1968 Dodge Dart W/440 Six-pack &dana 60 W/ 4:11 Posi &727 Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Star Wars Episode VII ad is a force for Dodge

Happy Star Wars day! Some of you might be bleary eyed and begging for coffee after attending midnight screenings of Star Wars, Episode VII: The Force Awakens last night (*raises hand*) but the show must go on. And for Dodge, that show has been all about Star Wars. While the entirety of FCA joined the tie-in marketing campaign for the long-awaited JJ Abrams blockbuster, Dodge made out the best. According to Wards Auto, the brand's The Force Gathers spot took the top spot in this week's most engaging automotive ads, capturing nearly a quarter of share-of-voice ratings and garnering over a quarter-of-a-million earned online views. Since the ad began airing earlier this month, it's scored over 430,000 views on YouTube alone. The relatively simple ad evokes Darth Vader and his legions of storm troopers. In the 30-second spot, a black Viper leads six long columns of white Chargers, Challengers, and Durangos while John Williams' iconic Imperial March blares in the background. It ends at the stand of an overwhelmed pair of valets outside a screening for Episode VII. We've embedded the spot at the top of the page if you haven't seen it. Check it out, and may the Force be with you. Star Wars, Episode VII: The Force Awakens is in theaters today. Related Video:

The Dodge Demon's massive torque wrinkles its massive tires

Horsepower doesn't mean a damn thing if a car can't properly put the power down. That's why Dodge has fitted the upcoming Demon with some of the stickiest road-legal rubber available. Those Demon-branded Nitto NT05R drag radials skirt by regulations with just the smallest of margins, and in order to maximize the potential of the 315/40R 18 size tires Dodge increased the car's torque multiplication with a higher stall speed for the torque converter and a 3.09 rear axle. The 12.6-inch-wide tires are fitted to 18x11-inch wheels at all four corners, and they're fatter than those 305-section front tires on the Camaro Z/28 that we raved about years ago. Dodge says the combination of soft, gooey rubber and the new gear ratio gives the Demon about a 15 percent larger tire contact patch, more than twice as much grip, and roughly an 18 percent increase in both converter torque and rear-axle torque multiplication. Simply put, the Dodge Demon moves. You can see the results in the teaser video above, which is titles "Multiplication" and shows the crazy wrinkling of the sidewall that results from putting that torque to the road. We wouldn't be surprised if the inner rim of the wheel needs some grip to keep the tire seated, something Chevy had to do on the last Z/28. There is something wonderful about Dodge's approach to performance cars. While the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro have moved on from their muscle car upbringings with proper track-focused models, Dodge has stayed true to its roots by developing a machine that's sole intent is traveling a quarter-mile quicker than anything else on the road. Twisty roads may be fun, but there is something wholly and deeply satisfying about going deep into the accelerator with a comical amount of power at your disposal. We can't wait. Related Video: New York Auto Show Dodge Coupe Performance dodge demon dodge hellcat dodge challenger srt demon drag strip

MotorWeek proves '90s were awesome with Supra, Stealth, RX-7, Corvette, 968, 300ZX comparo

Oh, the heady days of 1993, back when the Clinton Presidency was just getting underway, and it seemed like every hot new rock band was coming out of Seattle. Sports cars in the US had finally shaken off the shackles that slowed them during the '70s and '80s, and you could buy any number of legitimately quick vehicles again. MotorWeek recently went digging into its archives to find this six-model test from 1993 showing off some of the best semi-affordable performance coupes that money could buy at the time, and it's priceless.
Featuring the 1994 model year Toyota Supra in twin-turbo guise and MY 1993 versions of the Porsche 968, Nissan 300ZX TT, Mazda RX-7, Dodge Stealth R/T Turbo and Chevrolet Corvette LT-1, MotorWeek definitely covered all of the bases. One thing that might surprise younger readers is these cars' performance. The video only provides 0-60 acceleration times, but several of these vehicles would still be considered pretty potent today - over 20 years since going on sale. The Supra is especially impressive, hitting 60 miles per hour in just 5 seconds. Even today, that's nothing to sneeze at.
Given their performance potential and still-attractive looks, it's amazing that some of these coupes are old enough to drink now. The progress of interior design and safety equipment in the intervening years is pretty shocking, though. In most of these models, having two airbags is touted as a big deal. Scroll down to watch a Throwback Thursday blast from the past about some of the '90s best sports cars.