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2020 Dodge Challenger Review & Buying Guide | The most muscular muscle car

Despite going more than a decade without a complete redesign, the Dodge Challenger is alive and well, and still worth your consideration. Primarily, it offers more of a classic muscle car experience focused on straight-line performance and comfort that its rivals from Ford and Chevy that skew closer to sports car dynamics. The Challenger has the brash, broad-shouldered design to match that muscle car feel, too. And its big body brings more space and practicality than the competition. The 2020 Dodge Challenger also has a few unique bragging points. It's the only one of the modern pony cars to offer all-wheel-drive, which is a boon to people living in snowy parts of the country. And the Hellcat Redeye is still the most powerful pony car on the market with a whopping 797 horsepower from its supercharged 6.2-liter V8. Of course, there is a multitude of other Challenger models beyond those two examples, though, with many customization options from colors to wheels and trim. We think pretty highly of them all, proving that just because something is getting on in years doesn't mean it's any less relevant.  What's new for 2020? The 2020 Dodge Challenger brings a small number of updates. There are new wheel designs for every trim except the base rear-drive SXT. Three new colors are available with typically excellent Mopar names: Hellraisin, Sinamon Stick and Frostbite. Dodge has also made some welcome efforts to spruce up the interior with stitched dash and door panels on leather-equipped Challengers, carbon fiber trim and faux suede options for V8-powered cars and caramel-colored Alcantara for the GT, R/T and R/T Scat Pack trims.   What's the interior and in-car technology like? The Challenger's interior certainly isn't as characterful and flamboyant as its exterior would suggest. The Mustang and Camaro are more interesting and distinctive inside. Still, there are some interesting design flourishes that spruce things up, from the base trim's standard houndstooth cloth to the two-tone leather choices available as options. Besides, we're not sure how flamboyant you need the interior to be in a car available in electric orange, blue, green and purple paint colors. Furthermore, what the Challenger interior may lack in visual pizzazz, it makes up for with space (see below) and technology. A 7-inch touchscreen is standard, but all trim levels have an 8.4-inch version available as an option or standard.

2014 Dodge Journey Crossroad soldiers on in the Chi

Introduced to the market in 2008 and updated in 2011, the Dodge Journey crossover has had all the freshness of a retirement village in recent years. Filling a potentially important niche for Dodge as an affordable, family-sized vehicle, the Journey has gotten one last mild refresh here in Chicago. Feast your mild-appearance-package-loving eyes on the 2014 Dodge Journey Crossroad.
We can't be sure if the inspiration for the Crossroad appellation was the 2002 blockbuster film, Crossroads, starring Britney Spears, or the 1986 cult-classic, Crossroads, starring Ralph Macchio, but based on the CUV's newfound boyish charm, we're betting on the Karate Kid.
Dark finish 19-inch wheels, platinum chrome accents and a manly new front fascia tell the world that this isn't the Dodge Journey that they've long since forgotten about. In fairness, the Crossroad is easily the best-looking iteration of the Journey to date, and should be better to live with, too, considering its revised cabin, leather seats and standard Uconnect touchscreen infotainment system.

Dodge performance could be electrified, new hybrid transmissions coming

Dodge is arguably the last company around specializing in old-school muscle cars. Outside of a few models like the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid and the new e-Torque offerings in the Ram 1500 and Jeep Wrangler, FCA as a whole seems behind the ball when it comes to green or electrified powertrains. That might change over the next few years, as Tim Kuniskis, head of passenger cars at FCA, told Automotive News that he sees the future of performance to be electrified.  At the reveal of the Dodge Charger Hellcat Widebody a few weeks back, Kuniskis said "the absolute future is electrification of these cars." What form this takes or how soon this all might happen is unclear, but changes are likely coming. Kuniskis said the electrified models could be anything from pure battery-electric vehicles to plug-in hybrids to e-axles. FCA’s e-torque system already works with the companyÂ’s Hemi V8 in the Ram 1500, so, if thereÂ’s room in the engine bay, we imagine it would be pretty easy to adapt the mild-hybrid system for other V8-powered vehicles.  One thing to note is that FCA just inked a new deal with ZF. The latter will supply a new 8-speed automatic transmission for longitudinal front-engine cars that will work with both rear and all-wheel drive vehicles. FCA already uses a version of the ZF 8HP automatic, but the big thing to note is that the new transmission has a small electric drive unit built in. If this new transmission is as ubiquitous as the current one, you might find electrified versions of Alfa Romeo and Maserati products as well as those from Dodge, Jeep and Ram. This seems in line with what was announced in last yearÂ’s five-year plan.