1970 Dodge Challenger R/t Matching #s Drivetrain 383 4 Bbl Auto, Triple Black on 2040-cars

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Dodge Viper saved from crusher by students, but will it last?

The saga of the Washington state community college hoping to keep its allegedly pre-production Dodge Viper out of the maw of the crusher is going strong. Not only does the school still have the car, but there's a chance that the college might even get to keep it.
The whole situation flared up in March when the South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, WA, received a notice from Chrysler Group that requested that the school's Viper be destroyed. The automaker had loaned the muscle car to it about a decade ago to use for educational purposes in its auto tech classes. With the Dodge growing long in the tooth, "it is unlikely that these vehicles offer any educational value to students," the company said in its press release on the matter.
However, the college balked at destroying its Viper, despite the fact it had signed a contract with Chrysler Group to do so. The school further claimed that its car was incredibly special because it was a pre-production example and just the fourth one made back in 1992. Although, as we pointed out at the time, the photos of the school's vehicle showed a coupe that looked like a newer Viper GTS.

The mad genius of killing the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200

Sergio Marchionne isn't crazy. At least not with respect to the recent announcement that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will cease production of the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200. Instead of crazy I'd call this CEO ruthlessly pragmatic, and perhaps short-sighted. The latest revisions to FCA's most recent five-year plan tell some truths about the company's finances. In other words, it can't afford to build mainstream sedans. With only 87,392 units sold in 2015, the Dart is an also-ran in the segment. The axe falls easily there - Chrysler hasn't had a compact-car hit since the second-generation Neon. The 200 isn't so cut and dried: Last year sales increased 52 percent, and the 177,889 total for 2015 is more than those for the Subaru Legacy and Kia Optima. But looking at the overall FCA picture the Chrysler 200 has to go, at least from a short-term perspective. The vehicles that make big money – Ram trucks; Jeep's Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, and Wrangler – can't be made fast enough. FCA can't afford to idle the 200's Sterling Heights, MI, assembly plant to cut back on inventory when other plants are running flat out. It seems crazy to throw away 265,000 sales, but FCA is leaving money on the table by not building more profitable vehicles. The Wirecutter's Senior Autos Editor (and former Autoblogger) John Neff agrees. "As bold as it looks from the outside, he's really making a safe bet that their money is better spent on designing better and building more crossovers and trucks. He's probably right about that." But according to Jessica Caldwell, Executive Director of Strategic Analytics at Edmunds, "FCA's strategy of eliminating the Dart and 200 might be short-sighted if gas prices were to rise and Americans, once again, flocked to small vehicles. FCA must have plans to expand the lineup of small SUVs and position them as small-car alternatives in terms of price and fuel efficiency for this strategy to make sense." FCA's latest announcement focuses mainly on the profitable brands and nameplates. There's hardly a mention of Chrysler, Dodge, or Fiat. And future planning is where the plot holes appear. This realignment cuts dead weight from the product portfolio, but FCA's latest announcement focuses mainly on the profitable brands and nameplates. There's hardly a mention of Chrysler, Dodge, or Fiat. So what's Sergio up to? David Sullivan of AutoPacific thinks Marchionne is still looking for another CEO to hug.

2018 Dodge Challenger Demon, 1970 Charger become Lego cars

As much as we all would have loved to buy one, Dodge made sure that it wouldn't be easy for everyone to own a 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. It was only built for one model year, with a total of 3,000 units, and the last one was built last summer. And even if they were still available, each one started at just under $85,000, a substantial chunk of change. But thanks to Lego, there's a comparatively cheap way to get a new Demon: in tiny brick form. The toy company has added another kit to its Speed Champions line featuring a yellow Challenger Demon. Since the Speed Champions cars are quite small, it's a somewhat rough facsimile of the car, but it's still instantly recognizable. It's blocky, it has a big hood scoop and fat fender flares. It also has two sets of wheel covers to customize it. This kit has an advantage over a real Demon, too: it comes with a second car. The other one is a 1970 Dodge Charger in black. This is an even more faithful rendition, thanks in part to the real car's ruler-straight lines. It doesn't have customizable wheels, but you can choose whether to leave it stock, or stick on a little replica of a supercharger and hood scoop that poke through the hood. It ends up looking like Dominic Toretto's Charger from The Fast and the Furious. Besides the second car, the kit features a drag strip starting tree. It doesn't light up, but it does have a slider on the back that lifts up each set of colored bricks as it's pressed down. So you can have little drag races with the two cars. In total, everything is built with 478 pieces, and it will cost you $29.99. The kit is available now wherever Lego kits are sold, and even at the Dodge merchandise website. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.