2008 Dodge Ram 3500 Diesel 4x4 Dually 6-speed Regular Cab 1 Texas Owner on 2040-cars

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Mopar teases four of 'nearly 20' SEMA Show concepts

Yesterday it was Chevrolet. Today, Mopar has dropped some SEMA knowledge, releasing a quartet of teaser images that give us some indication of what kind of cars, trucks, and crossovers Fiat, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram will be showing in Las Vegas. Like Chevy, Mopar's concepts utilize both production and concept accessories, although Fiat Chrysler has gone a bit more indepth on at least one of its concepts. Immediately, the most tantalizing teaser is the one shown above. Yes, that's the back of a Challenger, and aside from the bright orange accents on the gray body, you should take notice of the badge mounted on the spoiler – yes, that says "GT AWD." To be honest, such a vehicle wouldn't be a huge shock, as both the Challenger's LX platform-mates, the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300, are offered with all-wheel-drive options. Still, adding such a vehicle to the production cycle would give Dodge a leg up on the rear-drive only Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro. Aside from that concept, FCA has also released teasers of a Ram-based concept, a 300-based concept, and what we're guessing is a Fiat 500X. We can't wait to see what the actual Fiat concept has to do with kiteboarding. As for the 300 and Ram, there's not a lot of hints on what sort of styling details they'll contain. The Chrysler has additional LED accents and what we're guessing is matte blue paint, while the Ram is based on a Hemi-powered 1500 with Rebel styling cues. This is just a very tiny sample of Mopar's final SEMA roster, which include "hundreds" of parts. There should also be a total of 20 vehicles covering all four former Chrysler Group brands, as well as Fiat. Naturally, we'll have plenty to report on each vehicle once the SEMA show kicks off in the next couple weeks.

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.

McLaren, Koenigsegg, Toyota, Ford, Dodge and Corvette Lego kits announced for 2021

Lego has announced a slew of car-themed sets for 2021. The six kits comprise nine vehicles and fall under the brick pusher's Speed Champion line of official OEM-licensed kits. News of their arrival comes from German toy retailer JB Spielwaren's pre-order listings, which show three single-car sets and three dual-car sets of matched marques. Starting with the McLaren Elva roadster, the kit consists of 263 pieces and is finished in blue. It seems to have a difficult time capturing the curves of the real-life Elva, but there's only so much you can do with a bunch of plastic blocks. Lego has made several other McLaren kits before, including the Senna, 720S, and a more advanced Senna GTR for the Technics line. Next up is the Koenigsegg Jesko, made up of 280 pieces and finished in white. Though the real-life Jesko is still curvy, this kit does a better job of replicating its aggressive maw, vents and cantilevered rear wing. Rounding out the single-car sets is the 299-piece Toyota GR Supra in yellow. This marks the first time Toyota has lent their license to Lego. Again, it struggles a bit to represent the curvy Supra, relying on printed details like logos and headlights to identify. On the other hand, the Chevrolet two-car does a stupendous job with the 1968 Corvette. The C3 is instantly recognizable as such. The C8-R race car it's paired with suffers from the same issues as some of the previous cars, though. The set contains 512 pieces, and funnily enough the C8 driver has short hair while the C3 driver sports a period-correct wavy mane. The next set is a 627-piece Mopar-themed pair, including a purple (Plum Crazy?) 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A and an SRT top fuel dragster. The race car is spot on, but the Challenger was probably tough to make given the width restrictions. It looks a couple of pegs too narrow compared to the wide proportions of the real deal. Last but not least, the Ford set contains a Bronco R and Ford GT Heritage Edition. Consisting of 660 pieces, the set does an excellent job of representing both cars. The GT looks faithful in its Gulf livery, and the Bronco R looks more like a real Bronco than the actual Bronco R race truck. All in all, it's always fun to see more Lego sets with real cars, and we're glad to see more manufacturers added to the roster. The single-car sets are recommended for ages 7 and up, while the double-car sets have an 8 years and up rating. Price in U.S.