2005 Dodge Stratus R/t on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Dodge reveals a few of the goodies in the Demon crate

One of the teaser trailers for the eagerly anticipated Dodge Challenger Demon featured a big crate full of goodies for the car. As with the car, though, Dodge was a bit coy about what was inside, simply saying there were 18 items, consisting of tools and parts. Now we know what tools the car gets, and they're some very nice Snap-On pieces. All of the tools and accessories are branded with the Demon logo. And the tools included should be perfect for easy tire changes at the track. Specifically, the tools include a hydraulic jack, cordless impact wrench with charger, torque wrench, and a tire pressure gauge. There's also a fender cover to protect the paint when working under the hood, and a nice carrying bag with the Demon emblem on the side. And, naturally, all of the tools are limited-edition units made specifically to accompany the Demon. If you want to do anything more involved than wheel swaps, you'll need to supply a few tools of your own. But this should be good for the weekend drag racer or autocross driver who wants to drive down to the course on street tires, then throw on the sticky rubber at the track. Also, as you may have noted, these tools only constitute six items in Dodge's count, leaving 12 others that must be car parts. We know that among the parts are some factory Demon wheels, and items that Dodge describes as "Direct Connection Performance Parts" and the "Demon Track Pack System." Details on these remain scarce, but they will probably be revealed closer to the car's debut date of April 11. Related Video:

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.

2013 Dodge Dart GT

My younger brother bought a Dodge Dart earlier this summer. It's a basic SXT, in Maximum Steel Metallic, with the 2.0-liter engine, a six-speed automatic transmission and not a whole lot else. Unfortunately, at the time, the Dart was one of the few cars in the compact class I'd never driven. I didn't know a lot about it, and therefore, didn't have a lot to say when he bought it. I think the words "based on an Alfa," popped out when I first saw it.
As it turns out, he's grown quite fond of the dark gray sedan, so it was with some degree of enthusiasm that I paid him a visit in this bright-orange Dart GT. I was excited to see what it was about the Dart that he enjoyed so much, despite my tester featuring a different engine, transmission and a lot more tech. After a week with the car, though, I must say: I don't quite see what all the fuss is about.
Driving Notes