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Say goodbye to the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200

Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne outlined an update to the company's five-year business plan Wednesday, and among the changes, the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200 sedans will soon be phased out. The company's presentation to investors states that the "market shift from cars to trucks and UVs [utility vehicles is] now seen as permanent shift in demand," and FCA wants to respond as quickly as possible. Killing the 200 and Dart will allow FCA to build more Jeep and Ram models at the Sterling Heights, MI, and Belvidere, IL, plants where the sedans were produced. We already knew FCA was planning to shift 200 and Dart production to Mexico, to free up the Sterling Heights facility for Ram 1500 production, and the Belivdere site for Jeep Cherokee output. The Cherokee will move from its current home in Toledo, OH, to allow for increased Wrangler production. It's no shock that FCA wants to shift its focus to crossovers and trucks. In December 2015, for example, combined sales of the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200 were 15,310. The Jeep Cherokee, which uses the same platform as the Dart and 200, outsold both models combined, with 24,049 sales. Both the Dart and 200 had troubles from the beginning. Marchionne recently blamed designers for the 200 not receiving a Consumer Reports 'recommended' rating, and the Dart was one of the lowest-scoring cars in a CR reliability study. Featured Gallery 2013 Dodge Dart: Review View 27 Photos Related Gallery 2015 Chrysler 200 View 43 Photos Image Credit: Copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / AOL Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM FCA confirmed

Mopar teases a big Hemi crate engine for SEMA

Mopar has released a new video teaser hinting at the release of a large and powerful crate Hemi engine at SEMA later this month in Las Vegas. The video functions like a lesson on symbolism in an English lit class. It opens with smoke and settles on a pair of backlit, large-clawed paw prints that look to be feline in origin. Then we hear earth-shaking pounding sounds of something larger than the paw prints that stomps over them. Then cue an overhead shot of what looks to be a vintage-model Dodge Charger and its growly Hemi engine entering the frame and then gunning the engine. Mopar already offers three crate Hemi V8 engines, topped by the 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat, good for 707 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque, found in the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat and marketed for pre-1976 classic muscle cars. So promising that "Something big is coming" is really saying something. Could it be a crate version of the 808-hp Hemi 6.2 that was found in the Dodge Demon, which was rated at 840 hp on racing fuel? Or is it something different? Curiously, Mopar says its reveal is planned for Tuesday, Oct. 30 at the odd time of 4:26 p.m. Could that time be a reference to the 426 Hemi — and specifically the Generation III 426 Hemi "Elephant" that Chrysler made several years ago? That technically qualifies as "bigger," and it would also align with both the muscle car-era Charger and round, earth-shaking footprints shown in the video. Time will prove whether we were right. Related Video: Image Credit: Mopar SEMA Show Chrysler Dodge Performance Classics dodge demon dodge charger srt hellcat

2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody First Drive Review | Son of a beast

PORTLAND, Maine — They told us the Hellcat Redeye Widebody is a "Hellcat that's been possessed by a Demon." But what I'm telling myself is, Save it for the track. I hadn't even put the pedal all the way to the floor, and the world around me had warped in my peripheral vision. I peeled my skull from the headrest and contemplated the supercharger under the double-snorkel hood in front of me force-feeding air to the's 6.2-liter Hemi V8, producing a hair under 800 horsepower. With my stomach returning to its usual place, I tried to summon the patience not to roast the tires again. Relax, enjoy the drive, explore the car, and save the rest for the track. I tried to restrain myself from adding to the many strips of rubber already smeared across the hilly, meandering roads between Portland, Maine and Club Motorsports across the state line in New Hampshire. But then there's always another stop sign, and something possesses me to misbehave again as I pull away. The 2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye includes a number of borrowed features that helped the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon slap me in the back of the helmet back at Lucas Oil Raceway. It has the same displacement Hemi with a 2.7-liter supercharger providing 14.5 PSI of boost. That pressure is thanks in part to the "Power Chiller," which diverts the A/C refrigerant to cool the air intake. It offers the torque reserve system for explosive launches, as well as the strengthened driveshaft to handle it all. It won't do a wheelie, but it'll scream in your face as it hurls you straight to jail. Compared to the standard Hellcat, it gets a higher top speed of 203 miles per hour, and quarter mile times reduced by a precious tenth of a second (11.1 seconds at 131 mph for the standard Redeye, and 10.8 seconds at 131 mph for the Redeye Widebody). That said, Dodge has ensured that Demon reigns supreme in the Challenger hierarchy. For one thing, the Demon has 840 horsepower and 770 pound-feet of torque, compared to the Redeye's 797 horsepower and 707 pound-feet. The Demon's suspension is specifically tuned for the weight transfer characteristics of drag racing, and can lift its front wheels off the ground if you nail the launch with the narrow tires on it. Also, while the Redeye does have line lock to let the rear wheels spin while braking the front calipers, it doesn't get the Demon's transbrake to keep the car locked into position as throttle is applied for launch.