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Sunday Drive: Spying an automotive future of performance

I spy, with my little eye ... the future of the automotive world here in the United States. That pretty much sums up this week's Sunday Drive, in which we pull out the most popular stories on Autoblog of the previous week and try to draw some sort of conclusion as to what binds them all together. This week, it's spy shots, starting with one of the biggest and baddest muscle cars the world has ever seen: the Dodge Challenger Hellcat. The Hellish coupe gets a new hood for 2019 with dual scoops, but that's about the only meaningful change for the new model year. No matter. As long as it's packing 700-plus horsepower under those two hood scoops, all will be right with the world. Moving on, we take keep the performance angle but move it from the street to the dirt with a new version of the Chevy Colorado ZR2 that we think is probably called the Bison. We think it'll keep the high-tech suspension bits of the regular ZR2, but add expedition gear that may include a snorkel and a winch. Which, if true, is pretty dang cool. Keeping the truck theme is the 2019 GMC Sierra. There's nothing particularly noteworthy about the trim level in which the truck was spied, and that's what makes this specific example interesting. Base-model trucks almost never get much attention, but they sell in droves to workers who need an honest-to-goodness truck for work or play and don't care about bells, whistles, or massive chrome badges. And finally we have the 2018 Jeep Wrangler, which is on fire on the sales floor right now. But those are all V6-powered Wranglers flying off the showroom floor. Soon, a turbocharged four-cylinder engine option will become available, and now we know that it will return up to 23 miles per gallon in the city and 25 on the highway. That makes it the most fuel efficient Wrangler that Jeep has ever sold. As always, stay tuned to Autoblog this week for all the automotive news that's fit to publish. 2019 Dodge Challenger Hellcat with twin-scoop hood spied with no camouflage Chevy Colorado ZR2 Bison caught testing 2019 GMC Sierra 1500 spied in base trim level 2018 Jeep Wrangler four-cylinder fuel economy revealed Spy Photos Chevrolet Dodge GMC Jeep Truck Coupe SUV Off-Road Vehicles Performance dodge challenger srt hellcat sunday drive

Defiance Dodge Charger, saving Earth from aliens isn't clean work [w/video]

You'll be forgiven for not having heard about the TV show Defiance - it actually hasn't aired its first episode yet. The new science fiction show about an alien war against Earth in the near future seems like a perfect fit for the SyFy channel, and, apparently one that Dodge saw as a slick marketing opportunity for its Charger sedan.
Here in Chicago, Dodge has given a large corner of its show stand to the Defiance Charger, a car that won't be skipped by any Mad Max fans in attendance at this year's show. The Charger boasts one hell of a gnarly patina under a confusingly welded cage of tube steel, as well as window bars, a grille guard in front, and big, knobby truck tires. There aren't any obvious guns or turrets on the outside of the vehicle, so we can only hope that the characters driving it go well-armed.
Look for the Charger to make its star turn in Defiance when the series premieres on SyFy on April 15 at 9:00 PM EST. Also, there's said to be a Defiance video game in the works, too, so you may get a chance to steer the burly Dodge for yourself. Find a trailer for the show, below, as well.

2016 Dodge Challenger and Charger Hellcats see doubled production

The launch of the Hellcat supercharged V8 in the Dodge Challenger and Charger for the 2015 model year was a massive success. The one-two punch of muscle cars probably grabbed the brand more headlines than it had seen in ages by offering a world-beating 707 horsepower from the growling engine under the hood. The only real wrench in the works was keeping up with all of the orders. For 2016, Dodge might have fixed that little problem with plans to make more than twice as many of these mean machines Despite production seeing a massive boost, a few customers with orders for 2015 examples will need to wait just a little longer to experience those 707 ponies. The automaker will cancel any unscheduled, sold orders for the current model, but those buyers will receive a discount on the 2016. Similar to last year, dealers will earn their allocation of the muscle cars based on Dodge sales and how long the Hellcats stay on their lots. There are some very tiny changes for any buyers who are holding out for the 2016 Hellcats, too. Mechanically, they are identical to the 2015s with a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 and eight-speed automatic. The interiors see some improvements, though. Both the Challenger and Charger now receive standard Laguna Leather upholstery and an improved 8.4-inch Uconnect system with navigation, an HD radio, and five years of SiriusXM Travel Link and Traffic. Orders for both open in the second week of August, and production actually begins in September in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.