2012 Dodge Challenger R/t on 2040-cars

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Ram to go on a Rampage with new small pickup?

When people look back at today's automotive industry, what do you think they'll remember us for? The emergence of hybrids? Ever more expensive and exotic supercars? The dawn of the self-driving car? All likely scenarios, but so is the blurring of lines between one bodystyle and another, giving rise to hardtop convertible coupes and crossovers of every shape and size. But one bodystyle the North American auto industry has stayed largely away from in the past couple of decades is a car nose and chassis with a pickup bed.
It's a bodystyle immortalized by the Chevrolet El Camino, but with few exceptions, we haven't seen too many of these automotive platypuses in recent years on our turf. Subaru tried with the Baja and the low-volume Honda Ridgeline soldiers along largely unchanged, but the genre's biggest adherents are still Down Under, where ute versions of the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon live. With a few other examples scattered to the four corners of the earth, that's really about it. But if these spy shots are anything to go by, it looks like Fiat Chrysler Automobiles could be working to bring it back.
Spied undergoing testing in Michigan, what we appear to be looking at is a heavily disguised Fiat Strada being prepared - like the Fiat Ducato-based Ram ProMaster and the smaller Doblo-based ProMaster City - for Stateside duty as a Ram product. The Strada, for those unfamiliar, is a product of Fiat Automóveis in Brazil and is based on the Palio economy car. The nameplate has been around South America since 1996 and was originally designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro (long before Volkswagen monopolized his talents), and takes a more rugged approach in the form of the Strada Adventure.

2019 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat is getting a facelift

The Challenger Hellcat won't be the only Mopar muscle car getting an update for the new model year. One of our spy photographers caught an updated 2019 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat testing near the SRT office. It appears that the car will continue on mostly unchanged, since everything behind the fenders is uncovered and unchanged. But the fascia must be getting some noteworthy changes considering how well it's hidden. And it's really, really well-hidden. It's extremely difficult to see through this covering. Whatever changes have been made still aren't going to be massive. It looks like the basics remain the same, including the large center grille in the bumper flanked by two outboard inlets that lack fog lights. The grille appears to still connect with the headlights, and the grille is pinched in the middle. Odds are, the front fascia is the only major difference on the 2019 Charger Hellcat, just as the twin-scoop hood on the Challenger Hellcat is the only major difference on that model. Under the hood will likely be the same 707-horsepower supercharged V8. This Charger prototype also sports the same Brembo brakes as the current model. The full reveal will probably come this summer along with the Challenger. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery 2019 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Spy Shots View 14 Photos Image Credit: SpiedBilde Spy Photos Dodge Performance Sedan dodge charger srt hellcat

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.