1988 Dodge Ramcharger 4x4 on 2040-cars

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Will airbags sandbag the 2017 Dodge Viper?

The Dodge Viper is speeding down the road to cancellation for the 2017 model year, and at least part of the reason for the V10 monster's death is a problem fitting it with federally mandated side curtain airbags. An anonymous source close to FCA US told Motor Trend the automaker can't install the parts because they would further limit the coupe's already tight headroom. The government believes the side curtain airbags can reduce occupant ejections during accidents, and all vehicles must have them for the 2017 model year. The Viper's slow sales also don't provide FCA US much motivation to work out a solution to this problem. The automaker moved just 676 of the handmade sports coupes in the US in 2015, which was down 11 percent from 760 deliveries in 2014. FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne hinted at the Detroit Auto Show that the Viper could return eventually. He doesn't like that the current model has a dedicated platform but indicated a new one could share the underpinnings with another of the company's products. Marchionne's current business plan for FCA stresses building the automaker's value, so it might be a while before we see the sweater-clad CEO focusing on a niche vehicle like the Viper. Related Video:

eBay Find of the Day: Viper Defender from '90s TV show

As car lovers, it's always hard to find a good television show with decent cars, but what the 1990s show Viper lacked in acting, scripting and plot, it more than made up for with cool cars. For starters, the lead car was a Dodge Viper RT/10, but, on screen, it was able to morph into its "Defender" mode making it an armored coupe with a full arsenal of weapons.
Fortunately, you don't have to be a fan of the bad show to love its lead car, and if you really want one, a Defender is up for auction right now on eBay. According to the listing, this car is the real deal - not a clone - and it comes with a V8 engine (not sure what happened to the V10?) and plenty of swag and memorbilia. No word on its actual asking price, but with a day left and 42 bids already, the reserve has not been met at $133,400. The listing does add that this same car was listed at Mecum back in 2010, but did not get sold, even with a bid of $270,000.

Will the Dodge Charger keep a gas engine? It's always been a possibility

The automotive rumormill has been working at a frenetic pace ever since images of what's thought to be the upcoming Dodge Charger Daytona body-in-white hit the internet a week or so ago. When we initially posted the pictures, which had been uploaded to various social media channels and web forums, we took immediate note of the presence of an unmistakable transmission tunnel. We wondered out loud (virtually, at least) "if there have been some changes to battery and component layout, or if this is to allow for an internal-combustion powertrain option early on." Well, if you believe a report from "a source connected to a supplier with firsthand information of Dodge's production plans" who reportedly "agreed to speak about the next-gen Charger program in exchange for anonymity" to The Drive, that transmission tunnel is for — you guessed it! — a transmission. An upcoming and updated version of the eight-speed automatic currently in use in any number of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles, to be specific, hooked up to the Hurricane-branded inline-six-cylinder engine that debuted under the hood of the Jeep Wagoneer. That engine is destined to replace the Hemi-branded V8 engines that have admirably served across the Stellantis portfolio for just about as long as anyone can remember. Here's where things get tricky. There's actually zero reason to be surprised that there's a transmission tunnel buried inside the Dodge Charger Daytona. Dodge boss Tim Kuniskis basically said there would be a transmission tunnel a year ago. "I've been very transparent that our next cars are built on the STLA Large platform, and the STLA Large is a multi-energy platform," he said. He further reinforced the point, adding, "I can put an ICE engine in there. Doesn't mean we're going to. We're certainly not launching with anything like that." Removing all further doubt about the matter, Kuniskis concluded, "We're launching with full battery-electric and we think that by the time we get to that point the offering we're going to have is going to be really attractive in the marketplace. If some day we want to add ICE to that car, could we? It's totally [possible], but maybe we'll never get there." Is there any way to reconcile the information anonymously provided to The Drive with the statements made earlier by Dodge honchos? Sure. It's entirely possible that we don't know all the vehicles, or the names of those vehicles, that will be built atop the STLA Large platform.