2012 Dodge Ram Lone Star Crew Hemi V8 20" Wheels Tow 5k Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Dodge, Hyundai crowdsourced-funding sites deemed successes

What's not to love about crowdsourcing? This idea, after all, has given us Kickstarter as well Local Motors, but automakers are starting to use the social platform to sell more cars (or just drum up a little PR). Both Dodge and Hyundai have used "crowd-funding" recently, and while Automotive News is reporting that neither has racked up big sales with this gimmick, both automakers are pleased with the attention.
For Hyundai, it teamed up with website Motozuma.com to help customers crowdsource money for a down payment, and the automaker matched this amount up to $500. Last year, this helped Hyundai sell an extra 1,600 units, a fraction of its total 2012 sales. That figure is far larger than Dodge fared with the Dodge Dart Registry - it netted only two sales and a small number of individual options. This registry did help University of Southern California fraternity crowdsource $18,000 to buy a Dart for a local Meals on Wheels, however. Despite the low sales figures, Dodge and Hyundai are considering their crowdsourcing programs a success since it helped them connect with younger buyers.

A look at the Dodge Demon's drag settings, modes, and go-fast tech

In the same video that gave us a peek at the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon's performance stats, there's a serious dump of info on the tech and tools that will likely help this muscle coupe slaughter drag strips. Dodge has outlined a few of them for us and we're using the power of inference to figure out the rest. Here's what we've gathered. A lot of these hints come from the Demon's version of Performance Pages, the infotainment screens that show what SRT models are doing and let the driver change the powertrain and chassis setup. There are a lot of Demon-only features, including line lock, a quick cooldown mode for the supercharged engine, and data recording. And of course there are pages to show a digital time slip with acceleration and braking figures, a g-load plot, and lots of gauges to track temps and levels. The engine output is shown in the video on a special Dyno page. It tracks horsepower and torque over time on the upper graph, and engine rpm and shift points on the lower graph. And we think it's still hiding something. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Any good drag car has a line lock, allowing the driver to lock the front brakes and leave the rears free to do a nice tire-warming (or tire-shredding, depending on length) burnout. Ford has it on the Mustang, Chevy puts it on the ZL1, and now Dodge is adding it to the Demon. It should help get the giant Nitto tires up to temp for a drag run. And once the tires are warm, there's launch control, just like on the SRT Hellcat, with selectable rpm to dial things in for the conditions. The Demon also has a shift light in the cluster, and the driver can set a shift point individually for each gear. After each drag run, you can activate Quick Cooldown, which Dodge says uses the first production application of After-Run Chiller – it runs the cooling fan and intercooler coolant pump with the engine off until the coolant reaches its target temp. It's shown in one of the slides above. The checklist on the left side of that page suggests it requires a set of conditions be met to work: engine off, hood open, and sufficient battery level. This further reinforces our theory that the supercharger is going to make big boost, beyond the Hellcat's 11.6 psi. And while you're waiting for the supercharger to cool off for another run, you can review the performance data the car records.

2.1 million vehicles recalled again over faulty airbags

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Honda and Toyota will recall 2.1 million vehicles to fix faulty airbag modules "after the manufacturers' original attempts to fix the defects proved ineffective in some vehicles." These vehicles had all previously been recalled, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that the airbags could still potentially malfunction. This recall will cover Acura MDX, Dodge Viper, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Honda Odyssey, Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Matrix and Toyota Avalon models made in the early 2000s. NHTSA has reportedly received about 40 reports of airbag deployment in such vehicles, even though the vehicle had not been involved in a crash. Roughly one million of these same vehicles, all from Honda and Toyota, are also subject to recalls due to faulty Takata airbag modules, though this particular recall is for "an electronic component manufactured by TRW" that is separate from the actual airbags from Takata. According to NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind: "This is unfortunately a complicated issue for consumers, who may have to return to their dealer more than once. But this is an urgent safety issue, and all consumers with vehicles covered by the previous recalls should have that remedy installed. Even though it's a temporary solution until the new remedy is available, they and their families will be safer if they take the time to learn if their vehicle is covered and follow their manufacturers' instructions. A hassle is much better than a family tragedy." If you're the owner of an affected car, expect to hear more from the official automaker and government channels in short order. In the meantime, we'd suggest getting your car checked and fixed at your local dealer. The official statement and recall information can be found below. Previously Recalled Vehicle Remedies Not Working as Designed; NHTSA Announces Follow up Recall of 2.12 Million Cars and SUVs Saturday, January 31, 2015 Contact: Gordon Trowbridge, 202-366-9550, Public.Affairs@dot.gov WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced today the recall of more than 2.12 million Acura, Dodge, Jeep, Honda, Pontiac, and Toyota vehicles for a defect that may cause airbags to deploy inadvertently. The recalls will provide vehicle owners with a new remedy after the manufacturers' original attempts to fix the defects proved ineffective in some vehicles.