1955 Dodge Power Wagon M37 Series Military on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Defiance Dodge Charger, saving Earth from aliens isn't clean work [w/video]

You'll be forgiven for not having heard about the TV show Defiance - it actually hasn't aired its first episode yet. The new science fiction show about an alien war against Earth in the near future seems like a perfect fit for the SyFy channel, and, apparently one that Dodge saw as a slick marketing opportunity for its Charger sedan.
Here in Chicago, Dodge has given a large corner of its show stand to the Defiance Charger, a car that won't be skipped by any Mad Max fans in attendance at this year's show. The Charger boasts one hell of a gnarly patina under a confusingly welded cage of tube steel, as well as window bars, a grille guard in front, and big, knobby truck tires. There aren't any obvious guns or turrets on the outside of the vehicle, so we can only hope that the characters driving it go well-armed.
Look for the Charger to make its star turn in Defiance when the series premieres on SyFy on April 15 at 9:00 PM EST. Also, there's said to be a Defiance video game in the works, too, so you may get a chance to steer the burly Dodge for yourself. Find a trailer for the show, below, as well.

Playing in the snow | 2017 Dodge Challenger GT First Drive

The previous day was miserable. An icy rain fell over Portland, Maine, coating the pavement and making even walking a chore. Driving a muscle car like the Dodge Challenger seems ill-advised. But this is exactly the weather Dodge hoped for, because we're here to test the new all-wheel-drive 2017 Challenger GT. The morning of our test drive dawns sunny and cold. The remnants of a late January nor'easter now past, we nonetheless steel ourselves for a day of unruly roads. Stepping into an inch of slush, we open the huge door, climb inside, and nestle into the heavily bolstered driver's seat. Immediately comfortable, we know the Challenger well. It's an old friend. Late in life, it's finally finding stability. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Heading onto the Maine turnpike, we're struck by the Challenger's poise. All-wheel drive civilizes the coupe's brutish nature. We confidently navigate the first on-ramp – still wet from the storm – and merge onto the highway. A rear-wheel-drive car would come unsettled here, yet this Challenger's 19-inch wheels wrapped in all-season Michelin rubber are not disturbed. At the very least, the specter of tire spin would have made us overcautious. All-wheel drive doesn't morph the Challenger into a Subaru Outback, but it does make the Mopar a realistic year-round option for buyers north of the Mason-Dixon line. Dodge arrived at this conclusion after some introspection. The Challenger and its sibling the Charger sedan are usually cross-shopped with each other, and design is often the deciding factor. With Charger AWD sales remaining strong (in 17 Northern states at least 50 percent of Chargers are sold with the system), not offering an all-wheel Challenger leaves money on the table. Ben Lyon, Challenger brand manager, says the common refrain was, "I would have bought a Challenger, or I would have bought a two-door muscle coupe, if it was available with all-wheel drive." View 50 Photos Naturally, the Dodges share an AWD system, which has an active transfer case and the ability to disengage the front axle, making the Challenger a rear-wheel-drive car in certain conditions to help save fuel. Ambient temperature, wheel slip, Sport mode, passing situations, and the driver's behavior can trigger the all-wheel capability.

Watch a Dodge Viper driver show off his V10 all the way into a wall

Has there ever been a show-off video that doesn't end terribly? This video clip captured with a cellphone shows the driver of a neon green Viper GTS giving a fellow motorist a couple throttle blips to signify his intent – which seems to be to crash the Viper into a concrete wall as quickly as possible. It's not pretty. The mean machine seems to be a second-generation Viper GTS in Stryker Green. To our knowledge, no photos have surfaced of the aftermath, so we wish both the driver and their most-likely bruised ego a speedy recovery. Who knows, maybe the Viper is also salvageable.