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This SEMA special drag race is absurdly awesome

The SEMA Show came and went last month, and it showed us a ton of heavily modded goodies to dream about during the long, cold winter. The Motor Trend Channel on YouTube is keeping the party rolling a little longer, though, with a drag race inspired by the aftermarket event. All of the hosts were supposed to borrow a vehicle from the show for the big race, but only two of them actually cajoled companies into lending their wares. Still, the result includes four very cool and extremely different examples of the breadth of the automotive hobby. First up, there's a 1955 Chevrolet with a 535-cubic-inch (8.8-liter) Hemi V8 stuffed under the hood. Appropriately, it's dubbed the Blasphemi, and with skinny tires up front, fat rubber in the rear and a stripped interior, this this is made to go very fast in a straight line. Next, there's a stock Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat boasting 707 horsepower. Plus, host Jessi Lang has her dog riding shotgun for the race. A Chevy Sonic RS with some body mods, downpipe and intake is also competing. Finally, the most bizarre of the quartet is a custom 1958 Jeep Forward Control with a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 and treads to replace the wheels. Obviously, the Blasphemi and Hellcat are the only two that really have a chance of winning, but check out the video to see which one crosses the finish line first. News Source: Motor Trend Channel via YouTube Aftermarket Chevrolet Dodge Jeep Truck Coupe Hatchback Off-Road Vehicles Racing Vehicles Performance drag race dodge challenger srt hellcat

Jeep Cherokee won't get diesel until sales of oil-burning Grand Cherokee improve

Okay Jeep fans, you want more diesel options? Time to step up and prove it. The only way Jeep will offer a diesel powerplant in the Cherokee, according to brand head Mike Manley, is if sales of the Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel nearly double.
Currently, about eight percent of the Grand Cherokees sold feature the 3.0-liter, EcoDiesel V6. That's simply not enough to warrant the bringing an oil-burning Cherokee to the US market, despite the vehicle's presence in Europe, where it's sold with a 2.8-liter diesel V6.
"Cherokee is slightly different because of its weight and size. When I think about bringing Cherokee diesel here, I would like to see Grand Cherokee diesel get much higher than eight percent," Manley told Automotive News. "It would have to be in mid-double digits."

Jeep Wrangler-based Scrambler pickup will have open tops, longer frame

We'll probably have to wait until 2019 to see the Wrangler pickup fully revealed and on dealer lots, but it seems that the truck is already showing up in FCA's computer systems. Someone at Jeep Scrambler Forum did a little digging and found the truck's chassis code, "JT," listed with a number of parts. Among those parts were different tops, seemingly confirming that the Wrangler pickup will have a soft folding top and removable hardtops available, just like a normal Wrangler. These include the plain black soft top, a black hard top, or a body-color hard top. The hard tops are also listed as three-piece units like on a conventional Wrangler, so parts can be removed, or the entire top. The forum quotes sources as saying the pickup will be called the Jeep Scrambler. The company renewed the trademark on that model name in 2015. The forum discovered a few other mechanical details, too. The truck's code is listed under the diesel engine option, confirming that powertrain for the pickup, though no other engine or transmission info was found. The forum also found CAD models of the frame and axles. Jeep Scrambler Forum estimates the frame is about 33 inches longer than the upcoming Wrangler Unlimited four-door SUV. This isn't entirely surprising, as photos show that the Wrangler pickup prototypes are substantially longer than the four-door Unlimited models. And even AEV had to lengthen the Wrangler's frame to turn it into the Brute pickup. Finally, the forum noted that the axles are different from the current generation of Wrangler, and could possibly be stronger than normal for improved towing and payload. Related Video: Related Gallery 2019 Jeep Wrangler Pickup Spy Shots View 14 Photos News Source: Jeep Scrambler ForumImage Credit: Jeep Scrambler Forum Rumormill Jeep Truck Off-Road Vehicles jeep wrangler pickup