03 Dodge Durango 4x4 58k Original Miles! Retired Police Vehicle No Reserve V8! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Speedkore AWD twin-turbo Carbon Charger, best birthday gift ever

The backstory the Speedkore Performance AWD twin-turbo Carbon Charger teased a couple of weeks ago might be cooler than the car itself. Alan Palermo commissioned the carbon-fiber-bodied Dodge Demon Speedkore brought to SEMA last year, the one that supplanted the 6.2-liter Hellcat V8's supercharger with twin 6875 Precision Billet T4 turbos. That blasted the Demon's usual 840 horsepower up to 1,400 hp at the flywheel, 1,203 hp at the rear tires, good for an 8.77-second quarter-mile time at 162 miles per hour. Palermo's older brother remarked, "He liked the car but was more of a four-door guy," so Alan commissioned the AWD Carbon Charger as a 65th birthday gift for his sibling. Speedkore worked with Magnaflow on the sedan, starting with a 2019 Charger Pursuit as a base. The Wisconsin tuner secured a 2020 widebody Charger from Dodge, then 3D-scanned the bodywork to create the molds reproducing most of the sheetmetal in pre-preg carbon fiber. The hood, bumpers, fenders, rockers, rear spoiler, and rear diffuser are all fashioned from the lightweight stuff.  Beyond those Precision turbos laid in by Gearhead Fabrications, Speedkore installed a custom upper plenum, Boost Leash C02 progressive boost controller, custom Thitek heads, a Fore Innovations triple-pump fuel system feeding Injector Dynamics 1,700-cc injectors, and custom HP Tuners engine software calibration. Test results showed 1,525 hp at the crank when running 26 pounds of boost.  Hellraiser Performance engineered a new transmission working an FTI torque converter at one end and a carbon fiber driveshaft at the other. Instead of fortifying an off-the-shelf AWD system, Traction Products supplied a custom transfer case machined from billet shunting power to a set of Bogart Competition Series wheels wearing Mickey Thompson ET street rubber.  Speedkore fitted last year's Demon with a front-exit twin exhaust, with a single opening on each front fender, and left the rear bumper cutouts for the traditional exhaust empty. With the Carbon Charger sedan more of a family guy, Magnaflow sorted out a quad-pipe front-exit exhaust with two openings on each front fender, and ran a three-inch stainless steel Competition Series exhaust to the rear. The driver can switch between the two, the latter version providing a "moderate interior sound."  The folks at Speedkore say they'll keep tweaking the Carbon Charger after the show to get it right for the senior Palermo. We say, "Happy birthday, sir. Enjoy."

Dodge Hellcats change their stripes for 2016

If you've been on the fence about ordering up a new Dodge with Hellcat power, this might just provide the extra incentive you were looking for. Starting this month, Dodge is offering a new stripe option, exclusive to its most powerful muscle cars. The SRT Hellcat stripes are now available to order on the top-of-the-line, 707-horsepower versions of both the Charger and Challenger. The dual full-length stripes run all the way up from the front lip, over the grille, up the hood, accentuating the NACA duct, along the roof, down the trunklid, across the rear spoiler, and down the rear bumper. They feature a carbon-fiber texture, and can be ordered with any of eleven colors for an extra $995. Along with the stripes, Dodge has also announced that it is extending the availability of the exclusive Plum Crazy color – which was originally scheduled to expire at the end of December – for another month. The throwback hue can be ordered on Charger and Challenger models ranging from the SXT through the R/T models all the way up to the SRT 392 and Hellcat. 2016 CHALLENGER AND CHARGER SRT HELLCAT MODELS EARN EXCLUSIVE STRIPES, DODGE EXTENDS PLUM CRAZY PAINT - All-new SRT Hellcat dual exterior stripe design adds even more Dodge attitude to 2016 Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcat models - SRT Hellcat-exclusive dual full-length carbon-fiber pattern stripes provide a customized-from-the-factory look - Dealers will start taking orders for Hellcat stripes in January 2016 - SRT Hellcat dual stripes have a U.S. Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of $995 - Dodge is answering enthusiast demand for Plum Crazy exterior paint with an additional one-month run of the legendary and limited-edition high-impact hue January 8, 2016 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - For more than a year, Dodge Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcat models — the fastest and most powerful muscle cars ever with 707 supercharged HEMI® horsepower each — have stormed roadways and drag strips with acceleration blasts to 60 mph in the low 3-second range, generated more than 61 million sensational YouTube video views around the globe, enabled an entirely new generation of Dodge enthusiasts and now for 2016 have been rewarded with their very own Dodge performance stripes.

FCA updates 700k-vehicle recall to replace ignition switches

FCA US is revising a previously announced recall of 702,578 minivans and SUVs; now specifying that owners replace their ignition switches, rather than just a component. The campaign affects the 2008-2010 Chrysler Town & Country, 2008-2010 Dodge Grand Caravan and 2009-2010 Dodge Journey. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initially opened an investigation last summer following complaints about the ignition switches in these models. FCA US (then Chrysler Group) responded with a recall of 695,957 examples of these vehicles because the key could appear to be in the "Run" position but not be fully engaged. If it slipped out, and there was an accident, then the airbags might not deploy. The company had initially planned to install a new detent ring to fix the problem. According to the timeline in a NHTSA document (available here as a PDF), the government agency and FCA US continued their research into the problem. The automaker found that the time needed to create a new ring design and updated software would be longer than replacing the whole ignition switch. The company worked with the supplier Marquardt to negotiate an accelerated schedule to manufacture the extra replacement parts. According to NHTSA, the investigation has now been closed because of FCA's recall. Company spokesperson Eric Mayne confirms to Autoblog via email, "No additional vehicles are affected and all affected customers have already been made aware their vehicles are subject to recall." FCA US sent out an initial notification advising owners of the problem in September 2014. The company will now send out a second letter in April and will replace the parts in two phases. Repairs for affected models from the 2008 and 2009 model years will begin in April, and 2010 examples will start being fixed in August. RECALL Subject : Ignition Switch may Turn Off , 1 INVESTIGATION(S) Report Receipt Date: JUN 26, 2014 NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V373000 Component(s): AIR BAGS , ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Potential Number of Units Affected: 702,578 All Products Associated with this Recall Vehicle Make Model Model Year(s) CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTRY 2008-2010 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN 2008-2010 DODGE JOURNEY 2009-2010 Details Manufacturer: Chrysler Group LLC SUMMARY: This defect can affect the safe operation of the airbag system. Until this recall is performed, customers should remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key.