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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.

Dodge pumps power to the people with $10 discount per horsepower

Dodge announced an incentive program named Power Dollars, which represents the next step in its mission to bring horsepower to the people. Starting on August 1, the automaker is luring enthusiasts into its showrooms by offering a $10 per horsepower discount on select models. The Power Dollars program applies to the 2019 Challenger (pictured), the 2019 Charger and the 2019 Durango. It's as simple as it sounds: if you buy a 500-horsepower car, you benefit from a $5,000 discount. The more horsepower you choose to put in your garage, the more money you save when you sign the dotted line. The 797-horsepower Challenger Hellcat Redeye comes with a $7,970 discount. At the other end of the spectrum, the Charger SXT powered by a 3.6-liter V6 rated at 292 horsepower is eligible for a $2,920 rebate.  The Grand Caravan has 283 horsepower, so it's not far from the Charger SXT, but it's not included in the program. The Journey with the same 3.6-liter V6 engine isn't in it, either. Dodge launched the Power Dollars program to boost sales, and likely to clear the remaining 2019 models out of its inventory before the 2020s arrive. But the company has another reason to make its muscle cars cheaper, one we don't think we've heard from an automaker yet. "Since bringing the Charger and the Challenger back to the market, Dodge has put 485 million horsepower into the hands of our loyal enthusiasts. The goal is to grow to a half-billion horsepower before the end of the year," explained Tim Kuniskis, the global head of Alfa Romeo, and FCA's head of passenger cars in North America, in a statement. It's 15 million horsepower short of the milestone. It needs to sell about 18,820 examples of the Hellcat Redeye to reach its goal, or approximately 51,370 units of the Charger SXT.   

Houston road rage incident devolves into all-out brawl

The video is no longer available. It appears the associated account has been terminated. Chaos erupted on a Houston freeway last weekend when an altercation spiraled out of control and ended up in a battle-royale style brawl in the middle of traffic. According to KTRK, David Dao and his daughter were traveling along FM 1960 on the morning of May 14 when they came upon a white Honda and a blue Ram truck parked in the right lane. The drivers and passengers of the vehicles were engaged in a spirited argument about something that had happened moments before Dao pulled up. Dao parked in his lane to block traffic in an attempt at making sure other drivers didn't hit the people fighting in the right lane, and instructed his daughter to start filming the incident in case they were needed as witnesses. As Dao's daughter filmed, the incident quickly escalated–harsh words were exchanged, a drink was thrown in a woman's face, and then the driver of the Ram kicked in the Honda's grille. "I couldn't believe it. As soon as he kicked the grille, I was like, 'This is going down now," said Dao. "I was thinking this is going to be bad. At that time, I knew because there was physical damage." As soon as the Ram driver kicked the Honda the entire situation went sideways and devolved into a huge brawl, with the people from both vehicles throwing wild punches and grappling with one another. A woman who was a passenger in the Ram attempted to break up the scrum but took a haymaker in the face for her troubles. Eventually, the fight broke up and the people returned to their vehicles which Dao assumed meant that the altercation was over. Apparently though, the Ram driver felt he hadn't made his point, and he reversed at high speed into the Honda, smashing the fascia and buckling the hood. The Ram then sped off westbound on U.S. 290 with the Honda on its tail. According to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, the incident was not reported and there is no word what happened to the brawlers after they left the scene. Related Video: News Source: KTRK Weird Car News Dodge Lexus RAM Driving Safety Truck Videos Sedan road rage houston fight