1973 Dodge Challenger 440 Big Block, Automatic, Restored, Super Clean on 2040-cars

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2020 Dodge Challenger Drag Pak comes solely with supercharged power

The Dodge Challenger Drag Pak has returned for 2020, five years after the last one arrived, and two years after it began development. And while in many ways it looks like past Drag Paks, there are a number of tweaks that should make this the fastest and most capable factory drag car yet from Mopar. Unlike the last model, only a supercharged 354-cubic-inch (5.8-liter for the imperically challenged) V8 is available. Mopar says it's more powerful than its predecessor, though exact horsepower wasn't given. It did confirm that the previous car was capable of a stunning 1,200 horsepower. The engine is coupled solely to a three-speed automatic transmission with a manual shifter. 2020 Dodge Challenger Drag Pak View 17 Photos Supporting the massive engine are many chassis, suspension and driveline enhancements. The independent rear suspension and axles are gone in favor of a solid axle from Strange and a four-link suspension. The front remains stock except for double-adjustable Bilstein shocks. The engine is mounted to a subframe member that's beneficial both to weight distribution and center of gravity. The car gets high-performance brakes and custom Weld Racing wheels with "DRAGPAK" engraved on them. The interior features a welded-in roll cage certified for quarter-mile times as quick as 7.5 seconds. Helping keep the car planted without increasing drag too much are front and rear spoilers from the road-going Challenger, a new addition compared with the previous car. Every Drag Pak car also comes standard with a wheelie bar and parachute. Dodge will only build 50 of these cars, and they'll only be offered as race cars that aren't legal for the street. The cars will be eligible for competing in sportsman classes in NHRA and NMCA drag racing series. Pricing and availability hasn't been set yet, but will be revealed sometime next year.

FCA issuing software update for 1.4M vehicles to prevent hacking

In the wake of a Jeep Cherokee being hacked remotely while on the road through its Uconnect infotainment system, FCA US is now issuing a software update for 1.4 million vehicles in the United States. Affected customers will receive a USB stick in the mail with the improved version; owners can check this website to see if their cars are affected. A large variety of models with FCA's 8.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system are affected. They include the 2015 Chrysler 200, 2015 Chrysler 300, 2015 Dodge Charger, and 2015 Dodge Challenger; 2013-2015 Dodge Viper; 2013-2015 Ram 1500, 2500, and 3500; 2013-2015 Ram 3500, 4500, and 5500 chassis cab; 2014-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Cherokee; and 2014-2015 Dodge Durango. According to FCA in its announcement, the new software "insulates connected vehicles from remote manipulation." As of July 23, the company also "fully tested and implemented within the cellular network" additional security to prevent access to many of a vehicle's systems. FCA US says that it's conducting this campaign out of an abundance of caution and disputes the notion that there's a defect with these vehicles. Beyond the demonstration of the hack in the Cherokee, the automaker says that it's unaware of any other reports of these attacks actually happening. Related Video: Statement: Software Update July 24, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC is conducting a voluntary safety recall to update software in approximately 1,400,000 U.S. vehicles equipped with certain radios. The recall aligns with an ongoing software distribution that insulates connected vehicles from remote manipulation, which, if unauthorized, constitutes criminal action. Further, FCA US has applied network-level security measures to prevent the type of remote manipulation demonstrated in a recent media report. These measures – which required no customer or dealer actions – block remote access to certain vehicle systems and were fully tested and implemented within the cellular network on July 23, 2015. The Company is unaware of any injuries related to software exploitation, nor is it aware of any related complaints, warranty claims or accidents – independent of the media demonstration.

Only in Japan: Dodge van one-make racing series is a thing

Japan seems willing to embrace a level of automotive insanity that many other places lack. Whether it's 1,200-horsepower Nissan GT-Rs blasting through tight, tree-lined mountain roads or advertisements with dances for the Toyota Prius Plug-in, the country definitely has a unique way of expressing a love for autos. The D-Van Grand Prix might be one of our favorite examples yet of crazy Japanese car culture, because the annual, one-make race at the Ebisu Circuit is exclusively for heavily customized Dodge vans. Like many great things, this wonderfully crazy idea came from a little rule breaking. D-Van Grand Prix organizer Takuro Abe was at a track event for a motorcycle racing school, and vans were used to haul the bikes around. During lunch someone came up with the idea for a race. Ignoring that the big machines weren't actually allowed on the circuit, the drivers headed out. The popularity has just grown since then. These days, the racing vans absolutely aren't the stock machines from the event's inspiration. In addition to stripped interiors and track rubber that you might expect, the list of mods for them is a mile long. For every possible advantage, the racers fit them with things like Brembo brakes, cross-drilled rotors, heavy-duty transmissions, and much more. Seeing vans lumbering around the track is very weird at first, but the racers take the competition very seriously. These folks even employ all sorts of little tricks to coax the most from the machines. This is a fascinating motorsports story, but be sure to turn on the subtitles to understand the interviews with the competitors.