2009 Dodge Charger Sxt General Lee on 2040-cars

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Last call for Chrysler 300C, Dodge Charger, Challenger: Get your orders in by July 31

We’ve known for a while that the Dodge Challenger and Charger, along with the Chrysler 300C, were going away, and we now have a production end date for the long-running trio of big cars. Earlier this week, we learned that the order books for all three will close at the end of July, ahead of closing production at the end of the year. The 300C has been around since the 2005 model year and has been on sale relatively unchanged since 2011. Chrysler has updated the powertrain choices and technology over the years, but the car we see on sale today is nearly identical to the car we first saw when President George W. Bush was in office. Though it shares a platform and some underlying engineering with the Dodge Charger and Challenger, Chrysler hasnÂ’t gone to the lengths that Dodge did to give the 300C a proper sendoff. Dodge pulled out all the stops with its large cars, offering a series of “Last Call” models highlighting the carsÂ’ power and history. That said, Chrysler did release a limited-production 300C for 2023 that offers a 6.4-liter Hemi V8. ItÂ’s held to 2,000 units and doesnÂ’t have the swagger that DodgeÂ’s cars bring, but there are a few reasons to be excited about the final 300C. With 485 horsepower and 475 pounds of torque on tap, the car can reach 60 from a standstill in 4.3 seconds and run the quarter mile in 12.4 seconds. Those are serious numbers for any car, let alone one that feels like a Barcalounger on wheels. Other upgrades for the final 300C include a 3.09 limited-slip differential, an active exhaust system, and active suspension. If the 300C speaks to you in a way that other rolling sofas donÂ’t, itÂ’s likely too late to grab a limited-production car, but Chrysler is offering the standard 300 — for now.

Dodge closes Caravan order books at the end of this month

After being introduced as the Dodge Caravan in 1983, after debuting a long wheelbase Grand Caravan in 1987, after entering its fifth generation in 2007 and going almost unchanged since then to become the oldest minivan in the segment, after being publicly sent to the slaughterhouse in 2011, again in 2013, and again in 2015 before being pardoned thrice by the automotive governor, this month it's over for good for the best-selling Dodge and best-selling minivan in the U.S. and Canada. At least, according to Mopar Insiders, which credits dealer sources for the news that "the end of the month" will be a car shopper's last chance to order the Dodge Grand Caravan in the states that don't adhere to California emissions. Since the Grand Caravan's 3.6-liter V6 can't clear CARB mandates, Dodge pulled the model from the 13 so-called ZEV states in March this year.  Last summer, an analyst at AutoForecast Solutions told Automotive News that Dodge would cease Grand Caravan production at the Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada in May this year. The brief reprieve is said to be related to the coronavirus standstill, Fiat Chrysler not alone in revising its plans to make up for two months of lost production. The new 2020 Chrysler Voyager is the official replacement for the Dodge, being a de-contented Pacifica that returns an old Chrysler nameplate to circulation and is built in the same plant as the Pacifica and Grand Caravan. The Grand Caravan's numbers have come down this year, but Dodge still sold a strong 24,931 units through the first quarter of the year; the kid-hauler has sold less than 100,000 units in a year in the U.S. only twice since 1985, topping six figures for the last four years. In 35 years on sale here, the minivan has hurdled the 200,000-unit marker 19 times. With the order books open until the end of the month and Windsor plant working a single shift and still finding its feet, Grand Caravans will continue to trickle off the lines after May, but not for long. 

Viper fans are at the Nurburgring to reclaim production-car speed record

With the outgoing generation of the Viper, Dodge missed a fabulous opportunity to set another Nurburgring lap record. The company did it, twice, with the previous-generation Viper ACR, but never went back with the latest ACR, and it definitely won't now that the car is being discontinued. This is why a group of Viper fans began fundraising back in January to take ACRs to the 'Ring for one more shot at glory. And, right now, that group is in Germany preparing for the attempt. The team made it thanks to support from GoFundMe donors, and sponsorship from Kumho Tires and Prefix, a design and prototype company based in Michigan. They're using two Viper ACR GTS-R commemorative-edition cars, which are appropriate for competing track cars since they have the same white-with-blue-stripes color scheme as Dodge's old Viper GTS-R racecars. The cars are supplied from ViperExchange and BJ Motors and equipped with Kumho Ecsta V720 tires. According to the group's Facebook page, the team has been practicing since Wednesday, July 19. A video posted today highlighted that the only mechanical issue so far has been an overheating problem that was solved with a new thermostat. Each car is running a different suspension setup for practice - one soft, the other hard - and they'll adjust them as needed. The plan is that both cars will use the same setup on the record attempt. To claim the record without any argument will require beating the 6:45.9 time set by the Nio EP9 electric car. Right behind it is the Radical SR8LM, which is technically street-legal, but not really a street car. It set a time of 6:48. As for true street cars with gasoline engines, the target the Viper team will really want to beat is the Lamborghini Huracan Performante, which pulled off a time of 6:52. You can track the team's progress at its Facebook page. Related Video: Image Credit: Dodge Auto News Motorsports Dodge Coupe Performance Supercars dodge viper acr nio ep9