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Dodge Durango SRT vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT | Which should you buy?

Choice is a good thing. And when it comes to high-performance sport utility vehicles, there are more choices today than ever before to tantalize buyers into showrooms. And why not? Americans love SUVs, and, while there's a stronger push to go green now than ever before in the history of internal combustion, there's still a large contingent of buyers who firmly believe in choosing the biggest, baddest, most powerful powerplant. For those buyers, the Dodge Durango SRT and Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT are two of the most potent options. But which one should you buy? They both deliver 475 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. They both do 0-60 in around 4.4 seconds, and both boast top speed numbers that will handily land you in jail if written on a speeding ticket. Choosing between the two, then, is a bit more nuanced than which is faster. That said, the Jeep is probably a bit quicker at the track than the Dodge. We'd wager than the Grand Cherokee SRT's 5,104-pound curb weight (versus 5,510 for the Durango SRT) and 114.8-inch wheelbase (versus 119.8) will pay small dividends in acceleration, cornering, and braking performance. So, if that's the only category by which you believe these SRT-fettled SUVs should be judged, choose the Jeep. View 17 Photos But let's get real here for a moment. As much fun as it is to wrangle a brutish ute 'round a racetrack – and trust us when we tell you it's a blast – the number of hi-po SUV owners who will ever show up at Bondurant in an SRT-badged 4x4 is probably in the single digits. So, when evaluating which of the two Hemi-powered vehicles is right for you, ultimate lap times are probably of little concern. If you're choosing between these two overpowered players, practicality is probably just as important as performance. And in that category, the Durango SRT comes out on top. For starters, the Dodge is a three-row SUV with six seats, whereas the Jeep is a two-row, five-passenger platform. Fold down the rear bench and there's 84.5 cubic feet of cargo area in the Durango, versus 68.7 in the Grand Cherokee. And if you tow, the Durango SRT's 8,600-pound max rating handily bests that of the Grand Cherokee SRT's 7,200-pound capacity. Ask yourself what's most important: performance or practicality. And then consider the price. The Dodge is nearly $4,000 less expensive than the Jeep.

Fiat Chrysler CEO says final merger talks with Peugeot going well

BRUSSELS — Fiat Chrysler's chief executive Michael Manley said on Wednesday that merger talks with Peugeot owner PSA  to create the world's No. 4 carmaker are progressing well and he hopes to have a deal within 12-14 months. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of an industry meeting, he said he doesn't expect any major obstacles that could delay a final agreement. "Talks are progressing really well," Manley said about negotiations with the French carmaker ahead of a briefing by the European automotive association (ACEA), of which he is president. His comments come a month after the two carmakers agreed to a binding deal worth about $50 billion to combine forces in response to a slowdown in global demand and mounting costs of making cleaner vehicles amid tighter emissions regulations. Manley's timeline for completing the deal by early 2021 is in line with a forecast made by the companies in December. Fiat and Peugeot are now getting into the details of how the merger will work, including choosing which vehicle platforms — the technological underpinnings of a vehicle — will fit which products in a combined company. Because customers in different locations still prefer vastly different cars, there is room for multiple platforms in a combined group, Manley said. "That global platform is an elusive beast," he added. "This concept of a massive global platform in my mind is almost a myth, but that doesnÂ’t mean to say weÂ’re not going to recruit significant volume." Related Video:    

2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody First Drive | Same snarl, more bite

By now, you've read a lot about the Dodge Demon, including our driving impressions from the drag strip. You've also heard a lot about the Challenger Hellcat, which we've had the pleasure of driving at Portland International Raceway, Willow Springs, and on our home turf of Woodward Avenue, both during the Dream Cruise and for an episode of AutoblogVR. Last week, Dodge and SRT invited us out to Indianapolis to sample the Demon, as well as the Durango SRT. Sandwiched between those two launches, however, was another distillation of Dodge's retro-cool coupe, the 2018 Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody. The Widebody shares most of the guts of the standard Charger Hellcat, but went to the same cosmetic surgeon as the Demon. The Hellcat 6.2-Liter V8 with 2.4-liter-per-rev supercharger, producing 707 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque, is unchanged. It comes standard with a six-speed manual transmission, but our tester had the optional eight-speed automatic with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. It's 3.5 inches wider (look at those fenders!) than the standard Hellcat, though, which allows it to accommodate 20-by-11-inch "Devil's Rim" wheels. It shares its front splitter with the Demon, but retains the Hellcat's rear spoiler. The Widebody also features an electronic power steering system with selectable drive modes. It just slightly outperforms the standard Hellcat, as well, with better cornering grip, improved acceleration, and better braking (even though it shares the same Brembo brake package as the standard Hellcat). Dodge claims that the Widebody does the quarter-mile 0.3 seconds quicker, dropping it just out of the 11s to 10.9 seconds. 0-60 miles per hour drops from 3.5 to 3.4 seconds. Lateral grip increases by 0.04 G to 0.97 G on the skid pad. On the company's 1.7-mile road course, Dodge says the Widebody drops two seconds off its lap time compared to the standard Hellcat, finishing about 13 car lengths ahead. We spent our time with the Hellcat Widebody on the infield road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Sliding into the car, the seating position is cozy and comfortable even with a helmet on, and we have no trouble adjusting our chair and steering column to ideal placement. The infotainment display shows us our drive settings for the next few miles: the transmission and suspension are in Track Mode, steering is set to Sport, with traction set to Street. We fire up the car with an instructor in the right seat, and head out of the pit lane.