1966 Dodge Coronet 500 Convertible 383 Rare Medium Turquoise Color on 2040-cars

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Old Dodge vans are big in Japan

One of the great things about Japan and its car culture is that it plays host to some of the most unusual and unique vehicle trends in the world. Whether it's neon-clad Lamborghinis or luxury sedans with insane negative camber, the country always seems to have something new up its sleeve. One of the most surprising trends is track-ready, full-size Dodge vans called Dajibans, and the video above presents a great look at these absurd machines. This isn't the first time we've covered these racing Dodge vans, but it's a subculture too awesome not to merit a second look. For one thing, just as American fans of Japanese cars here like to use JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) parts on their cars, the owners of these Dodges like to use American parts. Many of the vans feature Little Tree air fresheners inside and even have Spectre air filters on the intakes. Who would've thought there would be a market for Autozone's bread and butter auto accessories? Plus, these vans get some other impressive mods. Notice that some vans that appear to have stock metal bumpers, but they're actually fiberglass replicas in the original shape and given a chrome-like paint job. The video's host, an Australian drift fanatic named Alexi who lives in Japan and runs website called Noriyaro.com, gets some great onboard footage, too. One of the vans he rides along in is powered by a generally stock 318 Dodge V8, and still has the original automatic transmission and column shifter. Impressively, the driver manages to manually shift it without grabbing the wrong gear, and even rev matches the shifts. Alexi explains that the driver can catch neutral in-between gears three and two, so there's a brief moment where he can blip the throttle. There's even more information in the video, and it's all fantastic fun to watch. If you decide you haven't seen enough of Dajibans, you can also check out our previous post on it, which is more polished and provides some history and context to the trend. Related Video: News Source: Noriyaro via YouTube Auto News Dodge Minivan/Van Performance Videos JDM trends

Chrysler expecting up to 200,000 9-speed transmissions for 3 models this year

Striving for improved fuel economy, we already knew that Chrysler will begin using a nine-speed automatic transmission in some of its new products this year, but what we haven't known is that volume at which this gearbox will be used. According to Bloomberg, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has been quoted as saying that the automaker expects to sell close to 200,000 units equipped with this new transmission in 2013. Those gear-rich trannies will be spread out across three models, consisting of the redesigned Chrysler 200, the still-unnamed Jeep Liberty replacement and the Dodge Dart.
This transmission should play a pivotal role in making Chrysler vehicles more competitive in their respective segments. Just for comparison, one of the Dart's key competitors, the Toyota Corolla, still uses a four-speed automatic, and a previous report indicates that the next-generation 200 could get up to 38 miles per gallon on the highway, which is better than most non-hybrid midsize sedans on the market. Marchionne says that the new Jeep model is expected during the second quarter of this year, but there is no word as to when the new 200 or nine-speed Dart will debut, but clearly Dodge would like to have the transmission in its compact yesterday. As for that volume figure, it definitely doesn't seem out of reach since the Dart, Liberty and 200 combined for a total of more than 225,000 units in 2012.
How many more gears can we expect in future cars? Probably not many more, since the CEO of transmission-builder ZF, Stefan Sommer, previously stated that nine speeds was the "natural limit" for transmissions.

Dodge Scat Pack for 5.7L Hemi V8 detailed, priced

Dodge revived the Scat Pack name back in November at the 2013 SEMA show. At the time, though, we were short of details on forthcoming upgrade packages, which were destined to add some oomph to the Challenger, Charger and Dart. We're still waiting to hear about the upgrades to the Dart's 2.4-liter four-pot, but Dodge has gone ahead and released the details on the upgrades to the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 in the Challenger and Charger R/T.
As we detailed in our original post, three different Scat Packs will be available that will allow customers to upgrade their cars without voiding the warranties. Starting with the $2,195 Stage 1 kit, owners will net an extra 18 horsepower and 18 pound-feet of torque thanks to a Mopar-branded cold-air intake, exhaust and ECU ref lash. Stage 1 is also the only package that could be installed outside of a Chrysler-authorized service center without voiding the warranty (a mechanically competent owner could even do it at home, we're told by Dodge). Stage 2 builds on the entry level Scat Pack, and adds performance camshaft kit, which boosts output over the stock 5.7 by up to 30 hp for $1,895. As with the Stage 1, the ECU is tweaked.
For those that want to go whole hog, they can add the Stage 3 for $4,995. The top-tier gets quite serious, adding CNC-ported cylinder heads, as well as high-flow headers and cats. Output over stock is 58 hp and 47 lb-ft of torque. Each kit comes with a pair of badges, just in case owners want a bit of visual flair.