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Camel-power and Challengers | Autoblog Podcast #510

On this week's podcast, Mike Austin and David Gluckman are in a huddle room, because the studio was already taken. We talk about the Dodge Challenger GT all-wheel-drive and who would want one. (And a correction we'll mention in next week's podcast - the trunk lid on the Challenger does wrap around vertically for a decent-sized opening.) Then David has a new performance metric to introduce, proposed by Nissan. The episode wraps up with the traditional doling out of Spend My Money buying advice, with an update on the feasibility of the one-year Ferrari financial plan. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. (If you record audio of a question with your phone and get it to us, you could hear your very own voice on the podcast. Neat, right?) And if you have other questions or comments, please send those too. Autoblog Podcast #510 Topics and stories we mention Dodge Challenger GT Long-term Mazda MX-5 Miata Mazda CX-5 Nissan Camelpower The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho Used cars! Rundown Intro - 00:00 What we're driving - 02:11 Camelpower - 17:28 Spend My Money - 24:39 Total Duration: 44:17 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 on iTunes Podcasts Dodge Car Buying dodge challenger gt

Watch Atieva's electric van outrun a BMW i8 and Dodge Viper

A little while back, automotive startup Atieva drag raced its electric van, called Edna, against a Tesla Model S and a Ferrari California in order to compare its performance against known and revered mechanical athletes. Again, the Silicon Valley-based company is putting its prototype up against electrified and conventionally powered performance vehicles on the drag strip. Last time around, Edna, the Mercedes-Benz Vito van equipped with a 900-horsepower, all-wheel-drive powertrain, bested both of its foes. In that showcase, Edna was hitting 60 mph in a little over three seconds. Comparatively, BMW lists the i8's 0-60 time at 4.2 seconds, though Road & Track clocked it at 3.8 seconds, with a quarter-mile time of 12.3 seconds. The Viper does 0-60 in 3.4 seconds. Before you even watch the video above, you can imagine how it will end, as the retuned Atieva Edna rips 0-60 mph in 2.94 seconds. Atieva clocked the quarter mile at 11.3 seconds at 117 mph. It's worth noting that driver skill can have a lot to do with a car's straight-line performance. We've witnessed Viper's elapsing the quarter mile in well under 12 seconds, which means it should be quicker in this test than the i8, if not the Edna. Still, the performance showcased in the video is exceptional. To improve Edna's stats, Atieva says it has used testing data to fine tune its AC induction motors at higher speeds once it got low-speed performance locked in. After testing in the hot California sun, including the race you see above, Atieva drove Edna 90 miles home with range to spare. As for production plans, Atieva will put this powertrain into a sedan slated for sale in 2018. In the meantime, the company will keep testing and tuning its working prototype, and has even invited the public to put their cars up against Edna in future sessions. Related Video: Related Gallery 2015 BMW i8 in Petoskey, MI News Source: Atieva, YouTube: Atieva via Electrek Green Motorsports BMW Dodge Automakers Electric Future Vehicles Videos drag race atieva

1968 Dodge Super Charger is a super Charger with a supercharger

Mopar's latest custom creation is sure to be in the running for coolest car at this year's SEMA show. It's a 1968 Dodge Charger, a car selected in part because this year marks the car's 50th anniversary, but taken to the extreme and renamed Super Charger. The headliner of the car's radical upgrades is the new "Hellephant" engine. It's a take on the original car's 426-cubic-inch Hemi V8. But this new engine, with the same displacement, is based on the current Hemi V8, and adds a supercharger. All told, it makes a whopping 1,000 horsepower and 950 pound-feet of torque on 93 octane pump gas. It will be available as a crate engine, too. The engine is far from the only impressive change to the car. All over the body are mild to wild tweaks. The wide, uninterrupted grille from the original is still here, but it's a one-piece example now. And instead of hiding the headlights behind doors that have to open for illumination, the lights simply shine through the grille, retaining a clean look even at night. The whole car sits 2.5 inches lower than stock, and it's now four inches wider thanks to the huge fender flares. They house 305-mm-wide tires up front, and 315-mm tires in the rear. Likely the most complicated change to the car is the lengthened wheelbase. There are two more inches between the wheels now, something Mopar did to reduce the front overhang. A close second in complexity are the taillights. They're the same shape as the originals, but now the round elements are actually exhaust outlets. The tips also happen to be the same as those on the Alfa Romeo Stelvio. There are other details that help bring together the exterior. The rain rails have been smoothed out on the roof, the vent windows removed, special 426 stickers have been added, and the fuel door now has a Hellephant badge with a blue background with lots of little Mopar Ms. The interior gets some attention, too. The rear seat has been removed, Dodge Demon style. It gets a custom roll bar designed to be as unobtrusive as possible, even getting the hoop around the seats to roughly line up with where the windows meet. Gauges come from the Mopar catalog, and the steering wheel and seats are from the dearly departed Dodge Viper. They're particularly relevant, as the six-speed manual transmission comes from the Viper, too. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.