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Cars.com runs 11-second quarter with Dodge Charger Hellcat

The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat and its Challenger sibling are two of the heroes of the modern performance world. With a headline-grabbing 707 horsepower from a supercharged 6.2-liter V8, their output even shames many supercars. But how quick can one really cover a quarter mile? Cars.com recently decided to find out by taking a Charger Hellcat to the drag strip to see if the sedan lived up to Dodge's 11-second claims. The results were quite impressive. After 13 quarter-mile runs of adjusting variables like the tire pressures and the car's various electronic aids, the Charger Hellcat managed a pass in 11.03 seconds at 126.61 mph – the pinnacle result of the day. This car was mechanically stock and wore the optional Pirelli P Zero tires. According to Cars.com, other quick sprints reached 11.09 seconds and 11.1 seconds, which even beat the site's 11.41-second best from a Challenger Hellcat last year. Getting the Hellcat's prodigious power down without losing traction was a challenge, even on the summer tires. Cars.com thought it had a run that could have dropped below 11 seconds, but then the wheels spun. Using the factory-recommended pressures, the Charger Hellcat was no still slouch with an 11.27-second time recorded, but taking things down to 25 psi proved the quickest at the strip. We already knew that the Charger Hellcat was a wonderful vehicle for eating up huge gulps of asphalt at high speeds and could verify its 204-mile-per-hour top speed (quite a bit faster, incidentally, than the Ferrari California T's 196 mph top-speed). Apparently, the 11-second quarter-mile claim is just as accurate. Also, for any curious owners, the Cars.com story divulges many of the tweaks required to reach this seriously quick time. Related Video:

Fiat-Chrysler shows its SEMA lineup

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles already previewed its 2014 SEMA show lineup with some slick renders. Now, the automaker has finally showed us the actual cars, and among the group there are definitely some that stand out more than others.
Dodge is really showing off its muscle at this year's show with four concepts that all pump up the power of the brand's models. Perhaps most interesting among them is the Challenger T/A Concept (pictured above) in striking Sublime Green and matte black. It's meant to resemble the classic Trans Am racer from the '70s. Under the hood is a 6.4-liter V8, and to fit the vintage style there's a pistol-grip gearshift inside.
The Charger R/T also gets some attention with the Mopar concept that shows off what FCA's aftermarket performance arm can do. Mods include an updated body kit, cold-air intake for the 5.7-liter V8 and a coil-over suspension kit. Beyond that, the Dart R/T Concept looks a lot meaner with a black hood with duct work that leads straight to the air intake. The rest of the compact sedan is dolled up in O-So-Orange paint and is fitted with upgrades to improve handling like a coil-over suspension and big brake kit from the Mopar catalog.

Brand new cars are being sold with defective Takata airbags

If you just bought a 2016 Audi TT, 2017 Audi R8, 2016–17 Mitsubishi i-MiEV, or 2016 Volkswagen CC, we have some unsettling news for you. A report provided to a US Senate committee that oversees the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and reported on by Automotive News claims these vehicles were sold with defective Takata airbags. And it gets worse. Toyota and FCA are called out in the report for continuing to build vehicles that will need to be recalled down the line for the same issue. That's not all. The report also states that of the airbags that have been replaced already in the Takata recall campaign, 2.1 million will need to eventually be replaced again. They don't have the drying agent that prevents the degradation of the ammonium nitrate, which can lead to explosions that can destroy the airbag housing and propel metal fragments at occupants. So these airbags are out there already. We're not done yet. There's also a stockpile of about 580,000 airbags waiting to be installed in cars coming in to have their defective airbags replaced. These 580k airbags also don't have the drying agent. They'll need to be replaced down the road, too. A new vehicle with a defective Takata airbag should be safe to drive, but that margin of safety decreases with time. If all this has you spinning around in a frustrated, agitated mess, there's a silver lining that is better than it sounds. So take a breath, run your fingers through your hair, and read on. Our best evidence right now demonstrates that defective Takata airbags – those without the drying agent that prevents humidity from degrading the ammonium nitrate propellant – aren't dangerous yet. It takes a long period of time combined with high humidity for them to reach the point where they can rupture their housing and cause serious injury. It's a matter of years, not days. So a new vehicle with a defective Takata airbag should be safe to drive, but that margin of safety decreases with time – and six years seems to be about as early as the degradation happens in the worst possible scenario. All this is small comfort for the millions of people who just realized their brand-new car has a time bomb installed in the wheel or dashboard, or the owners who waited patiently to have their airbags replaced only to discover that the new airbag is probably defective in the same way (although newer and safer!) as the old one.