1972 Dodge Challenger Base Hardtop 2-door 7.2l on 2040-cars

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Coal-rolling Ram dually does tandem beer-shooting burnout with ATV in bed

Sometimes a video comes around that just makes you shake your head in disbelief. Take for example these guys from Nebraska in their dually diesel flatbed Ram, doing a smoky burnout. Lighting up the tires is nothing new, but these folks take things a step further by having another guy on an ATV in bed that is also smoking the tires. Finally, people are sitting on a couch in the bed taking the whole show in, as beer cans shoot out of the stacks.
There have been several stories recently about the scourge of rolling coal, i.e., diesel trucks modified to lay down a thick, black smoke screen, sometimes for vaguely political reasons. Whatever your opinion is on it, breathing in this much nasty stuff isn't exactly great for your health. Of course, it turns out that burning rubber is pretty awful, too. Both diesel and tire emissions contain cancer-causing Group 1 carcinogens. Combine them with the cigarette smoking here, and these guys are an oncologist's nightmare. Scroll down to take it all in for yourself. Warning, there is a little explicit language.

Dodge's divisive splitter guards are now pink and might become black

There is an infinite amount of real problems out there in the world, but for some reason, one of the most dividing issues in the car community relates to a piece of protective plastic on cars. Yes, splitter guards. Since the plastic parts were introduced to SRT variants of the Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger for 2015, the enthusiast community has been split like a '63 'Vette on the merits and aesthetics of not removing them. Originally, the protectors, which are there to protect the splitter while the car is in transit to dealers, were yellow, which contributed to their popularity. But Dodge has now shifted that color to pink, as Car & Driver reported and Autoblog confirmed.  On one side, upset purists beg they be removed from the cars. They were only put on to protect the vehicles' lower front fascias during shipping and handling, and if left on too long, they will collect dirt and grit and damage the new paint. SRT lead designer Mark Trostle is included in this camp and is quoted saying, "I wish they would take them off." On the other side, there are people who enjoy the contrasting look and see it as a way to stand out or be different.  "Yes, they are designed to be removed before delivery," said Tim Kuniskis, global head of Alfa Romeo and head of passenger cars for Dodge, SRT, Chrysler, FIAT, FCA for North America, in an email to Autoblog. "But today, they have their own Facebook page, and many of our performance enthusiasts have active debates on whether to keep or remove them. Some owners say they are even selling them in the aftermarket!"  The Facebook page he speaks of is called "Hey Pal, You Forgot To Take Your Splitter Guards Off." The private group was started on April 11, 2019, and as of this writing, it is 11,855 members strong. With FCA recently changing the guards to pink, that number will likely continue to grow. "Obviously, they weren't part of the original design," Kuniskis said. "We started with yellow guards and shifted to pink, but they are still so popular that we may shift them yet again to black. Wherever we land, this is another example of how our customers are passionate about every part of their Dodge muscle cars — from the high-horsepower engines that power Charger and Challenger to the splitter guards designed to protect them, so we expect the conversation to continue."  Yellow, pink, black, purple, rainbow, whatever. People will like what they like and hate what they hate. Just do you, and keep the negativity away.

CES 2022 was huge for EVs | Autoblog Podcast #711

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder. CES took place this week, and there were some nice electric surprises from automakers, especially General Motors. John has been driving the Ram 1500 Power Wagon, as well as what seems to be its polar opposite, the electric Mini Cooper SE. Greg talks about the differences between the Acura TLX A-Spec long-termer (which is back in the shop) and the Type S loaner that's filling in for it. John's also got some interesting thoughts on leather interiors. Finally, the editors reach into the mailbag and help a repeat customer decide on a suitable replacement for a 2008 Lexus GX 470 in this week's Spend My Money segment. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #711 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown CES 2022 2024 Chevy Silverado EV revealed: 664 hp — and Midgate's back 2024 Chevy Silverado EV vs. 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning | How do they compare? Chevy Equinox EV and Blazer EV confirmed for production in 2023 Chrysler Airflow concept previews the brand's all-electric future Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX shoots for 620-mile range Cadillac InnerSpace reimagines the personal luxury coupe What we're driving: 2022 Ram 1500 Power Wagon 2021 Acura TLX A-Spec and Type S long-termers 2022 Mini Cooper SE John's unpopular opinion: Let's do away with leather for good Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related Video: