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Hellephant 1,000-horsepower Mopar crate engine priced, is available to order

The folks at Fiat Chrysler's Mopar division unveiled its meanest road-going V8 ever at last year's SEMA show. It makes 1,000 horsepower, and it's called the Hellephant in honor of the second-generation Charger's 426 "Elephant" V8, and because it has a honking big supercharger on top like the modern Hellcat. What we didn't know was the price, but now order books are open, and it's priced at $29,995. That's about $10,000 more than the currently available Hellcat engine, which makes 707 horsepower. You'll also probably want to buy the available kit that comes with all the computers, wiring, sensors and throttle to run it, and that's an extra $2,265. Putting things further into perspective, you can actually buy an entire new Dodge Challenger SXT V6 for $29,340. You'll also still need to add other accessories if you want things like air conditioning, which Mopar is also happy to sell you. What we're saying is, this is a lot of money just for an engine. But on the other hand, this is a roughly plug-and-play engine with Bugatti Veyron power for the price of a V6 Challenger, so that's pretty awesome. And you can put it into anything you have the skills or money to put it in. Plus, it should be able to make more power with higher-octane fuel. We can't wait to see the swaps and builds.

2017 Dodge Durango GT Brass Monkey: A funky winter drive

The 2017 Dodge Durango is one of our favorite sport utility vehicles. It has power and style and it stands out in a segment that is filled with vanilla-flavored people haulers. We recently had a Durango GT outfitted in Brass Monkey trim – highlighted by its 20-inch burnished bronze aluminum wheels - and took to the back roads of Michigan for an extended drive. The snow was flying. The temperatures dropped. It was muddy. The unpaved roads, pocked and rutted, were jarring, even though the forested setting was serene. The Durango had no trouble with any of it. Watch our video review for the complete experience.

Chrysler banks $507 million in Q2, trims 2013 earnings forecast

Chrysler has some good news and some bad news. First, profits were up 16 percent over the second quarter of 2012, bringing the Auburn Hills, Michigan-based manufacturer $507 million on the back of strong demand for trucks and SUVs (a recurring theme this quarter, particularly in the US). Q2 revenue was up as well, from $16.8 billion in 2012 to $18 billion in 2013. The bad news is that the Pentastar's overall earnings forecast for net income in 2013 has been trimmed from $2.2 billion to between $1.7 and $2.2 billion, according to Automotive News.
In addition to the adjusted net income forecast, Chrysler tweaked its operating profit from $3.8 billion to between $3.3 and $3.8 billion. This has gone largely unexplained by Chrysler, perhaps hoping the news of a three-percent increase in its transaction prices for Q2 will allow it to sweep this adjustment under the rug.
The star of the show for Chrysler has been its US sales, which saw a 10-percent jump, both bettering the industry average of eight percent and improving over the same stretch of 2012. As with the increase in transaction prices, Chrysler has the new Ram pickup and Jeep Grand Cherokee to thank. Perhaps most worrying from this report, though, is that every brand in the automaker's stable saw an increase in sales... except for the Chrysler brand itself.