2008 Dodge Ram 3500 4wd Quad Cab Dually 177k on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody First Drive Review | Son of a beast

PORTLAND, Maine — They told us the Hellcat Redeye Widebody is a "Hellcat that's been possessed by a Demon." But what I'm telling myself is, Save it for the track. I hadn't even put the pedal all the way to the floor, and the world around me had warped in my peripheral vision. I peeled my skull from the headrest and contemplated the supercharger under the double-snorkel hood in front of me force-feeding air to the's 6.2-liter Hemi V8, producing a hair under 800 horsepower. With my stomach returning to its usual place, I tried to summon the patience not to roast the tires again. Relax, enjoy the drive, explore the car, and save the rest for the track. I tried to restrain myself from adding to the many strips of rubber already smeared across the hilly, meandering roads between Portland, Maine and Club Motorsports across the state line in New Hampshire. But then there's always another stop sign, and something possesses me to misbehave again as I pull away. The 2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye includes a number of borrowed features that helped the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon slap me in the back of the helmet back at Lucas Oil Raceway. It has the same displacement Hemi with a 2.7-liter supercharger providing 14.5 PSI of boost. That pressure is thanks in part to the "Power Chiller," which diverts the A/C refrigerant to cool the air intake. It offers the torque reserve system for explosive launches, as well as the strengthened driveshaft to handle it all. It won't do a wheelie, but it'll scream in your face as it hurls you straight to jail. Compared to the standard Hellcat, it gets a higher top speed of 203 miles per hour, and quarter mile times reduced by a precious tenth of a second (11.1 seconds at 131 mph for the standard Redeye, and 10.8 seconds at 131 mph for the Redeye Widebody). That said, Dodge has ensured that Demon reigns supreme in the Challenger hierarchy. For one thing, the Demon has 840 horsepower and 770 pound-feet of torque, compared to the Redeye's 797 horsepower and 707 pound-feet. The Demon's suspension is specifically tuned for the weight transfer characteristics of drag racing, and can lift its front wheels off the ground if you nail the launch with the narrow tires on it. Also, while the Redeye does have line lock to let the rear wheels spin while braking the front calipers, it doesn't get the Demon's transbrake to keep the car locked into position as throttle is applied for launch.

New Viper 'is a possibility,' Sergio Marchionne says

It was thought the door to the future for the Dodge Viper had closed last year, but Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne reopened it during his press conference at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show. Marchionne said the current Viper is the only FCA product to use the ZD platform, which "doesn't make sense to me." Yet, "given the architectural development within the brand, there is a possibility that a new version of the Viper may surface." Automobile reports that the company uses a versatile, rear- and all-wheel drive Giorgio platform for Alfa Romeo and Dodge. It will support the Alfa Romeo Giulia (Alfa Romeo's larger BMW 5 Series competitor), the next-generation Dodge Challenger, Charger, and rumored Barracuda, and it could support a new generation of Viper. We're probably talking about a different kind of Viper, though, with Automobile saying, "the current car's truck-based V-10 no doubt would be scrapped along with its platform." A Viper without a V10 doesn't seem like a Viper to us, but we'll wait to see what happens. In the midst of contract negotiations for a new labor agreement between FCA and the United Auto Workers last year, it emerged that the Conner Avenue Assembly plant that builds the Viper hadn't been given any new product after the end of Viper build-out in 2017. That led most to reason that the current Viper would be the end of the 25-year run of America's hairiest sports car. How long we'll be waiting is unknown. Marchionne had no timetable and admitted that a future Viper might not appear on the heels of the current one. With a renewed commitment to being debt-free by 2018, FCA is likely more focused on getting Alfa Romeo running properly and cranking out the volume variants for the Giorgio platform first. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2014 SRT Viper GTS: Review View 36 Photos News Source: Automobile via World Car FansImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Detroit Auto Show Dodge Coupe Performance Sergio Marchionne FCA conner avenue assembly plant

Bob Bondurant driving school closes a month after entering Chapter 11

On Oct. 2, the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In its filing, the 50-year-old racing school said it owed between 50 and 99 creditors an amount between $1 million and $10 million, and had $1 million to $10 million. The school released a statement at the time saying, "Our plan is to emerge from this process as a stronger company and continue to drive this company into the next 50 years." Instead, on Monday, Nov. 12, the Chandler, Arizona-based facility closed its doors with no official explanation. On top of its classes for aspiring racers, law enforcement authorities, and general population students, Bondurant has been the official driving school for Dodge SRT vehicles since 2015. Over the past two years, Dodge has included a one-day training course for any SRT buyers and lessees, redeemable within a year after finalizing the deal for the vehicle. To read the tale of one Hellcat owner at the Hellcat.org forum, even the school's instructors didn't see the closure coming. Forum member Av62nv arrived at Bondurant Monday to start his four-day experience. After a lengthy pause in the middle of the day, Av62nv wrote that the instructor walked in and told the class, "Sorry guys, don't know how to say this, but as some may know the school is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and it looks like 7 now. We are closed." Another poster in the forum, CubeMan, wrote that "Technicians and staff loaded their toolboxes, and paychecks have apparently bounced." Apparently family scion Jason Bondurant arrived and tried to explain; the short of it was that the good thing had come to an abrupt end, but there was "a chance it could come back." Other posters in the forum noted how they have reservations as far out as June 2019, or haven't been able to get to their classes yet because of delivery delays with their SRT cars, and have no idea what's happening. The website is still up, but a Bondurant spokesman confirmed the closure to Classic Cars, and a note on the school door reads, "School is closed. Direct all inquiries to Pat Bondurant." Pat is Bob Bondurant's wife, who married the former race driver in 2010 at the Monaco Grand Prix. A month ago, Bondurant's Chapter 11 bankruptcy statement said, "We will continue operating and serving our students and corporate groups as usual while we develop new business relationships to ensure the vitality of the company in the future." Obviously, that won't happen.