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Rest of 2015.5 Dodge Viper lineup available after MSRP drop spurs sales uptick

The Dodge Viper has muscled its way back into buyers' good graces thanks to a $15,000 price drop across-the-board – and we're sure the extra five horsepower didn't hurt, either – posting a 26-percent year-to-date surge after the September realignment. No longer, uh, snakebitten, Dodge is now allowing dealers to place already-sold orders of the TA 2.0 Special Edition and GTS, both of which come with more goodies as standard than on the 2014 models they replace. The $101,995 TA wears a high performance Aero Package consisting of front lower dive planes, front splitter, competition rear spoiler, a dual-mode suspension supporting 18- or 19-inch matte black wheels on Pirelli PZero Corsa tires, two-piece Brembos rotors with black and orange calipers and performance pads, and a five-mode electronic stability control. We'll pretend to ignore features like a "rear carbon fiber applique" on a hardcore V10 sports car. The $107,995 GTS trim throws in Laguna leather seats as standard, an Alcantara headliner and an 18-speaker Harman Kardon system. It will also be the only model that can be had in Ceramic Blue with black stripes, orange brake calipers and GTS gloss black badging. And that rear carbon fiber applique, since it's apparently quite popular. The Connor Avenue plant where workers assemble the Viper by hand will begin production of the TA and GTS in November, the two models will appear in showrooms in Q1 of next year. A press release below has more information. Finally, it appears the only thing Connor Avenue builders looks like it finally has the work to keep everyone at work. {C} New 2015.5 Dodge Viper GTS and TA 2.0 Special Edition Models Now Available for Customer "Sold Orders" With New Pricing and More Content - Dodge Viper sales up 26 percent year-to-date since Dodge repositioned the hand-built exotic in September and reduced the starting price $15,000 - 2015 Dodge Viper's starting U.S. Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) is $84,995 (all prices exclude gas guzzler tax and destination) - New 2015.5 Viper GTS and TA 2.0 models now available for sold customer orders - Track-ready Viper TA 2.0 Special Edition builds on success of TA model; U.S. MSRP starts at $101,995 and adds high-performance Aero Package, competition rear spoiler and front lower dive planes for increased downforce and improved handling on the track - U.S.

Happy Hellcat Halloween

Happy Halloween, everybody. There's no real Hellcat news in this post. No growl of the second-scariest Dodge Challenger SRT's 707-horsepower engine, no shriek of its supercharger. Just a Hellcat on a photo shoot. A little eye candy on Halloween. In a graveyard. With a black cat. (No cats were doomed to hell in the making of this feature.) But a Hellcat is a good kind of scary, so here are some of our previous galleries. And may a Hellcat cross your path soon. View 18 Photos View 17 Photos View 80 Photos Related Video:

2023 J.D. Power APEAL Study shows new-car customer satisfaction scores slip

J.D. Power survey results have been slightly up but mostly down for automakers this year, literally. In February, the 2023 Vehicle Dependability Study showed an overall decline compared the 2022 a month before the Customer Service Index Study did the same. The trend reversed in June with a better overall score on the 2023 U.S. Electric Vehicle Consideration Study than in 2022, then declined again the same month on with a lower overall score on the 2023 Initial Quality Study. The declines continue with the 2023 J.D. Power U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, overall satisfaction among the 84,555 respondents down two points overall compared to 2022, to 845 out of 1,000 points. Because last year's score dropped compared to 2021, this year marks the first consecutive decline in the study's 28-year history. The study tries to "[measure] owners' emotional attachment and level of excitement with new vehicle" after 90 days of ownership by asking new owners to rate 37 attributes in 10 areas around the vehicle, such as the feeling they get when they hit the accelerator. Satisfaction with nine of the attributes is down this year versus last, fuel economy the only segment to show better results with 15 points more satisfaction. Styling and infotainment are big drags on satisfaction. Responses to new car exterior looks tallied 888 points, down from 894 last year, the largest drop in this year's study. On the digital side, less than half of those surveyed this year said they prefer using a manufacturer's built-in infotainment. From 70% of respondents in 2020 preferring to use a manufacturer's in-house software to play audio instead of Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, that's 56% in 2023. Going all-in on Google appears to have the best effect. J.D. Power said that vehicles with both Google's Android Automotive Operating System (AAOS) and Google Automotive Services (GAS) "score higher in the infotainment category than those with no AAOS whatsoever. AAOS without GAS receives the lowest scores for infotainment of the three categories."  Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power, said, "Despite the technology and design innovations that manufacturers put into new vehicles, owners are lukewarm about them. While innovations like charging pads, vehicle apps and advanced audio features should enhance an owner’s experience, this is not the case when problems are experienced.