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2014 Dodge Journey Crossroad

Watchers of the auto industry will notice a theme among the formerly bankrupted American automakers, General Motors and Chrysler. There are the post-bankruptcy vehicles, and the pre-bankruptcy vehicles. The former, in the case of Chrysler, include the Jeep Grand Cherokee, as well as the 200 and 300. For GM, there's the Cadillac ATS, Chevrolet Impala and Buick Encore, among others. These vehicles have the freshest styling, with sharp exteriors and well-crafted interiors, as well as advanced powertrains and well-sorted chassis.
As for the pre-bankruptcy vehicles, they tend to be easy to spot. Most suffer from inferior driving dynamics, cheaper interiors, poorer fuel economy and often homely looks (we know, there were some decent cars before the bankruptcy, but they were pretty heavily outweighed by the bad ones). Think late, last-generation Chevrolet Impala or Chrysler 200. Increasingly, though, we're seeing vehicles that split the balance between pre- and post-bankruptcy. Vehicles like the Dodge Journey.
The Journey debuted in 2007 as a 2008 model year vehicle, meaning it should fall into the latter category. But heavily breathed upon in 2011, it now enjoys a new, 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, a big, critically acclaimed touchscreen display and in the case of today's tester, a new-for-2014 Crossroad spec.

Highway To Hellcat: Dallas to Vegas with 2,000 HP

Fort Davis, TX. Early November. Late Sunday afternoon. The 1,200 residents of this small town are using their day of rest to quietly enjoy the breeze rolling off the hills. There's an older couple walking down the street, holding hands. A young lady working at a general store, where milkshakes and antacids are purchased at the same counter. It's a peaceful, quaint scene, right down to the tumbleweed rolling across the street and the rickety wooden porches outside the old storefronts. I hit the throttle of the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat while turning left onto the road leading toward the town square, sending the sedan's rear end swinging to the right with a few puffs of rubbery smoke. I coast down to the 25-mile-per-hour speed limit and spot the line of Challengers, Chargers, and Vipers in my rear-view mirror, the drivers all mimicking my quick jolt of enthusiasm before pulling up the reigns on their V8s and V10s and idling into Fort Davis. Our posse would roll some 5,000 horsepower of pure American muscle into that small Texas town that day. It was only the first stop on an epic journey that would take us from Dallas to Las Vegas, on a winding route down toward El Paso, up through New Mexico, Arizona, and finally north into Nevada, ending at the ritzy Palazzo casino and hotel on the Vegas strip. It was an opportunity to see parts of America I never knew existed, and a chance to bond with some American cars that until recently, I sort of failed to understand. And most importantly it was an opportunity to drive really, really hard. Charging Through Texas Unless you've driven across it, it's hard to understand the massive space that is Texas. In places, scanning 360 degrees of horizon reveals absolutely nothing. Nothing. On its own, driving from Dallas to El Paso covers some 630 miles. Veer south to Fort Davis and you'll add another 70 onto that, not including the 75-mile Davis Mountain Scenic Loop where I found bliss behind the wheel of this insanely powerful sedan. I always expected to like the Charger Hellcat – comfortable seating for four (five in a pinch), equipped with the latest tech, wrapped in a stylish yet muscular body, like a quarterback in a tux. And it moves. The supercharged 6.2-liter Hellcat V8 pumps out 707 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque, which makes for one quick sedan, especially considering its heft.

Dodge Dart Registry helps you crowdsource money for your next ride [w/video]

To be honest, we're surprised something like this didn't pop up sooner. Chrysler is riffing on gift registries for couples getting married or expecting babies and cross-pollinating it with a social media funding website like Kickstarter to help customers buy its 2013 Dodge Dart. The Dodge Dart Registry allows people to build and customize a new Dart exactly how they want it, then let other people purchase some or all of the components as gifts.
The registry lets you add features like dark headlights, dual exhaust, various wheels and even interior options without choosing a specific trim level. This sounds a lot like the system Scion uses to let its customers configure cars, and this could be a great idea for Dodge. Of course, this system has the added benefit of being a social media affair for you to share with your friends... you know, so they can help pay for some of the parts, too.
The best thing about the registry is that you can configure your dream Dart from the comfort of your home computer, which strikes us as much better than walking around Bed, Bath and Beyond for the better part of an afternoon with an electronic scanner. The one thing that Dodge doesn't offer? "Thank You" cards. Those are on you.