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Dodge Challenger Scat Pack adds power and noise, with a warranty

If you want to go fast, there's certainly nothing wrong with the Dodge Challenger SRT8. With 470 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque for 2014, there's certainly not much to complain about. But what if you want something more aftermarket in flavor? There's no shortage of options, but while turning to the tuner world will make your car plenty fast, that extra power won't just shred rear tires, it'll torch your warranty, as well. That's where Dodge's Scat Pack comes in.
With three stages of mods for both the 5.7 and 6.4-liter Hemi V8s Challenger (as well as the 5.7-liter Charger and, soon, the four-pot Dart), the Scat Pack cars give drivers all the power, aggression and noise of a heavily modded aftermarket car while maintaining the piece of mind provided by the Dodge warranty.
Power gets bumped up to 485 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque with the 6.4-liter Scat Pack, while the 5.7-liter can provide up to 58 hp and 47 lb-ft of torque to add to the stock engine's 375 horsepower and 410 pound-feet. It's the latter engine that can really get some work done, with upgrades ranging from the mundane - intake and exhaust - to the racy, like the ported heads and high-flow headers.

The mad genius of killing the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200

Sergio Marchionne isn't crazy. At least not with respect to the recent announcement that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will cease production of the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200. Instead of crazy I'd call this CEO ruthlessly pragmatic, and perhaps short-sighted. The latest revisions to FCA's most recent five-year plan tell some truths about the company's finances. In other words, it can't afford to build mainstream sedans. With only 87,392 units sold in 2015, the Dart is an also-ran in the segment. The axe falls easily there - Chrysler hasn't had a compact-car hit since the second-generation Neon. The 200 isn't so cut and dried: Last year sales increased 52 percent, and the 177,889 total for 2015 is more than those for the Subaru Legacy and Kia Optima. But looking at the overall FCA picture the Chrysler 200 has to go, at least from a short-term perspective. The vehicles that make big money – Ram trucks; Jeep's Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, and Wrangler – can't be made fast enough. FCA can't afford to idle the 200's Sterling Heights, MI, assembly plant to cut back on inventory when other plants are running flat out. It seems crazy to throw away 265,000 sales, but FCA is leaving money on the table by not building more profitable vehicles. The Wirecutter's Senior Autos Editor (and former Autoblogger) John Neff agrees. "As bold as it looks from the outside, he's really making a safe bet that their money is better spent on designing better and building more crossovers and trucks. He's probably right about that." But according to Jessica Caldwell, Executive Director of Strategic Analytics at Edmunds, "FCA's strategy of eliminating the Dart and 200 might be short-sighted if gas prices were to rise and Americans, once again, flocked to small vehicles. FCA must have plans to expand the lineup of small SUVs and position them as small-car alternatives in terms of price and fuel efficiency for this strategy to make sense." FCA's latest announcement focuses mainly on the profitable brands and nameplates. There's hardly a mention of Chrysler, Dodge, or Fiat. And future planning is where the plot holes appear. This realignment cuts dead weight from the product portfolio, but FCA's latest announcement focuses mainly on the profitable brands and nameplates. There's hardly a mention of Chrysler, Dodge, or Fiat. So what's Sergio up to? David Sullivan of AutoPacific thinks Marchionne is still looking for another CEO to hug.

Cruiser's close call caught on camera

A new recruit to the Kansas Highway Patrol experienced his first brush with danger on his first day when a semi truck clipped his cruiser during a traffic stop last week. Public relations officer Tod Hileman said in a Facebook post that the incident occurred when an officer and his brand-new trainee pulled over a black Dodge Charger on I-70 in Trego County, Kansas. Hileman said in the comments that the cruiser was parked two feet away from the white line on the shoulder. Not only did the driver not get over a lane when he saw the stopped cruiser per Kansas law, he seemed to have moved closer to the side of the road. The big rig managed to send the cruiser's side mirror and spotlight flying across the road. The truck could have easily injured one of the officers, perhaps fatally. The truck driver ignored Kansas' Move Over law, which requires "drivers approaching a stationary emergency vehicle displaying flashing lights, including towing and recovery vehicles, traveling in the same direction, to vacate the lane closest if safe and possible to do so, or slow to a speed safe for road, weather, and traffic conditions." With a clear lane to his left the trucker in this case had no excuse. He stopped after the crash and was cited by the officers for failing to change lanes when he saw the stopped vehicles. Being a cop is a risky job. So far this year, 28 officers have lost their lives in the line of duty due to car accidents, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. News Source: Facebook Government/Legal Dodge Videos traffic traffic stop traffic tickets move over law