2012 Dodge Avenger Se Sedan 4-door 2.4l Black on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Dodge engineers trying to shoehorn Pentastar into Dart?

The fact that the Dart's launch has been a pretty dismal affair isn't what we'd call secret. Judging by its mounting inventories and poor critical reception, Dodge's successor to its unloved Caliber has struggled since it hit the market. And while both of those are difficult problems to address, at least their cause is well known - the powertrain.
Even Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has acknowledged that the powertrain options in the Dart are substandard, admitting at January's Detroit Auto Show that the powertrains are "less than ideal." Leading with the 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder found in the Fiat 500 Abarth left a bad taste in the mouths of consumers thanks to the laggy engine and dead throttle response (to say nothing of the manual and dual-clutch gearboxes that needed more refinement). The addition of the 184-horsepower 2.4-liter Tigershark in the Dart GT has helped matters some, but apparently Auburn Hills doesn't think it's quite enough.
If rumors are to be believed - get that salt ready - a possible solution may be in the works. A report from Allpar is claiming that Dodge is considering fitting a Pentastar V6 into the Dart's engine bay. As the Mopar-obsessed website points out, the critically acclaimed Pentastar is available in three different sizes - 3.0 liters, 3.2 liters and the original 3.6 liters. We don't get the 3.0 here in the US, but the 3.2 can be found in the new Jeep Cherokee and the 3.6 has been seemingly fitted to every model Chrysler can shoehorn it into.

We're pretty sure the Challenger SRT Demon won't have 1,121 horsepower, but what if?

Dodge's slow rollout of the upcoming Demon continues, and with it comes endless speculation about what it all means. Every video, every image, and every press release contains some clue that points towards the Demon's final specs. We don't think any of it is random or arbitrary. This week cryptic image, a small plate with a name and two numbers, shows us a little more than last week's license plate. Unfortunately, Dodge will neither confirm or deny anything, meaning we have no way of knowing which rabbit hole to go down. Don't expect to see official horsepower, a quarter-mile time, or an MSRP until the New York Auto Show. The plate is attached to the crate of goodies that comes along with every Dodge Demon. This particular one is labeled with three things: Tom Coddington, serial number 0757, and VIN 001121. The name is simple enough. According to Hot Rod, Coddington was one of the original Ramchargers, a group of engineers in the early 1960s that helped Dodge get involved in drag racing. He was a fuel system specialist, motor consultant, and a rotating garage manager. All of that could be clues. While a name is easy enough to Google, the two numbers can't be broken down so easily. The crazier theory is that the car makes 1,121 horsepower and will do the quarter-mile in 7.57 seconds. Frankly, those numbers are about as likely as the Demon actually being powered by a Rolls-Royce turbofan engine from a Boeing 757 or packing a carburetor with 1,121 CFM. The Demon is going to be street legal, and the costs associated with making a 1,121-hp car meet emissions standards alone are assuredly astronomical. As our friends from Road & Track pointed out, the more likely theory is that 757 is actually the horsepower rating. This seems totally plausible, but it means we still don't know what 1,121 means. Surely it's not a drag strip time, as the standard Hellcat will do 1/4 mile in 11.2 seconds. Like before, if you have any ideas, post them in the comments. Until April, we'll keep trying to solve Dodge's demonic puzzle. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: Road & Track, Hot RodImage Credit: FCA New York Auto Show Dodge Coupe Performance dodge demon dodge hellcat

Fiat Chrysler profit up as it closes in on retiring its debt

MILAN — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles reduced its debt by more than expected in the first quarter, putting the carmaker well on course to become cash positive later this year. Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne expects to cancel all debt during 2018 — possibly by the end of June — and generate around 4 billion euros ($5 billion) in net cash by the end of the year. Marchionne has said that forecast does not include any one-off measures, nor the impact of the planned spinoff of parts maker Magneti Marelli, which he hopes to execute by early 2019. The world's seventh-largest carmaker said on Thursday net debt had fallen to 1.3 billion euros ($1.6 billion) by the end of March, well below a consensus forecast of 2.6 billion euros in a Thomson Reuters poll of analysts. FCA said capital spending fell 900 million euros in the quarter due to "program timing," which analysts said implied higher investments for the rest of the year. The Italian-American group said first-quarter operating profit rose 5 percent to 1.61 billion euros, below a consensus forecast of 1.74 billion, as a weaker performance from its North American profit center weighed. Shipments there were higher due to the new Jeep Wrangler and Compass models. But currency moves hit revenues and earnings, and costs related to new product launches added to the pressure. FCA's shift to sell more trucks and SUVs boosted margins yet again in North America to 7.4 percent from 7.3 percent in the same quarter a year ago, although they were down from the 8 percent recorded in the preceding three months. Marchionne, preparing to hand over to an internal successor next year, is close to his goal of ending a margin gap with larger U.S. rivals General Motors and Ford. The 65-year-old has said becoming debt free and being able to compete on a par with U.S. peers would mean FCA no longer needed a partner to survive and could well succeed on its own. The CEO has previously said tying up with another carmaker would help to meet the huge costs in an industry investing in electric vehicles and automated driving. FCA shares fell immediately after the results, but recovered to trade up 3 percent at 19.71 euros by 1150 GMT, outperforming a 0.4 percent rise in Europe's blue-chip stock index. ($1 = 0.8214 euros) Reporting by Agnieszka FlakRelated Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.