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Dodge to reveal Hellcat-powered Challenger in Detroit?

On top of all the other performance car debuts slated for next week's Detroit Auto Show, we might be able to add one more to the list - the new, supercharged Hellcat V8 from Chrysler. According to new reports, the rumored 640-horsepower mill is likely to cross the Motor City stage in the engine bay of a Dodge Challenger.
As AllPar points out, though, there may be more news than just the fire-breathing engine. While we've seen spy photos of the Hellcat testing under the hood of the current Challenger, there's a very fair chance that it won't arrive until the muscle car is refreshed later this year. The question now is whether that refresh will be shown off alongside the new engine in Detroit, or if it'll be saved, perhaps for the New York Auto Show.
Other details dug up by AllPar include potential transmissions for the supercharged engine - the Mopar-minded site is expecting an eight-speed automatic or a Tremec six-speed manual. Prices, meanwhile, could be in the same elevated range as the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, at $70,000 to $80,000.

Our video tribute to Star Wars with a Stormtrooper Charger

When the refreshed Dodge Charger debuted, the white one was immediately compared to a Star Wars Stormtrooper helmet. Chrysler recently ran with that idea and decorated a fleet of cars, including some Chargers, for use in a marketing stunt to hype its wares alongside the no-hype-necessary Episode VII: The Force Awakens film. We got our hands on one for a day and had some fun making a few videos. Above are a few shorts with names that we at least think are funny. There's one that includes the latest example of video producer Chris McGraw's patented nightlapse technology (it's a hyperlapse shot at night, which just looks plain neat). In the clip below, you can see all of the car's various Stormtrooper-inspired details. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The car started out as a bright white Charger R/T Scat Pack and was treated to a partial vinyl wrap on the body and the glass. The fantastic 485-horsepower Hemi V8 was left alone. Watch the videos and then tell us how they're non-canon in the comments. Humor Dodge Videos Original Video star wars dodge charger scat pack

Chrysler investing $20M in Toledo plant to support 9-speed auto production

In 2011, Chrysler announced a $72-million investment in its Toledo Machining Plant to modernize production of the eight- and nine-speed torque-converters for automatic transmissions made there. That upgrade work won't be finished until Q3 of this year, but Chrysler has already announced a further $19.6-million investment to increase production capacity for the nine-speeders.
The extra units will be necessary because the nine-speed transmission they'll be mated to is going into three popular models: it will debut on the 2014 Jeep Cherokee, then go into the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart. The company predicted that this year alone it would sell 200,000 units equipped with the nine-speed tranny, and it is spending some $374 million in addition to the investment in Toledo to upgrade production capacity for it.
The work attached to this new investment won't begin until Q3 of 2014, and it will be finished by the end of that year. There's a press release below with all the details.