1939 Custom Dodge Hot Rod on 2040-cars

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2020 Ford Police Interceptor Utility dominates Michigan State Police testing

The Michigan State Police has released its preliminary findings from testing the 2019 crop of police vehicles, and the results are a bit surprising. The consistent top performer of the bunch was the 2020 Ford Police Interceptor Utility, better known to civilians as the Ford Explorer. Specifically, the top performer was the model with the new turbocharged 3.0-liter V6. The Michigan State Police conducts acceleration, top speed, braking and lap time tests of all the available police vehicles. The 3.0-liter Police Interceptor Utility was the fastest to 60 mph at 5.77 seconds, had the highest top speed of 150 mph, and the best average lap time of 1:36.47. The lap time was particularly impressive as it was just over half a second faster than the next quickest car, the all-wheel-drive V8 Charger. View 13 Photos Still, the 2019 Dodge Charger gave the Explorer a serious run for its money. The all-wheel-drive V8 Charger was only 0.1 seconds behind the Explorer to 60 mph with a time of 5.87 seconds, and the rear-drive version was third quickest at 6.15 seconds. Both V8 Chargers were only 1 mph off of the Explorer's top speed, and the V6 example was third fastest at 141 mph. We already mentioned the all-wheel-drive V8 Charger was half a second off the Explorer's lap time, and the rear-drive variant was just over 1 second behind, giving it the third fastest average time. Dodge also took home braking bragging rights. The V6 Charger won out with a distance of 126.9 feet, followed by the rear-drive V8 Charger with 128 feet, and the V6 Durango Pursuit stopping at 128.8 feet. Now of course where there are winners, there are also losers. The slowest accelerating police car was the Ford Police Responder Hybrid Sedan, better known as the Fusion Hybrid, with a time of 9.24 seconds. At 8.59 seconds was the V6 Dodge Durango, and the V8 Chevy Tahoe with four-wheel-drive was third slowest at 7.98 seconds. Lowest top speed was 106 mph with the Ford F-150 Police Responder with the 3.5-liter turbocharged V6, followed by the V6 and V8 Durangos with 117- and 118-mph top speeds respectively. In braking, the Chevy Tahoes performed the worst with the rear-drive version stopping at 145.7 feet and the four-wheel-drive version stopping at 142.5 feet. The F-150 followed with 141.9 feet. When it came to lap times, the Fusion Hybrid lapped the slowest with a time of 1:46.31. The V6 Durango was about a second faster with a time of 1:45.45.

The Dodge Challenger plays its trump card: all-wheel drive

Perennially stuck in third place behind the Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro in sales and enthusiast comparisons, the Dodge Challenger is doing something unconventional for a muscle couple. It's adding all-wheel drive. It's a new feature for Detroit's pony cars – none of the three have ever had it – and it could be a game-changer. Called the Challenger GT, the Dodge launches this winter for a starting price of $34,490. The Challenger GT comes with the Pentastar 3.6-liter V6 rated at 305 horsepower and 268 pound-feet of torque. It teams with an eight-speed TorqueFlight automatic transmission and is estimated to get 18 miles per gallon in the city and 27 mpg on the highway. An FCA spokesperson said no manual transmission or V8 models will be offered on the all-wheel-drive Challenger. It will be on display in January at the Detroit auto show. View 8 Photos All-wheel drive is a widely expected addition for the Challenger. The coupe shares underpinnings with the four-door Charger, which offers an all-wheel drive variant and the cars have similar powertrain offerings (the AWD Charger is also V6 and automatic only). Naturally, the Challenger borrows the Charger's AWD system and during regular driving conditions, the front axle disengages and full torque goes to the back wheels, allowing the Challenger to function as a rear-wheel drive car. It automatically goes back to AWD when more traction is needed. Handling is also fortified with a vehicle dynamic control system. Conversely, the electronic stability control has three modes and can be switched off for drift-happy enthusiasts. The GT has features familiar to other Challenger and Dodge owners, including an 8.4-inch touchscreen radio, Performance Pages (accessible through the Super Trak Pack button), and paddle shifters. A Sport Mode changes shift points to improve acceleration. It all rolls on 19-inch wheels wrapped in all-season rubber. The exterior gets a hood bulge, LED head- and taillights, and a decklid spoiler. The Challenger GT also offers a $995-interior package different than RWD models, adding Nappa leather, Alcantara suede seats, a nine-speaker Alpine audio system, performance steering wheel, and more. All of that is just window dressing. It's all-wheel drive that could be a difference-maker for consumers. The Challenger won't likely be able to take down the Mustang, which will finish 2016 as the pony car sales king.

Are you the Dodge Dart SRT4?

Dodge has just confirmed that it will be bringing its newest Dart variant, the Dart GT, to Detroit next week, but we're still in the dark about when we'll see a truly hotted-up SRT4 version. But now, by way of the rumormill anyway, we've got at least one proposed, potentially Dodge-based rendering to light our way.
Seen here is what would appear to be a design sketch of the SRT4 Dart. Obviously the image that has surfaced is of rather low-resolution, but there's at least some evidence to support that it may be legitimate. In the original picture, one can just make out the name Tim Doyle in the lower right corner. As it turns out, Tim Doyle's name is also watermarked on the final design image for the 2011 Dodge Durango Citadel Black & Tan, a model that was shown at SEMA in 2010.
Of course, even if this really is the work of Doyle, there's nothing to say that this image isn't one of a great many potential looks for the future SRT4. In fact, the departure of the cross-hair grille from the Dodge's nose seems like it could be a hard sell, though we do, naturally, dig the sleek hood scoop and the bulked up wheel/tire combination.