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Dodge, Hyundai crowdsourced-funding sites deemed successes

What's not to love about crowdsourcing? This idea, after all, has given us Kickstarter as well Local Motors, but automakers are starting to use the social platform to sell more cars (or just drum up a little PR). Both Dodge and Hyundai have used "crowd-funding" recently, and while Automotive News is reporting that neither has racked up big sales with this gimmick, both automakers are pleased with the attention.
For Hyundai, it teamed up with website Motozuma.com to help customers crowdsource money for a down payment, and the automaker matched this amount up to $500. Last year, this helped Hyundai sell an extra 1,600 units, a fraction of its total 2012 sales. That figure is far larger than Dodge fared with the Dodge Dart Registry - it netted only two sales and a small number of individual options. This registry did help University of Southern California fraternity crowdsource $18,000 to buy a Dart for a local Meals on Wheels, however. Despite the low sales figures, Dodge and Hyundai are considering their crowdsourcing programs a success since it helped them connect with younger buyers.

High-performance 2018 Dodge Durango SRT spied

Dodge is working diligently on revamping its lineup with new and refreshed models, including the high-performance Durango SRT due in 2017. Spy shooters captured a Durango with an aggressive front end that appears to fit the SRT bill, though it could just be a refreshed Durango. This Citadel-badged prototype is nearly identical to the current three-row SUV. The front fascia, which is being held in place by tape and has numerous rough edges, features a massive vent at the bottom and a distinct, three-holed air intake system just below the grille. The grille is also lacking the Durango's cross-like design. The front end appears to have gaping holes on both sides, with the right side being covered up by tin foil. The extra vents could be there for aerodynamic purposes, for cooling purposes, or just a pair of fog lights that Dodge doesn't want people to see. The high-performance SUV is expected to get a full makeover on the outside, which includes sportier wheels, a more aggressive hood, athletic body panels, and some aerodynamic components. The meat of the SUV, the engine, is still a mystery. While the Hellcat brothers feature a 707-horsepower, 6.2-liter supercharged V8, a previous report by Automotive News claims the upcoming Durango SRT will be powered by a 6.4-liter V8 engine. The 475-horsepower motor is currently in the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT. Regardless of what type of engine the Durango will have, it looks like Dodge really is working on a high-performance SUV to enter the continually-growing segment. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery 2018 Dodge Durango SRT Spy Shots News Source: Automotive NewsImage Credit: Chris Doane Automotive Spy Photos Dodge SUV Future Vehicles Performance

FCA seeks partner to keep building Dodge Dart, Chrysler 200

Mere weeks after FCA announced it was shutting down production of the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200, new hope emerges to give the sedans a stay of execution. Speaking at the Geneva Motor Show last week, Sergio Marchionne said that the company was looking for a partner "who is better at it than we are and who has got capacity available" in order to continue building the models on its behalf. "There are discussions going on now," said Marchionne, according to Motor Trend. "I think we will find a solution. We continue to talk. It's both a technical solution and an economic one. We need to find a solution that works economically." Contracting vehicles to be manufactured offsite is more common practice among European automakers than it is with American ones. Chrysler's former patron Mercedes, for example, has the G-Class built for it by Magna Steyr in Austria, the A-Class by Valmet in Finland, and the R-Class by AM General in Indiana (even though it's no longer sold in the US). This arrangement would, on the surface at least, appear more similar to the deal that Toyota struck with Mazda to build the Scion iA, drawing on the contractor's expertise and capacity to build the small sedan on the client company's behalf. Only rather than basing a new model on one of the partner's existing ones, this deal would ostensibly continue building FCA models on FCA platforms using FCA components. We'll have to wait to find out with whom FCA strikes up the manufacturing deal, but we wouldn't be surprised to see Marchionne turn to a partner he already knows. The company is, after all, at the center of an intricate web of joint ventures and manufacturing contracts. The Fiat 124 Spider, for example, is built by Mazda. The Fiat Sedici that preceded the 500X was built by Suzuki. Models like the Dodge Stealth and Eagle Talon were built in Illinois at the Diamond-Star Motors joint venture before Mitsubishi took it over altogether. And Dodge continued selling the Mercedes-made Sprinter long after DaimlerChrysler split. The Ram ProMaster, though built by FCA in Mexico for the North American market, stems from a partnership in France with PSA Peugeot Citroen. And the ProMaster City is built in a joint-venture plant in Turkey, from which it's also sold by GM as an Opel in Europe and a Vauxhall in the UK. With all those deals coming and going, after all, what would one more add to the complexity?