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Everything is absurd in Fate of the Furious, including the car hacking

Truly ridiculous and absurd scenes and situations are a staple of the Fast and Furious series, And earlier trailers made it clear that Fate of the Furious wouldn't be any different as soon as the submarine appeared. However, it turns out the craziness has spread to the topic of car hacking. The hacker is Charlize Theron's character, Cipher, and she can apparently control any car in the world, and many of them at once. She uses this to great effect in creating giant rivers of rampaging automobiles through city streets, and waterfalls of cars flying off of parking structures. And if you look closely at these groups of vehicles, it is evident that she can even control older cars that have no automated steering or throttle capabilities whatsoever. We would ask how that works, but we know that's a silly question in the Fast and Furious universe. After all, this is the series that featured Dominic Toretto flying through the air over a freeway to catch Letty Ortiz and land on another car. And they survived. Your logic has no power here! We also noticed that Cipher seems to have a preference to hack vehicles from Fiat Chrysler. In the trailer, multiple Chrysler 300s, a Jeep Cherokee, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and a Dodge Challenger all get some prominent screen time when they're being hacked. We're not so sure this is good product placement for the brand, particularly considering this is the same company that recalled over a million vehicles to fix a software issue that could lead to hacking. Maybe this is the trade-off for having the Dodge Challenger Demon as a hero car. There's more to this trailer than Chryslers and hacking though. It turns out that Cipher has been following Toretto for a few movies now. Also, characters fly with jet packs, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's character shoves a torpedo out of the way, on ice, while hanging out of a truck. Check it all out in the video above. Related Video:

Dodge could return to NASCAR, Marchionne says

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne said he'd "love to" bring Dodge back to NASCAR. The news could signal a potential shift in America's favorite motorsport away from today's three-manufacturer arrangement, but we're wondering just how much sense Dodge's return would make amid NASCAR's dwindling television ratings and attendance figures. It took a visit from Ferrari at NASCAR's biggest icon, Daytona International Speedway, for the Ferrari Challenge World Finals to get Marchionne on the subject of Dodge and stock car racing. When asked about the possibility on Sunday, the FCA boss revealed he'd just spoken to NASCAR executive vice president Jim France the night before about Dodge's return. Dodge announced its NASCAR departure in 2009, as it was in the grips of a major bankruptcy alongside cross-town rival General Motors. While GM's Chevrolet brand stuck it out and won three of the last four manufacturer championships, the final Mopar-powered team flipped to Ford in 2012. Marchionne takes the blame for the decision, citing reasons that are, frankly, very good. "I am the guilty party at the table. In 2009 we came out of bankruptcy; we couldn't [justify] racing in NASCAR when I was trying to pay bills and make payroll," Marchionne said, according to Autoweek. "I think we're in a different place now." NASCAR is in a different place, too. The sport has struggled with disappointing television ratings in the past several years, and it's not uncommon to tune into races at some of the sport's marquee tracks, like Bristol Motor Speedway, and see scores of empty seats. Sponsorship dollars are also drying up. That could explain Marchionne's non-committal follow-up comments. "We need to find the right way to come back in," Marchionne said, adding that he'd revisit the idea with Jim France and International Speedway Corporation CEO and NASCAR board member Lesa France Kennedy "in short order." Related Video:

2013 Dodge Challenger V6 recalled for fire risk, owners asked not to drive

Chrysler has issued a recall for the V6 version of the 2013 Dodge Challenger (as pictured above in 2012MY) over the possibility of a wiring harness that could short circuit and lead to a fire. Owners of these V6 Challengers built from November 2012 through January 2013 are being urged to contact dealers immediately and, in the meantime, not to drive their cars or park in or near any buildings.
Chrysler estimates around 2,500 potentially affected Challengers are in owners' hands, while another 1,900 are still sitting on dealer lots. The total number of recalled vehicles is 4,459.
So far, Chrysler says that seven fires have been reported - none resulting in injuries. The company is instructing vehicle owners to contact their dealer to find out if their vehicle is included in the recall, but owners can also find the build date information of their vehicle by checking the label in the driver's door jamb.