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Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Durango still catching fire after recall

Automakers issue recalls all the time. It's part of the cost of doing business. We just assume that once the recall has been carried out, the problem in question has been fixed. But that's not always the case, as this latest investigation being undertaken by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration goes to show. The problem stems back to a recall issued by Chrysler last summer. It revolved rather the sun visor in the SUVs it makes at its Jefferson North Assembly Plant – specifically, the screw affixing the sun visor could end up rubbing against the wiring for the lamp in the vanity mirror, potentially causing an electrical short and even a fire. 62 such short circuits, 38 fires and three injuries reported, prompting Chrysler to recall nearly 900,000 units of the 2011-2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango (over 650,000 of them in the United States). The plastic spacers they installed to rectify the problem, however, may not have done the trick. Eight reports (but none involving injuries) have been filed with the NHTSA regarding the same issue recurring, spurring the government agency to open a new investigation into the matter. If deemed necessary, the NHTSA could ask FCA to issue another recall to fix the issue again, which we may necessitate the installation of a fuze to prevent any such the electric short. Related Video: INVESTIGATION Subject : Headliner Fires Date Investigation Opened: MAY 01, 2015 Date Investigation Closed: Open NHTSA Action Number: RQ15003 Component(s): ELECTRICAL SYSTEM , INTERIOR LIGHTING Manufacturer: Chrysler (FCA US LLC) SUMMARY: On July 1st, 2014 Chrysler (FCA US LLC) issued safety recall 14V-391 to remedy a wiring-related fire hazard on the headliner of approximately 661,888 model year (MY) 2011-2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango vehicles manufactured between January 5, 2010 and December 11, 2013. The recall was in response to the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) investigation EA14-001 during which data provided by Chrysler indicates that the fire is caused by an electrical short in the vanity lamp wiring for either one of the sun visors mounted on the vehicle. The sun visors are mounted to the roof of the vehicle through the headliner with three metal screws.

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

Here are the Challenger SRT Demon's bare-minimum performance numbers

This week's Dodge Challenger SRT Demon teaser video provides what seems like more concrete evidence than any of the others before it. We say it seems that way because the numbers flashed on the screen are likely not showing us everything the car has to offer. So we're looking at these as the minimum performance stats and expecting Dodge to reveal even crazier numbers alongside the car next month. The video also provides some hints at features and modes the car will offer. Let's pick it apart. First off, there's the performance data from the various SRT Performance Pages screens. The 0–60 mph time is 3.0 seconds, which compares well to the "regular" Hellcat's 3.5-second manufacturer claim. Then there are two 0–100 times: 6.08 and 6.8. An eighth-mile time of 6.6 seconds at 125 mph and a quarter-mile time of 0.5 seconds at 129 mph lead us to believe the driver lifted off the throttle in that second eighth-mile and that the car will actually do the quarter in the low 10s. For reference, Dodge claims an 11.2-second quarter for the Hellcat on its street tires and a 10.8 with race slicks. View 7 Photos We also get a cryptic message about the supercharger boost pressure, which suggests it will be higher than the 11.6 psi of the 6.2-liter Hellcat engine. A graph shows it heading up toward 10 psi but the final spike is obscured by a Demon head. Cute. There's a hint at horsepower and torque numbers in a graph on the Dyno page, which shows both peaking around 750. In every shot of this video, the clock is set to 7:57, which we think means it either has that much power or, well, more. We think there's more to it because it appears that part of the graph above the dyno run shown, which would reach to 800 or 850, has been blanked out. A horsepower total of 808 would be a nice complement to the Hellcat's 707, don't you think? We can see from the shift indicator screen that the car will come with or at least offer the eight-speed automatic that's also available in the Hellcat and other Challengers. That's likely to be the best option for drag racing. The Demon's user-defined shift light feature, which lets you choose an optimal shift rpm for each individual gear, also suggests that a six-speed manual will be available. We'll cover the many modes and settings highlighted in this video in a separate post. There's a lot to discuss. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.