2014 Dodge Durango Sxt on 2040-cars

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The best cars we drove this year

Six hundred and fifty. That's roughly how many cars pass through the hands of Autoblog editors every year, from the vehicles we test here at home, to the cars we drive on new product launches, testing roundups, long-term cars, and so on. Of course, our individual numbers vary due to several reasons, but at the end of the day, our team's repertoire of automotive experience is indeed vast. But let's be honest, some cars certainly stand out more than others. So as the year's about to turn, and as we're readying brand-new daily cat calendars for our cubicles, our editors are all taking time to reflect on the machinery that made this year so special, with one simple, open-ended question as the guide – a question that we're asked quite frequently, from friends, family, colleagues, and more. "What's the best car you drove this year?" Lamborghini Huracan When I review the list of everything I drove in 2014, picking an absolute favorite becomes almost impossible. I mean, how does one delineate between the joy offered by cars as different as the Alfa Romeo 4C, Volkswagen Golf R, Mercedes-AMG GT S and even the humble-yet-wonderful Chevy Colorado? Okay fine, I'll just pick the Lamborghini. I drove the Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 on a racetrack, in the mountains, and along southern coast of Spain. It felt like the king of the car jungle in all of those places, sucking the eyeballs of observers nearly out of their heads as it drove by, and almost melting my brain with its cocktail of speed and grip and intense communication. It feels a little easy to say that the one new supercar I drove this year was also my favorite, but the fact is that the Huracan is one of the finest cars I've driven during my career, let alone 2014. Judge me if you must. – Seyth Miersma Senior Editor Rolls-Royce Wraith There are a couple of ways to look at the question, "What's the best car you drove this year?" In terms of what was so good I'd go out and buy one tomorrow, that'd be my all-time sweetheart, the Volkswagen GTI. Or if I'm just talking about sheer cool-factor, maybe something like the Galpin GTR1, BMW i8, or Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG. But instead, I'm going to write about the sheer opulence of being the best of the best. The hand-crafted, holier-than-thou, shut-your-mouth-when-I'm-talking-to-you supremacy. I'm picking the Rolls-Royce Wraith. I drove the Wraith for a week in April, and was really, really impressed. This car does everything, perfectly.

2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody | First Run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

In addition to driving the Dodge Demon, we also had a chance to sample the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody last week. We drove it on the famed infield road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We're not at liberty to give you our impressions just yet, but you can experience the sights and sounds of the 707-horsepower Hellcat Widebody in the above video. Thanks for watching. Check back on Wednesday, July 19, to read about the experience.

Dodge puts kibosh on Challenger ACR rumors

In 2011, after the end of the Gen IV Dodge Viper and its ACR trim, Dodge took a Challenger ACR concept to the SEMA show. In October of last year, trusted FCA-focused outlet Mopar Insiders heard from its sources that something of the kind could finally be in the works, word being the automaker "is quietly working on a surprise to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Challenger nameplate." Last week, trusted FCA-focused outlet Allpar got more details from its own source, "Muther," on the specs and aspirations for a Challenger supposedly meant as a last big hurrah before the next generation appears in 2023. Now, we find out the Challenger ACR is a ghost, Autoweek reporting, "According to a spokesperson from Dodge, it's not happening." That brief denial is all the automaker had to say about it. Assuming Dodge isn't hiding anything, we're more surprised at detailed erroneous intel being shared with both MI and Allpar than we are about the track-day seducement Challenger ACR being bogus. A tale about Dodge engineering a Viper-like makeover for its number one muscle car so as to shame the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and Camaro ZL1 around a track would have been compelling enough. But word that Dodge wanted the Challenger ACR to breathe down the dearly departed neck of the Viper ACR around Road America, well, that was a crate of Hemi-powered wild. The implied impertinence of such a target is worrisome enough, and the weight loss goal would have added an extreme dimension to the ACR brand. The Neon ACR and Viper ACR didn't give up more than 100 pounds compared to their standard counterparts. The insiders spoke of the Challenger getting under 4,000 pounds, in part thanks to an optional passenger's seat. The diet would have required losing 400 pounds in a best-case scenario, which would still leave the big coupe 500-plus pounds heavier than a Viper ACR. Back to that impertinence... We'll likely never know what really happened with the Challenger ACR, so we'll stick it in the X-Files drawer between Big Blue and Chinga. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.