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Dodge idles Viper production again at Conner Avenue

You've got to hand it to Dodge for having the gumption to put the original Viper into production in the first place. It was, after all, much more of an emotional decision than a practical one, and a move which saw the first production V10 engine placed in a road car - long before the advent of the Lamborghini Gallardo, Audi R8, Porsche Carrera GT or Lexus LFA, not to mention the other Ford, BMW and Volkswagen Group models that used such engines.
It's now been 22 years since the first Viper entered production and the Viper still rolls on several generations later, but we're sad to say that courageous decision has not always been met with overwhelming sales success. In fact parent Chrysler was forced to idle the Conner Avenue plant where the Viper is made back in April due to slow sales. And while production resumed again as planned on June 23, it apparently didn't do the trick.
As a result, Chrysler corporate communications chief Shawn Morgan revealed to Autoblog that the assembly line has been shut down again for another two weeks. The line was up and running for nearly two full work weeks from June 23 until the holiday weekend that started on Thursday, July 3. But instead of coming back online today as planned, it's been idled again for the weeks of July 7 and 14. That means it will be July 21, at the earliest, before the serpentine supercars start slithering down the assembly line at Conner Avenue again. Once it does, however, production is set to resume at the same pace it was before the shutdown.

2014 Dodge Journey Crossroad

Watchers of the auto industry will notice a theme among the formerly bankrupted American automakers, General Motors and Chrysler. There are the post-bankruptcy vehicles, and the pre-bankruptcy vehicles. The former, in the case of Chrysler, include the Jeep Grand Cherokee, as well as the 200 and 300. For GM, there's the Cadillac ATS, Chevrolet Impala and Buick Encore, among others. These vehicles have the freshest styling, with sharp exteriors and well-crafted interiors, as well as advanced powertrains and well-sorted chassis.
As for the pre-bankruptcy vehicles, they tend to be easy to spot. Most suffer from inferior driving dynamics, cheaper interiors, poorer fuel economy and often homely looks (we know, there were some decent cars before the bankruptcy, but they were pretty heavily outweighed by the bad ones). Think late, last-generation Chevrolet Impala or Chrysler 200. Increasingly, though, we're seeing vehicles that split the balance between pre- and post-bankruptcy. Vehicles like the Dodge Journey.
The Journey debuted in 2007 as a 2008 model year vehicle, meaning it should fall into the latter category. But heavily breathed upon in 2011, it now enjoys a new, 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, a big, critically acclaimed touchscreen display and in the case of today's tester, a new-for-2014 Crossroad spec.

2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat is here to be the king of all SUVs

This was inevitable, right? The 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat has arrived, and Dodge hasn’t held anything back. FCA has essentially taken its lovely Hellcat engine and dumped it into the largest SUV it sells. Cheers to that. Power from the 6.2-liter supercharged V8 is rated at 710 horses and 645 pound-feet of torque in this application. It has 3 extra ponies beyond the traditional 707-horsepower version, and thatÂ’s probably just so Dodge can call it the most powerful SUV in the world, eking by the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk that has 707. The Durango Hellcat will crack off a 3.5-second 0-60 mph time and hit a top speed of 180 mph, assuming youÂ’re brave enough to take it there. The 0-60-mph time is 0.9 second quicker than a non-supercharged Durango SRT. Dodge pitted the two against each other on a 2.1-mile road course, and the Hellcat completed the lap 1.5 seconds quicker than the base SRT. All the shifting continues to be handled by an eight-speed automatic transmission. Of course, Dodge is also giving the Durango SRT Hellcat more braking and more suspension to handle the extra power. The upgraded suspension is tuned to be more comfortable in Auto mode and offer better handling in Track mode with less roll, less understeer and better rebound control. This is thanks to newly tuned shocks and stiffer top damper mounts. The brakes are upgraded to massive Brembo six-piston calipers in front and four-piston calipers in the rear. They clamp onto vented rotors at all four corners (15.75 inches in front and 13.8 inches in rear). Tires are 295-square, which is the same size as the regular SRT. You can choose between all-season or summer Pirelli tires. 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat View 17 Photos SRT says it tailored the Hellcat engine to the Durango to make sure it could handle sustained track use. It has a unique cooling circuit for the charge air coolers thatÂ’s designed to keep air going to the engine cooler than 140 degrees. The lower front fascia hides a “cold-air scoop” where the Durango pulls air in from. ItÂ’s all spit out through a new exhaust system thatÂ’s definitely going to be loud as hell. Dodge says it features a 260 mm X-pipe, which is the largest in the SRT lineup. From a styling standpoint, the Hellcat stands out from its brethren without looking too ostentatious.