Auto blog

Inner Demon revealed: 840 hp and other jaw-dropping details

After months of teasers, rumors, cryptic messages, and veiled hints, the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is finally here, and it's as wonderfully insane as we hoped it would be. Finally we know the facts and figures that Dodge has been hinting at for so long. 840 horsepower. 770 lb-ft of torque. 2.3 seconds to 60 mph. A quarter-mile run of 9.65 @ 140 mph. While pricing hasn't been announced, Dodge is trying to keep it under $100,000. That horsepower figure makes this the most powerful production V8 ever. With those 0-60 and quarter-mile times, it's also NHRA certified as the quickest production car ever. Someone with the means needs to line a Demon up against a Tesla Model S P100D. All that power and all of the Demon's trick launching software and hardware will throw a driver back against their seat with 1.8 Gs. Drivers will be seeing a bit of sky, as the Demon is the first production car to pull a wheelie from a dead stop. Yes, this is all totally and 100 percent street legal. View 48 Photos In order to make all this power, the red-painted supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi V8 has been significantly improved over the Hellcat. It's equipped with a larger 2.7-liter supercharger that turns the boost up to 14.5 psi, redlines at 6,500, and has what Dodge is calling SRT Power Chiller, a system that uses the air conditioning to cool the air coming in through the new Air Grabber hood scoop. In order to keep your engine running time and time again, there is an after-run cooler than cools the supercharger after the car is shut off. The pistons and connecting rods have been strengthened to deal with the higher load. In order to feed enough juice into the engine, the Demon uses dual fuel pumps. We assume that a decent EPA rating wasn't on the top of the engineer's list. Oh, and the Demon can run on 100-octane with the press of a button. With the traditional SRT black and red keys, the Demon actually has three horsepower ratings: 500 with the black key, 808 with the red key, and the full 840 with the red key and 100-octane fuel. Don't worry, even if you have the black key, the Demon will drop the 1/4 mile in 11.59 seconds, still quicker than almost anything around. Most of the rest you already know from the seemingly endless teasers. The Demon wears lightweight wheels with sticky 315/40R18 Nitto drag radials at all four corners.

VW scandal, Alan Taylor on Vipers, and future cars | Autoblog Podcast #474

Episode #473 of the Autoblog Podcast is here. This week, Dan Roth chats with Sam Abuelsamid of Navigant Research about the just-announced deal pending between Volkswagen and the EPA, and Navigant's Transportation Outlook for 2025 to 2050. Alan Taylor, host of The Drive on ERN also visits the Podcast to talk about picking up his Viper ACR in Texas and driving it back to the West Coast. It all starts with the Autoblog Garage - check it out! Check out the rundown with times for topics, and thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #474 Topics VW/EPA deal Navigant Research Transportation Outlook Alan Taylor In The Autoblog Garage 2016 Lincoln MKX 2016 Volvo XC90 2016 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk Hosts: Dan Roth Guests: Sam Abuelsamid, Alan Taylor Rundown Intro & Garage - 00:00 VW/EPA - 25:51 Navigant Outlook - 38:47 Alan Taylor - 54:43 Total Duration: 01:13:11 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Podcasts Dodge Volkswagen

Chrysler Recalling 700k Vehicles For Ignition Switch Woes

General Motors isn't the only automaker with ignition switch problems. Chrysler is fighting it too and is now announcing a recall of 695,957 examples worldwide of the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans from the 2008-2010 model years, plus the 2009-2010 Dodge Journey. According to a statement from Chrysler, the models have a bad wireless ignition node detent ring in the ignition switch, making it possible for drivers to appear to have the key in the "Run" position but for the spring not to fully engage. It can then slip back to the "Accessory" position and shut the car off. If this happens, the vehicle loses power steering, brake boost and the airbags. There is some disparity about the number of vehicles affected under this recall. In its statement, Chrysler claims that it covers 525,206 vehicles in the US, 102,892 in Canada, 25,591 in Mexico and 42,268 elsewhere. However, the recall announcement posted by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration lists an estimated 438,109 vehicles in the US. Chrysler spokesperson Nick Cappa told Autoblog via email that the reasoning for the different figures "will become clear at a later date." To fix the problem, Chrysler will install a new detent ring in the vehicles. It will begin contacting owners soon, and obviously the repair will be free of charge. This isn't the first time this problem has cropped up in these models. Chrysler issued a recall for 248,437 vehicles in 2011 for certain 2010 model year examples. A few weeks ago, NHTSA also began investigating the 2008-2010 model years of the affected models for ignition switch problems. At this time, it's not clear whether that evaluation and this campaign are linked. Chrysler told Autoblog that it has no reports of injuries related to the problem. Scroll down to read the company's statement and the NHTSA recall report. Statement: Expansion of Wireless Ignition Node (WIN) safety recall July 1, 2014 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - Out of an abundance of caution, Chrysler Group is expanding a previous safety recall to install a more robust WIN module detent ring. A previous recall in 2010 included 196,000 Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Grand Caravan and Dodge Journey vehicles built August 2, 2009 through June 17, 2010. The expansion includes an additional 695,957 vehicles manufactured January 29, 2007 through August 1, 2009.