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Some dealers asking $100,000-plus for Daytona-edition Dodge Charger SRT Hellcats

If you thought the name of the 2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition was a lot to swallow, then you're definitely going to choke on what some dealers are asking for the privilege of owning one. The $4,495 package is commanding as much as $25,000 in "market adjustments" from stores looking to capitalize on the rarity of this extremely limited-edition model.  The folks over at Moparinsiders.com reported Friday that some dealers are asking Demon-level prices for their limited allocations of the commemorative package. Their assessment? Not worth it. We're inclined to agree.  The Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition package is, fundamentally at least, little more than a set of stickers, a dash plaque and a tiny bump in horsepower. What you really get for your money is exclusivity. Only 501 were built (to commemorate the number of production units required to homologate the original Charger Daytona for NASCAR racing); just 451 went to U.S. dealers. The other 50 were reserved for Canada.  To be fair, no variant of the 2020 Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody even approaches the definition of "inexpensive." Just to get behind the wheel of the newest edition to the Charger lineup will set you back at least $71,000. The Widebody package is more than just a set of custom fenders. The Hellcat also gets another 1.6 inches of track width and some extra rubber on the road. SRT engineers also increased the Hellcat’s front spring rate by 32% and beefed up its sway bars (from 19 mm to 21.7 mm in the front and from 32 mm to 34 mm in the rear). The adaptive suspension was firmed up a little bit across the board too for crisper response over road imperfections. Plus, you know, there's that 707-horsepower, supercharged, 6.2-liter engine. The Daytona gets an extra 10 ponies, right? Well, sort of, anyway. SRT rated its output at a slightly higher engine speed. Between us, it's the same thing.  So, there's a silver lining: You don't have to spend $100,000 for a 2020 Charger Widebody Hellcat if you don't want to, but somebody probably will.  Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.    

Dodge Charger Pursuit nets quickest lap in police car test

We wouldn't advocate trying to outrun the police, no matter what you're driving and no matter what they are. But if you see a Dodge Charger bearing down on you with blue lights flashing in your rearview mirror, you'd better think twice before attempting to flee, because the Charger Pursuit has once again emerged as the fastest police cruiser out there.
In the latest Police Vehicle Evaluation held by the Michigan State Police at Grattan Raceway, Dodge says its new Charger Pursuit AWD posted a lap time of 1:33.85. That's quicker than any of the other law enforcement vehicles present, but also makes it the quickest all-wheel-drive cruiser available to law-enforcement officials. That may not make it the quickest of all time, but that honor belongs to the rear-drive Dodge Charger Pursuit, which cuts a fraction of a second off its AWD counterpart's time with a 1:33.70. But in regions where the extra traction could come in handy, that's as negligible a difference as we've ever seen.
Of course, the annual PVE sessions held by the Michigan State Police take in to account a wide variety of performance tests, including top speed, acceleration, braking, handling, fuel economy and ergonomics. The MSP has yet to reveal its full findings from its 2014 model year tests, but we'll be sure to bring them to you when they are published.

EV cost burden pushing automakers to their limits, says Stellantis' CEO Tavares

DETROIT — Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said external pressure on automakers to quickly shift to electric vehicles potentially threatens jobs and vehicle quality as producers struggle with EVs' higher costs. Governments and investors want car manufacturers to speed up the transition to electric vehicles, but the costs are "beyond the limits" of what the auto industry can sustain, Tavares said in an interview at the Reuters Next conference released Wednesday. "What has been decided is to impose on the automotive industry electrification that brings 50% additional costs against a conventional vehicle," he said. "There is no way we can transfer 50% of additional costs to the final consumer because most parts of the middle class will not be able to pay." Automakers could charge higher prices and sell fewer cars, or accept lower profit margins, Tavares said. Those paths both lead to cutbacks. Union leaders in Europe and North America have warned tens of thousands of jobs could be lost. Automakers need time for testing and ensuring that new technology will work, Tavares said. Pushing to speed that process up "is just going to be counter productive. It will lead to quality problems. It will lead to all sorts of problems," he said. Tavares said Stellantis is aiming to avoid cuts by boosting productivity at a pace far faster than industry norm. "Over the next five years we have to digest 10% productivity a year ... in an industry which is used to delivering 2 to 3% productivity" improvement, he said. "The future will tell us who is going to be able to digest this, and who will fail," Tavares said. "We are putting the industry on the limits." Electric vehicle costs are expected to fall, and analysts project that battery electric vehicles and combustion vehicles could reach cost parity during the second half of this decade. Like other automakers that earn profits from combustion vehicles, Stellantis is under pressure from both establishment automakers such as GM, Ford, VW and Hyundai, as well as start-ups such as Tesla and Rivian. The latter electric vehicle companies are far smaller in terms of vehicle sales and employment. But investors have given Tesla and Rivian higher market valuations than the owner of the highly profitable Jeep and Ram brands. That investor pressure is compounded by government policies aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The European Union, California and other jurisdictions have set goals to end sales of combustion vehicles by 2035.