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Hellcrate 6.2-liter V8 delivers plug-and-play Hellcat hype to SEMA

SEMA just provided another entry for the folder marked "What A Time To Be Alive," with Mopar's announcement of the "Hellcrate" 6.2-liter supercharged Crate HEMI engine. Enthusiasts have been desperate to upgrade their vintage rides with the woozy thrills provided by Dodge's Hellcat motor, so Mopar answered. The Hellcrate engine assembly ships in plug-and-play configuration, in specially designed packaging with "Hellcrate" logos. The assembly sells separately from the Hellcrate engine kit, the kit adding a powertrain control module, power distribution center, engine wiring harness, chassis harness, accelerator pedal, ground jumper, oxygen sensors, charge air temperature sensors, and fuel pump control module. The PCM comes programmed with the production-car engine's 707 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. An optional front-end accessory drive kit contributes peripherals like alternator, power steering pump, belts, and pulleys. Don't bother trying to lash up a sleeper 1997 Chrysler Sebring, though; Mopar tuned the Hellcrate for pre-1976 vehicles and manual transmissions. The engine assembly retails for an MSRP of $19,530, and the kit wants a further $2,195. Mopar didn't announce pricing for the accessory drive kit. The engine and kit come with a three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty when bought together. The Mopar Hemi Crate website will be happy to take your orders as of now. For help envisioning the possibilities, stop by Fiat Chrysler's 15,345-square-foot SEMA booth to check out the Limelight Green, Hellcrate-powered 1970 Plymouth Superbird clone worked up by Mark Worman of Velocity's " Graveyard Carz." While you're there you might as well peep Worman's encore, a 1968 Plymouth GTX stuffed with Mopar's 392 Crate HEMI in place of the original 440 big block, and the 1937 Dodge pickup that swallowed a Mopar 345 Crate HEMI. Mopar's come a long way from its original product: antifreeze products. Tomorrow it'll be Jeep's turn to ring the SEMA bells, once the noise dies down from the Mopar-jacked Wrangler Switchback, CJ66 and Jeep Shortcut. You can watch the brand's presentation online at 7:26 p.m. ET/4:26 p.m. PT. Until then, we're going to work the angles on a Hellcrate-powered Plymouth Volare. The sedan, naturally. Because we're practical. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Dodge Durango to stay classy with Ron Burgundy as spokesperson [w/video]

The upcoming 2014 Dodge Durango has a lot of things going for it, including its 290-horsepower V6 and 360-hp Hemi V8 engine options, an eight-speed automatic and aggressive looks. And now it will have Ron Burgundy, the fictional television news anchor played by comedian Will Ferrell, as a spokesperson, Adweek reports. He follows in the footsteps of other non-fictional Chrysler brand spokespeople such as Eminem, Clint Eastwood and the late Paul Harvey.
Though the star of 2004's Anchorman and the upcoming Anchorman 2 is wildly popular, we're not sure we see a Dodge spokesperson in Burgundy. (Please, no womanizing or scotchy, scotch, scotch before test test drives). But at this point there's no turning back: Chrysler's chief marketing officer Olivier Francois previewed three ad spots at the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) Masters of Marketing conference in Phoenix on Friday, and says Chrysler has already filmed 68(!) Durango ads with the fictional newsman.
According to Adweek, one of the ads previewed had Burgundy highlighting the SUV's glovebox size, and in another he compared its horsepower to a white horse standing next to him. Will this help Dodge Durango sales improve? We can only wait and see. In the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts in Comments, and check out the trailer for Anchorman 2 below.

Chrysler killing off the 200 Convertible, Dodge Avenger

When Chrysler rolled out the first-generation 200 to replace the Sebring range in 2010, it included replacements for both the sedan and the convertible. The Sebring Coupe, however, was left out of the mix. And now that the second-generation Chrysler 200 is descending upon us, Auburn Hills is paring things down even further. But this time, it's the convertible that reportedly isn't making the cut. Shame, too, since the rendering above shows what could have been quite an attractive droptop.
As our compatriots at Edmunds point out, sales of the convertible model accounted for less than five percent of overall Chrysler 200 sales, and at those numbers, the considerable cost of engineering a new drop-top couldn't be justified. With the Toyota Camry Solara and Volkswagen Eos also gone from the market (well, the VW isn't gone quite yet), the discontinuation of the Chrysler 200 Convertible leaves the affordable convertible segment largely to the sportier likes of the Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro and smaller European offerings like the Mini Cooper and VW Beetle.
The Chrysler 200 Convertible isn't the only derivative being left behind with the new model: so too is the Dodge Avenger. That will leave a glaring hole in the Dodge lineup, with nothing to bridge the gap between the compact Dart and the larger Charger. Whether the Dodge brand has any plans to replace the Avenger with another model, not to be based on the 200, remains to be seen.