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FCA seeks partner to keep building Dodge Dart, Chrysler 200

Mere weeks after FCA announced it was shutting down production of the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200, new hope emerges to give the sedans a stay of execution. Speaking at the Geneva Motor Show last week, Sergio Marchionne said that the company was looking for a partner "who is better at it than we are and who has got capacity available" in order to continue building the models on its behalf. "There are discussions going on now," said Marchionne, according to Motor Trend. "I think we will find a solution. We continue to talk. It's both a technical solution and an economic one. We need to find a solution that works economically." Contracting vehicles to be manufactured offsite is more common practice among European automakers than it is with American ones. Chrysler's former patron Mercedes, for example, has the G-Class built for it by Magna Steyr in Austria, the A-Class by Valmet in Finland, and the R-Class by AM General in Indiana (even though it's no longer sold in the US). This arrangement would, on the surface at least, appear more similar to the deal that Toyota struck with Mazda to build the Scion iA, drawing on the contractor's expertise and capacity to build the small sedan on the client company's behalf. Only rather than basing a new model on one of the partner's existing ones, this deal would ostensibly continue building FCA models on FCA platforms using FCA components. We'll have to wait to find out with whom FCA strikes up the manufacturing deal, but we wouldn't be surprised to see Marchionne turn to a partner he already knows. The company is, after all, at the center of an intricate web of joint ventures and manufacturing contracts. The Fiat 124 Spider, for example, is built by Mazda. The Fiat Sedici that preceded the 500X was built by Suzuki. Models like the Dodge Stealth and Eagle Talon were built in Illinois at the Diamond-Star Motors joint venture before Mitsubishi took it over altogether. And Dodge continued selling the Mercedes-made Sprinter long after DaimlerChrysler split. The Ram ProMaster, though built by FCA in Mexico for the North American market, stems from a partnership in France with PSA Peugeot Citroen. And the ProMaster City is built in a joint-venture plant in Turkey, from which it's also sold by GM as an Opel in Europe and a Vauxhall in the UK. With all those deals coming and going, after all, what would one more add to the complexity?

2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon First Drive | Don’t fear the Demon

"If you're not hurt, we'll be really pissed. If you are hurt, we'll still be pissed, but not quite as pissed." These are the words from Jim Wilder, the vehicle development manager of the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, that echo through our head as we slide behind the wheel of the car for the first time. He was warning us about driving beyond our abilities, and keeping the car out of the wall. With 840 horsepower and 770 pound-feet of torque on tap from its supercharged, 6.7-liter V8, the Demon does 0-60 miles per hour in 2.3 seconds, and 0-30 mph in a second flat. If something does go wrong, it'll happen quickly. Following that talk, we had our guts sloshed as a passenger in a blurry eighth-mile run, giving us a taste of the G forces (the Demon can pull 1.8 G in a straight line) we'd feel when we got in the driver's seat for our own pass down the drag strip. We're already sweating. It had rained - you could describe it as torrential - the day before. The grassy parking areas surrounding Lucas Oil Raceway were still flooded, but any water on the pavement had evaporated and hung in the air. Combined with the heat, we were sticky and uncomfortable. In Drag Mode, the Dodge Demon's air conditioning turns off. Any condensation that it could leave on the track would be a problem, plus we need to reduce parasitic power losses for a faster run. The system is still working, though, the refrigerant diverted to the chiller system cooling the air coming into the engine. There's still condensation, but the Demon collects it on a catch pad to keep it from ending up on the pavement. We're also required to roll the windows up when entering the drag strip. For one thing, it helps keep the smoke out of the cabin during the pre-staging burnout. So, yeah, it's hot as Hell in the Demon. We pull through the water box and run through the sequence – which involves holding the "OK" button on the steering wheel usually used to navigate menus, and applying a specific amount of brake pressure before getting on the throttle to initiate the burnout. This gets any crud off the rear tires and heats up the rubber. There are multiple ways to launch the Demon. We had an instructor sitting in the passenger seat as we pulled up to the beams that trigger the Christmas tree at Lucas Oil Raceway. He walks us through the most complicated of the three he had explained to us just minutes before when we were in the passenger seat.

2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Drivers' Notes | Wide awake

Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore — I've always wondered how Dodge would evolve the Challenger. There was only one real generation, not counting the rebadged Mitsubishi. Past and present, it's always looked the same. With the Hellcat, Demon, and now my personal favorite, the Hellcat Redeye Widebody, it makes total sense. There's no need to redesign it every few years. Just tweak it and add cool features — like flared fenders and the 797-hp Hellcat engine. It's all you need. This thing makes a statement. The Redeye is the car your neighbors want a ride in. I parked in our office building's basement, and co-workers heard me gunning the engine — two stories up. It's a growl. It has bass. It's angry. It gets a little metallic sometimes, depending on how and when you lay on the gas. I launched fairly hard at every traffic light. Sometimes I'd rev at idle. The Monroney that came with our test car lists the fuel economy as zero (it actually gets 13 city and a respectable 22 highway). But still. You get the point. I've always liked how the Challenger drives. It's big. It's heavy. The hood looks like the deck of an aircraft carrier. It's not trying to be a track rat. Go fast in a straight line. That's what you do. Take a hard left and maybe you skid a little bit. Maybe that's the idea. You don't eat cheeseburgers because they're good for you. You eat them because they taste good. Hey, cheeseburgers have protein. And vitamins. Healthy isn't the right description, but there are some benefits. The same reasoning applies to this Challenger. The interior is attractive, well-furnished and comfortable. The leather-trimmed seats are supportive. I love the saddle brown color. I used to say the coupe's low roof and bulky A-pillars were a problem. Then I got over that. You're driving nearly 800 hp, so sit up and be on your toes. The trunk is huge, too. I could have put a car seat in the back, had I needed to. You can live with the Challenger. And the Redeye is perhaps the best version yet. The starting price is about $60 grand. That's a steal. The price of our tester is $92,290. That's insane. The $6,000 widebody pack is the thing I'd recommend most out of all the options. Get the nice leather, too. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.