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The Dodge Challenger plays its trump card: all-wheel drive

Perennially stuck in third place behind the Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro in sales and enthusiast comparisons, the Dodge Challenger is doing something unconventional for a muscle couple. It's adding all-wheel drive. It's a new feature for Detroit's pony cars – none of the three have ever had it – and it could be a game-changer. Called the Challenger GT, the Dodge launches this winter for a starting price of $34,490. The Challenger GT comes with the Pentastar 3.6-liter V6 rated at 305 horsepower and 268 pound-feet of torque. It teams with an eight-speed TorqueFlight automatic transmission and is estimated to get 18 miles per gallon in the city and 27 mpg on the highway. An FCA spokesperson said no manual transmission or V8 models will be offered on the all-wheel-drive Challenger. It will be on display in January at the Detroit auto show. View 8 Photos All-wheel drive is a widely expected addition for the Challenger. The coupe shares underpinnings with the four-door Charger, which offers an all-wheel drive variant and the cars have similar powertrain offerings (the AWD Charger is also V6 and automatic only). Naturally, the Challenger borrows the Charger's AWD system and during regular driving conditions, the front axle disengages and full torque goes to the back wheels, allowing the Challenger to function as a rear-wheel drive car. It automatically goes back to AWD when more traction is needed. Handling is also fortified with a vehicle dynamic control system. Conversely, the electronic stability control has three modes and can be switched off for drift-happy enthusiasts. The GT has features familiar to other Challenger and Dodge owners, including an 8.4-inch touchscreen radio, Performance Pages (accessible through the Super Trak Pack button), and paddle shifters. A Sport Mode changes shift points to improve acceleration. It all rolls on 19-inch wheels wrapped in all-season rubber. The exterior gets a hood bulge, LED head- and taillights, and a decklid spoiler. The Challenger GT also offers a $995-interior package different than RWD models, adding Nappa leather, Alcantara suede seats, a nine-speaker Alpine audio system, performance steering wheel, and more. All of that is just window dressing. It's all-wheel drive that could be a difference-maker for consumers. The Challenger won't likely be able to take down the Mustang, which will finish 2016 as the pony car sales king.

Guy trying to sell Challenger Hellcat for $89,000 because VIN ends in '666'

The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is undoubtedly one of the baddest cars on the road today. With a 707-horsepower supercharged V8 snarling under the hood, the coupe can go down the road like a bat out of hell. There's not much that could make one of these muscle machines much more menacing, but a seller on Craigslist has one bizarre solution: offering a hellacious Hellcat with a VIN marking the Dodge as the beastly 666. What's the price for such unholy identification? That's a cool $89,000 – around $30,000 more than a brand new, less sacrilegious example. The seller claims that the Challenger's blasphemous number makes the vehicle "one of a kind," which is true only to the extent that VINs ending 665 and 667 would be similarly unique. The seller also says in the Craigslist ad, "This car is sure to become a collector's item and will only increase in value." There's no question that the Hellcat is a special machine, and the models just might be worth something decades into the future. Expecting that a future owner is going to care about the VIN seems pretty optimistic, though, unless this is either the first or last example, which it's not. To the credit of this superstitious seller, the Challenger appears completely untouched with all of the warning stickers, paperwork and even the plastic still covering the seats. So, the new owner is at least getting a practically untouched example. While we applaud audacity here, a roughly $30,000 premium for an unholy VIN seems a bit... devilish.

Dodge Challenger returns to Trans Am

NASCAR's Nationwide Series may have switched (in appearance anyway) to muscle cars, but American racing fans know that if they want to see real muscle cars on the street circuits, the only place to look is Trans Am. The all-American racing series is packed with Mustangs, Camaros and even Corvettes. The one thing it's been missing is the Dodge Challenger, but now SRT Motorsports has announced it's bringing its muscle car back where it belongs.
Rather than waiting until next year, the Miller Racing team is switching mid-season to the new Dodge Challenger SRT Trans Am racer you see here, just in time for this weekend's race at Mid-Ohio. And not just that - it's lined up a compelling pair of drivers to pilot it, as well.
The No. 11 car will be driven by Trans Am legend Tommy Kendall, a four-time series champion who's been off the grid since 2004. Backing him up in the No. 1 Challenger will be none other than Cameron Lawrence, the driver who has won five out of six races in the Chevy Camaro so far this season, losing out only once to American racing scion Adam Andretti.