2014 Sxt New 3.6l V6 24v Automatic Rwd Suv on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Top horsepower-per-dollar cars in 2017

Bang for the buck. That quasi-scientific statistic is bandied about by motor heads everywhere from classrooms to barrooms, though the truth of the matter is that it's exceedingly complex to measure. A fair performance-per-dollar index would include something like cross-referencing MSRP (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price) with point-to-point times on a track or driving route, which is obviously hard to do comprehensively. But, for the sheer joy of talking about cars and playing with a big spreadsheet, there's always the horsepower-per-dollar index, which is more straightforward, albeit hilariously flawed. There are vagaries even with this simple formula, of course: MSRP for vehicles can change at a moment's notice, to say nothing of the bottom-line shifting that happens with local deals or showroom negotiation. For this list we're running with the straight MSRP wherever possible, and as recently reported as we can get it. All the vehicles on this list are 2017 models, and all trims are reported where the lowest price and differing power levels intersect. Some choices were made for personal preference and some for sanity, avoiding things like all 48 trim levels of the Ford Transit, all with the same horsepower). If this list were a simple top ten, or even a top fifty, you'd be bored to tears with all the red, white and blue that is represented. Following perfectly with conventional wisdom, American cars really do lead the world where hp/$ is concerned. So, for the sake of variety (and the sheer joy of seeing a minivan 'win' one round of this thing) I've sorted out some top five and bottom five lists for broad power categories. Let's dive in. Less Than 100 Horsepower Okay, okay, this is hardly a category we'll grant you. But we've often tried to click off all the sub-100-hp cars on sale in the US, and making this list gave us an excuse. It also illustrates that none of these smallish vehicles bring cheap horsepower to the table - for that you'll need a motorcycle. The segment-leading Chevy Spark (above) asks just over $139 for each hp, and that Smart Fortwo Electric Drive has hp on sale for about the same price as its very distant family cousin, the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG (insert your favorite Smart joke here... we know you want to).

Watch this Dodge Viper get clawed to death

There's a scene in the James Bond movie, Casino Royale, where Daniel Craig's Agent 007 is captured by villain Le Chiffre, played by Mads Mikkelsen. Le Chiffre tortures Bond in a scene that is rather difficult to watch (especially for blokes) and impossible to describe on these digital pages (Google at your own risk). This video is the automotive equivalent of the Casino Royale torture scene.
It shows a Dodge Viper - a late, first-generation GTS judging by the center-exit exhausts - getting assaulted by a giant piece of heavy equipment. The large claw shows no mercy on the V10-powered sports car, rending its muscular curves into pieces and then running it over, just for good measure. It's a painful video to watch (and hear!), made worse because we don't know what the Viper did to deserve such a fate. About a third of the way through the video, the cameraman indicates that the man with the claw is a new operator from Chrysler, and it appears there may be some fire damage, but beyond that, we don't have much to go on.
Scroll down for the video but be warned, it isn't for the faint of heart.

Stellantis axed the SRT engineer team, but performance isn't going away

Stellantis has broken up the Street & Racing Technology (SRT) engineering team that created over a dozen high-performance vehicles, including the Dodge Charger Hellcat, but the situation isn't as dire as it sounds. The newly-formed company assigned SRT's former engineers to different positions, where they'll continue to make hot rods. "All of the core elements of the SRT performance engineering team have been integrated into our company's global engineering organization," a spokeswoman told enthusiast website Mopar Insiders. She added that integrating SRT's personnel into other brands in the Stellantis portfolio will ensure that the lessons learned from decades of peddling speed will permeate other products. Previously, SRT operated with a high degree of independence. Don't get too excited. Her statement does not necessarily mean that Citroen will begin building cars powered by the Hellcat engine, though a C3 Chat D'enfer sounds absolutely epic. Technology transfer will likely be limited to fields like aerodynamics and thermal management, and the design department might learn a couple of neat new tricks. Dodge will still move forward with the development of its next SRT-branded cars; the decision to dissolve the SRT team will not affect future models, according to the spokeswoman. Whether they'll be powered by a V8 is up in the air, because company boss Tim Kuniskis warned that regulations are killing the eight-cylinder engine. Similarly, Jeep will continue designing high-performance models, like the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. What changes is that the model will be developed and designed by a group of engineers and designers from Jeep, not from SRT. SRT is dead, but performance isn't going away. SRT's demise nonetheless marks the end of an era for Chrysler. The division traces its roots to 1989, when some of the company's brightest minds were brought together to develop the first-generation Dodge Viper. It merged with Team Prowler to form the Specialty Vehicle Engineering (SVE) group, which was renamed Performance Vehicle Operations (PVO) in 2002 and finally dubbed SRT in 2004. SRT has operated as the carmaker's in-house tuner since, its resume includes a diverse selection of cars ranging from the Neon SRT-4 to the 1500 TRX, and it was promoted to a standalone brand led by designer Ralph Gilles in 2011. Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) axed the SRT brand in 2014 but kept the name and the development team. Related video: