1968 Dodge Charger on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2003-04 Dodge Viper recalled for sudden airbag deployment

As if driving the old Dodge Viper (not the fancy new SRT model) isn't intimidating enough, imagine trying to wrangle that V10 beast and then suddenly having the airbags deploy. Yikes. That's apparently what could happen to some 3,660 Viper models from the 2003 and 2004 model years, and as such, Chrysler has issued a recall.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, part of the car's airbag control module may fail, causing the bags or seatbelt pre-tensioners to deploy without warning while the vehicle is in operation. That's a dangerous scenario in any car, let alone one offering insane horsepower a near-total paucity of safety nannies should things get squirrely.
Owners will be notified this month about the recall, though a remedy is not expected to be available until later this year. Scroll down for the full NHTSA statement.

2015 Dodge Viper price drops $15k for 2015

We recently saw updated specs and new trims of the 2015 Viper, but it looks like the folks at Dodge were saving the biggest surprise for last. Prices on all levels of the American sports car are seeing an immediate, across-the-board price cut of $15,000; even 2014 models still remaining on dealer lots.
The new MSRP for the 2015 Viper in its base SRT trim now starts at $84,995, and when the TA and GTS come to the lineup later next year, they start at $100,995 and $107,995, respectively. The move seems like a swing for the fences that might help to quell slow sales.
Obviously, current Viper owners might be somewhat peeved that their investment was just re-priced by the company. However, to assuage some of their concerns, Dodge is giving all fifth-gen owners a certificate worth $15,000 towards the purchase of a new one, which comes in addition to the price reduction.

Chrysler investing $20M in Toledo plant to support 9-speed auto production

In 2011, Chrysler announced a $72-million investment in its Toledo Machining Plant to modernize production of the eight- and nine-speed torque-converters for automatic transmissions made there. That upgrade work won't be finished until Q3 of this year, but Chrysler has already announced a further $19.6-million investment to increase production capacity for the nine-speeders.
The extra units will be necessary because the nine-speed transmission they'll be mated to is going into three popular models: it will debut on the 2014 Jeep Cherokee, then go into the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart. The company predicted that this year alone it would sell 200,000 units equipped with the nine-speed tranny, and it is spending some $374 million in addition to the investment in Toledo to upgrade production capacity for it.
The work attached to this new investment won't begin until Q3 of 2014, and it will be finished by the end of that year. There's a press release below with all the details.