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Only in Japan: Dodge van one-make racing series is a thing

Japan seems willing to embrace a level of automotive insanity that many other places lack. Whether it's 1,200-horsepower Nissan GT-Rs blasting through tight, tree-lined mountain roads or advertisements with dances for the Toyota Prius Plug-in, the country definitely has a unique way of expressing a love for autos. The D-Van Grand Prix might be one of our favorite examples yet of crazy Japanese car culture, because the annual, one-make race at the Ebisu Circuit is exclusively for heavily customized Dodge vans. Like many great things, this wonderfully crazy idea came from a little rule breaking. D-Van Grand Prix organizer Takuro Abe was at a track event for a motorcycle racing school, and vans were used to haul the bikes around. During lunch someone came up with the idea for a race. Ignoring that the big machines weren't actually allowed on the circuit, the drivers headed out. The popularity has just grown since then. These days, the racing vans absolutely aren't the stock machines from the event's inspiration. In addition to stripped interiors and track rubber that you might expect, the list of mods for them is a mile long. For every possible advantage, the racers fit them with things like Brembo brakes, cross-drilled rotors, heavy-duty transmissions, and much more. Seeing vans lumbering around the track is very weird at first, but the racers take the competition very seriously. These folks even employ all sorts of little tricks to coax the most from the machines. This is a fascinating motorsports story, but be sure to turn on the subtitles to understand the interviews with the competitors.

Dodge rolls out Shaker package for 2015 Challenger

Having an awesome Hemi engine under the hood can deliver impressive performance, but for those who lament not being able to see that big V8 engine doing its thing, hidden away under the hood, Dodge offers the Shaker hood on its Challenger muscle car. And it's just released the option for the updated 2015 model. Now available on two engines and three trim levels – including the Challenger R/T and R/T Plus with the 5.7-liter V8 and the 6.4-liter Challenger 392 – the new Shaker hood brings cold air into the engine compartment and lets everyone see that V8 (or at least an appendage thereof) shaking away in plain view. Arriving 45 years after the original Shaker Challenger, the package includes a satin black hood scoop, cold-air intake, conical air filter and optimized air box, along with Shaker graphics inside, out and under the hood. The 2015 Dodge Challenger R/T Shaker and R/T Plus Shaker are available to order now, priced at $35,495 and $38,495, respectively (plus a $995 destination charge), and come bundled with the Super Track Pak. Order books open in March for the 392 HEMI Shaker, which also comes with the Scat Pack, for $42,495 (plus destination and $1,000 gas-guzzler tax if equipped with the manual transmission). Dodge is Shaking Up the Muscle Car Segment Again; Opens Orders for New 2015 Challenger 'Shaker' Models Dodge Celebrates 45 Years of Its Functional "Cold-air Grabbing" Hood Scoop That "Shakes" With the Legendary HEMI® V-8 Engine's Movement - Back by enthusiast demand, Dodge returns the "Shaker" to the Challenger lineup – now expanding the functional cold-air induction hood scoop on two HEMI V-8 engines and three performance-packed models - "King of the Shakers" – all-new 2015 Dodge Challenger 392 HEMI Scat Pack Shaker combines the ultimate combination of 485 best-in-class horsepower and legendary Dodge heritage cues with a functional Shaker hood - Dodge Challenger R/T Shaker and R/T Plus Shaker models feature the legendary 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 engine with unique hood and intake design combined with a functional exposed-element cold-air intake system - New 2015 Dodge Challenger R/T Shaker and R/T Plus Shaker are available for ordering now, with the 392 HEMI Scat Pack Shaker model available for customer orders in March February 13, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich.

Chrysler investigating complaints of vehicles with faulty power modules

Chrysler owners are hopping mad after experiencing a series of electrical gremlins in some of the company's vehicles. Issues range from mere annoyances - windows rolling down and radios turning off of their own accord - to serious safety issues, with headlights that randomly shut off at night and cars that stall and refuse to start.
The issues are being blamed on the total integrated power module, which can cost up to $1,000 for customers to replace. This, of course, has led to a hefty batch of complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, with 240 owners expressing their displeasure so far. Another site, CarComplaints.com, has registered over 300 complaints relating to the 2010 to 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango, alone, according to The New York Times.
Chrysler has acknowledged that it's investigating the complaints and is analyzing the faulty TIPMs, but that isn't quite enough for customers of the affected vehicles. The newspaper has snagged a few of the more harrowing tales with the electrically challenged Chrysler products, culled from the NHTSA complaints.