1973 - Dodge Dart on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Watch these Dodge Demons explode on a Texas drag strip

The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is extremely quick. It can hit 60 mph from a dead stop in less time than it takes to read this sentence thanks to its supercharged 6.2-liter V8. That engine makes up to 840 horsepower and 770 pound-feet of torque, depending on what octane is running through the fuel lines. That's a ton of power going solely to the rear wheels. So much so that Dodge developed a number of features and a new set of tires specifically for the car. In our time with the Demon, the car took abuse run after run on a drag strip without skipping a beat, but it seems some actual owners aren't quite so lucky. Just take a look at what happened to a few of these cars. You can see the whole car shake and jitter right as the whole rear explodes in front of the tree. It seems the initial shock from the launch — the most taxing bit of any drag run — is what kills the differentials. Catastrophic failure is rarely pretty, but it is neat to see the whole thing occur in slow motion. Three more cars — four stock and one modified in total — suffered similar fates. Not a great look for Dodge or SRT. According to The Drive, a private drag event in Texas drew a number of Demon owners all trying to beat NHRA NHRA Top Fuel racer Leah Pritchett's time in her personal Dodge Demon — 42 stock Demons attended along with five modified cars. While no one managed to match her 9.65-second quarter-mile run, a few owners did dip below 10 seconds. Now, there are a few of caveats we must address. First, with any modified car, you run the risk of breaking something, even with a car that's set up from stock specifically for drag strips. Even a set of tires like the Mickey Thompsons shown in the video above can have an effect on driveline components. Horsepower may be king, but it's torque that's the rear killer. All that torque sends a shock through the car. Adding even more with aftermarket parts increases the risk of something failing. The modified car was apparently pushing out about 1,000 horsepower. That said, four of the five vehicles were stock, so any extra power or torque should theoretically be a non-factor. The drag strip's surface was maintained by a company called Mass Traction. FCA used Mass Traction during the Demon's development, so that too should be a non-factor in the part's failure. It's unclear what exactly caused the failures, though The Drive reports that FCA officials are investigating the matter. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party.

1970 Hemi Challenger is a family heirloom with serious muscle

Petrolicious turns up the emotion in its latest video about a family's connection to their 1970 Dodge Challenger. The orange muscle car that gets the spotlight here is a remarkably beautiful vehicle, but the story of a father and his sons at the core of this clip might leave you feeling a little misty eyed. Juan Escalante is the current owner of this Challenger, but it belonged to his dad first. Juan's father spotted the iconic muscle car during the 1969 Detroit Auto Show and had to have one. He soon placed an order for the orange '70 Challenger R/T with the rare combination for that year of a 426 Hemi V8 and a four-speed manual gearbox. The family even brought the coupe with them when they moved to Venezuela in 1972, and local fans dubbed it El Hemi. However, parts were scarce for the muscle car in that country, and it returned to the US in 1996 for a restoration. Now, the rumbling Challenger with its Coke-bottle profile and black hood is the world's most awesome family heirloom for the Escalantes. In this poignant video, Petrolicious shows how the coupe connects Juan to his father. Related Video:

2020 Ford Explorer ST vs 2019 Dodge Durango SRT: How they compare on paper

For a few years now, the Dodge Durango SRT has been the sole three-row performance crossover from a non-luxury brand. That all changes now that the 2020 Ford Explorer ST is coming to market. Now we have two family crossovers with rear-drive-based platforms vying for buyers that demand practicality and power. As such, there's no better time to dig into their specs to see how they compare. We'll check out each crossover's horsepower, torque, space, capability and prices. The full specs are listed below, followed by some analysis afterward. We also compared the regular 2020 Explorer models to other crossovers in this segment, if if that's not enough, you can check out our car comparison tool. Performance The Explorer and Durango go about making power in very different ways. The Explorer goes the force-fed route with two turbos feeding a 3.0-liter V6, while the Durango's enormous 6.4-liter V8 produces power with air flow au natural. Of the two, the Durango has the greater output of 475 ponies and 470 pound-feet of torque, feeding the flames of everyone that lives by the phrase "There's no replacement for displacement." The Explorer is no slouch at 400 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of torque, though. Performance isn't purely based on power, though. Other factors play a role, such as weight, and in that regard, the Explorer is way ahead. At 4,701 pounds, it weighs a massive 809 pounds less than the portly Durango. This also means that both crossovers are very close in weight-to-power ratio, with the Explorer only slightly worse at 11.75 pounds per horsepower and the Durango at 11.6. Less weight will also play a roll in handling, and the Explorer is likely to feel sprightlier without so much mass to shift back and forth. Semi-related to handling are tire sizes. The Durango features 295-mm wide tires on 20-inch wheels. The Explorer has 255-mm wide tires on 20-inch wheels, but 21-inch wheels with 275-mm tires are available. So the Durango is working with more contact patch, but as we mentioned, it's carrying a lot more weight. 2020 Ford Explorer ST View 20 Photos Interior Space and Practicality Although the Durango SRT is the largest on the outside in every dimension, it loses out to Explorer repeatedly inside. The Ford has more headroom, leg room and shoulder room in nearly every row except the third-row where headroom comes up a bit short.