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Chrysler to accelerate production of 2013 Ram and V6 engines

Chrysler is adding a third shift at its Warren Truck plant to meet demand for the new 2013 Ram pickup. And with tight supplies of its Pentastar V6, the company is also boosting output at its Mack Engine plant.
The expansions will add 1,250 jobs and are part of a $238 million investment by Chrysler in the Detroit area. Warren's third shift will begin work sometime in the spring, a Chrysler rep told Automotive News. Mack's increased Pentastar production a could include both 3.6 and 3.2-liter engines.
The company says it also plans to invest $40 million in its Trenton Engine plant to allow for production of a 3.2-liter V6 as well as the Tigershark inline-four for the upcoming Jeep Liberty replacement.

Dodge Hornet supposedly snapped inside Alfa Romeo Tonale factory

It appears that someone in Stellantis' Pomigliano d’Arco Assembly Plant in Italy couldn't keep their cellphone to themselves. Video uploaded to the Alfa Romeo Club Italia Facebook page, then quickly removed, purports to show Dodge's brand-engineered version of the Alfa Romeo Tonale in the same factory where the Alfa will be built. The Dodge is expected to be called the Hornet, and there are a few differences between it and and Alfa Romeo, which is understandable. But if the screenshots on Twitter are accurate, then the Dodge looks a lot closer to the Alfa Romeo than perhaps anyone expected. The front fascia and hood fall in line with Dodge's design language. The Alfa grille is replaced by a narrow, stepped upper grille, and the hood is one of the vented units similar to those available for Dodge's R/T performance trims. And as Mopar Insiders noticed, the silhouette of this car's front end matches a vehicle silhouette Dodge showed during Stellantis' 2021 EV Day.   Inside, the Italian brand's crest in the steering wheel center cap is replaced by Dodge's twin slashes, and the steering wheel has been stripped of the large, curved paddle shifters the Tonale showed on its debut. There's still a start/stop button on the steering wheel, but where the Tonale has a driving mode dial on its dash, this supposed Hornet has another start/stop button. Dodge's push-to-start buttons are usually on the instrument panel, so our guess is that the wheel is a holdover for testing. On the center tunnel, the parking alert buttons and Italian Tricolore flag on the Alfa Romeo are replaced by three different buttons.   We've known Dodge has two electrified vehicles on the way, and the Hornet name has been low-key buzzing for two years. Fiat Chrysler applied to trademark the name in the U.S. in March 2020; at the time, it was thought a vehicle with that name could replace the Journey. In 2021, a July rumor out of Italy was the first whisper of the Hornet name being attached to the Alfa Romeo Tonale. In August, when Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said Dodge would get a PHEV in 2024, watchers pegged that model as the Hornet. That hybrid powertrain would show a year after the vehicle's launch, the Hornet anticipated as a 2023 model with the Tonale's turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder. That engine could get the same 256 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque as the Tonale, or be boosted to satisfy Dodge's performance credentials.

Corvette Z06 and Viper TA square off at the strip

There are many long-standing grudge matches among automobiles: 911 vs GT-R, Mustang vs Camaro, Ferrari vs Lamborghini... but as far as high-end American metal goes, it doesn't get much more legendary than Viper vs 'Vette. So after Chevy released the new Corvette Z06, we knew it was only a matter of time before it would have to square off against the Viper TA. And what better place to pit these two parallel pillars of American performance than on the drag strip? Fortunately that's just what we have here. In one corner, the 2014 Dodge Viper TA, with its 8.4-liter V10 pumping out 640 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque. In the other, the 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, the supercharger on its 6.2-liter V8 more than making up for the discrepancy in displacement and cylinder count to produce 650 hp and just as much torque. But numbers don't tell the whole story, so watch the video clip to see which reaches the end of the quarter-mile first. News Source: To the Floor via YouTubeTip: James Chevrolet Dodge Videos drag race chevy corvette z06 quarter mile drag strip srt viper ta