money will be allocated to the Brampton Assembly factory located on the outskirts of Toronto, where it will be used to build three new variants of Dodge's Charger and Challenger models. Details about what the company has in store weren't included in the release, but Dodge has shown it's capable of mustering an unusually high level of creativity when it comes to keeping the Challenger and the Charger fresh. Hellcat, Demon, T/A 392, and Super Stock models have joined the range in recent years, and its efforts have paid off, as 60,997 units of the Challenger were sold in the United States in 2019. It even outsold the Camaro and the Mustang during the third quarter of the year. Annual Charger sales jumped by 21% to 96,935 units in 2019. With that said, Dodge's definition of a new variant is murky. It could be alluding to a trim level, an option package, a limited-edition model, or a face-lifted version. Regardless, we're betting they'll be exceptionally powerful. Chrysler will continue to build the 300 in Brampton through 2023, too, but there's no word on what the future has in store for the sedan. It's also relatively old, but it's not faring nearly as well as its Dodge-badged siblings. Sales fell to 29,213 units in 2019, a 37% drop compared to 2018, and the lineup was pared down for 2021. Moving west, the Windsor factory will be retooled to build plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles, and it will be assigned at least one new model, but FCA didn't reveal what it will be, or when we'll see it. Industry whisperings claim that's where the production version of the CES-friendly Chrysler Portal concept will be built.

Dodge Challenger ACR rumored finally on its way using Viper ACR as benchmark

In 1995, Dodge released the ACR Neon, an unlikely combination of cheap, compact American sedan and high-performance parts and engineering marked by initials standing for American Club Racer. Dodge sold a heap of them, so the automaker flexed the ACR brand's potential with the first ACR Viper in 1999. The racy coupes made huge noise for Dodge and the Viper. After the fourth-gen Viper ended production in 2010, Dodge took a Challenger ACR concept to SEMA in 2011. But instead of carrying the coupe to production, Dodge resurrected the Viper for 2013 and got one more Viper ACR model out during the last Viper's final years. With the Viper gone again, it appears Dodge is sorting out that Challenger ACR concept for real. Last October, Mopar Insiders reported the automaker was trying to get a Challenger ACR prepared for the model's 50th anniversary this year. The timing looks highly unlikely, but an Allpar source says the track-happy coupe is still coming, and with bonkers expectations and gear. We're talking about a big-boi widebody Challenger tuned to do hard laps, fast, around twisty circuits, all day long. An Allpar insider known as "Muther," a code name to tug at John le Carre's heart, said Dodge is considering two engines. Because the point of the car is to be raced and some series don't accept forced induction, one trim would fit the naturally aspirated 392 Hemi from the R/T Scat Pack. There's no telling if that motor would get a power bump, but the Challenger ACR concept upped its output slightly with measures like a cat-back exhaust. The other trim, naturally, would fit the 6.2-liter Hellcat Redeye V8.     Muther told Allpar that if engineers can get the car under 4,000 pounds, the math points to being within two seconds of the time set by the Viper ACR-E at Road America. That "E" represents the Extreme Aero Package, with addenda like a deeper front splitter, dive planes, and an adjustable, dual-element rear wing that helped the Viper ring up 14 lap records on U.S. tracks. The fastest time we know of for a Viper at Road America is from 2011, factory race driver Kuno Wittmer doing 2:20 even in a Gen IV Viper ACR. Wittmer's ride weighed 3,408-pounds. Dodge boffins want to get the Challenger ACR under 4,000 pounds. Achieving the weight goal would mean cutting at least 387 pounds from a standard R/T Scat Pack Widebody, and 512 pounds from the Hellcat Redeye Widebody if that trim has the same target.

The 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon will come with a crate full of goodies

Dodge released its latest trailer for the upcoming 2018 Challenger SRT Demon, and it's all about the extra stuff that comes with the car. Each Demon will be delivered with a custom-painted crate, complete with metal serial tag with the car's VIN and the name of the owner. Inside the crate are 18 items, which will help make the Demon a dual-purpose vehicle. The company says that "each customer can decide at the time of order, or once they own the car, or even at a moment's notice that they want their car to favor street performance, drag strip performance, or something in between." Dodge announced that the crate contains matching spare wheels and Demon-branded tools. In the trailer, we can see some of the tools, including a jack, impact gun, socket wrench, and a tire-pressure gauge. We imagine that part of the plan is that owners can have an extra set of tires, perhaps some even stickier drag slicks, and have everything on hand to swap them out quickly. Dodge also revealed that it will include a "Demon Track Pack System" and "Direct Connection Demon Performance Parts." These items present more of a mystery, since the trailer only shows the wheels and tools. One of the official images (pictured above) shows the crate opened up, and what may be portions of a racing harness. So the Demon may include some safety parts that could be installed or removed to make it safe on track, or comfortable on the street for the driver and passengers. Assuming that any passenger seats are left in the car. Related Video: