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Peugeot's American future looks dead, but Stellantis intends to keep all brands alive

The years-old promise of a Peugeot return in the U.S. is looking bleaker by the second. Peugeot said the French brand would come back to sell cars in the U.S. five years ago, but now that FCA and PSA have transitioned to one Stellantis, that promise is looking a lot shakier. This news comes via a report from Car and Driver. When queried about Peugeot, Carlos Tavares, Stellantic CEO, offered this in response: “For the time being, I don't think that is part of the things that we want to prioritize for the next time window," Tavares said. "I think it's better that we funnel the talent, the capital, and the engineering capability of our Stellantis company to the existing brands to improve what needs to be improved and to accelerate where we need to accelerate, because we already have a very strong presence in this market." Tavares hasnÂ’t ruled it out entirely, but any kind of a Peugeot American renaissance is being pushed onto the backburner.  In good news for American brands, though, Tavares expressed great interest in keeping them all. Chrysler was the most worrisome of the bunch, as it only sells the aging 300 sedan and Pacifica minivan variants. Nevertheless, Tavares sees Chrysler as one of the “three historical pillars of Stellantis” and is eager “to give this brand a future.” Specifically, Tavares sees a high-tech future for the once-great American car company. Motor Trend reported on what Tavares spoke about in a call with the media. "It needs to rebound,” Tavares said. “We could think about what could be the next technologies in the automotive industry.” The obvious hint here is electrification and greater autonomy. Chrysler could theoretically become StellantisÂ’ electric showcase brand. ItÂ’s partway there with the Pacifica Hybrid PHEV minivan, but thereÂ’s still a long way to go for it to become the conglomerate's tech pillar. And then thereÂ’s Dodge and its powerful but emissions-heavy lineup. "We have the technology to deliver the torque, dynamics, and acceleration feeling, while also dramatically reducing the emissions," Tavares said. The Hellcat canÂ’t have a window-shattering 6.2-liter supercharged V8 forever, but it looks like Stellantis is at least committed to keeping the performance of DodgeÂ’s current lineup. Related video:

Will Dodge limit 2015 Challenger SRT Hellcat to 1,200 units?

With over 700 horsepower on tap and a price tag barely over $60k, Dodge appears on paper to have a winner on its hands with the new Challenger SRT Hellcat. But if you want to get your hands on one, you may have to act quicker than this most powerful of muscle cars covers the quarter-mile.
That's because, according to our compatriots over at Edmunds, Dodge may limit production - in the first year, at least - to just 1,200 units. That would amount to barely a quarter of the Challengers that Dodge moves each month, and would also mean only one Hellcat for every two Dodge dealers in the US - which could lead to some serious contention over which stores and which customers can get their hands on the ultimate Challenger.
Reached for comment, SRT spokesman Dan Reid told Autoblog that "there is no plan to limit production of the Challenger Hellcat," echoing the words of Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis who told Edmunds: "We don't know what the market demand is." Which doesn't mean that it won't restrict production, but doesn't mean that it will, either. It just hasn't decided yet - or announced any such decision, at any rate - over what will be the final allocation strategy for what could be a game-changing muscle car. That is, at least, until new versions of the Mustang and Camaro come along in pursuit of Dodge's bragging rights...

Dodge Charger Hellcat hitting 60 in 2.9 seconds on drag radials?

The Dodge boys and their cousins from SRT have shoehorned the same 707-horsepower, 6.2-liter supercharged V8 into both the Dodge Challenger and Charger. The former being a two-door, it's lighter than the latter four-door sedan. So it would stand to reason that the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat would be the quicker of the two, right?
Only that's not necessarily proving to be the case. On stock rubber, yes, the coupe beats the sedan: Dodge quotes a 0-60 time of 3.7 seconds for the Charger SRT Hellcat and 3.5 for the Challenger. Same gap across the quarter-mile: 11 seconds flat for the Charger versus 10.8 seconds for the Challenger. But according to recent reports, the story changes when you put both on drag radials.
While visiting Chrysler HQ in Auburn Hills, MI, TorqueNews.com caught wind of performance figures for the Charger Hellcat on drag tires: 0-60 in a mind-blowing 2.9 seconds and a quarter-mile in just 10.7. The latter figure just barely pips the Hellcat-powered Challenger's NHRA-certified figure of 10.8, making the Charger not only the fastest sedan on the market, but also the fastest muscle car. What isn't immediately clear, however, is whether the drag radials in question have any tread on them and are street-legal, or if they're pure slicks confined to a closed strip.