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Only in Japan: Dodge van one-make racing series is a thing

Japan seems willing to embrace a level of automotive insanity that many other places lack. Whether it's 1,200-horsepower Nissan GT-Rs blasting through tight, tree-lined mountain roads or advertisements with dances for the Toyota Prius Plug-in, the country definitely has a unique way of expressing a love for autos. The D-Van Grand Prix might be one of our favorite examples yet of crazy Japanese car culture, because the annual, one-make race at the Ebisu Circuit is exclusively for heavily customized Dodge vans. Like many great things, this wonderfully crazy idea came from a little rule breaking. D-Van Grand Prix organizer Takuro Abe was at a track event for a motorcycle racing school, and vans were used to haul the bikes around. During lunch someone came up with the idea for a race. Ignoring that the big machines weren't actually allowed on the circuit, the drivers headed out. The popularity has just grown since then. These days, the racing vans absolutely aren't the stock machines from the event's inspiration. In addition to stripped interiors and track rubber that you might expect, the list of mods for them is a mile long. For every possible advantage, the racers fit them with things like Brembo brakes, cross-drilled rotors, heavy-duty transmissions, and much more. Seeing vans lumbering around the track is very weird at first, but the racers take the competition very seriously. These folks even employ all sorts of little tricks to coax the most from the machines. This is a fascinating motorsports story, but be sure to turn on the subtitles to understand the interviews with the competitors.

Old vs. New: 2014 SRT Viper takes on upgraded 16-year-old Dodge Viper

It's easy to play the "Would you rather have a New X or an Old Y with a bunch of upgrades?" game more often than we care to admit, but the crew at Car and Driver have taken bench racing to the next level with their latest video. In it, the magazine pits a brand-new 2014 SRT Viper against a highly modified 1997 Dodge Viper GTS. There are 16 years between the time this particular GTS rolled off the production line and when the new car bowed, but that doesn't mean the old snake's owners have been sitting on their hands.
Thanks to a spate of modifications, the GTS offers up a better power to weight ratio than the new machine, but is that enough to overcome the technological leap forward represented by the 2014 Viper? We won't spoil it for you. You'll just have to check out the full clip below for yourself.

Chrysler Recalling 870,000 SUVs For Brake Defect

Chrysler is recalling nearly 870,000 SUVs because corrosion may make the vehicles' brakes harder to use. Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango SUVs from the 2011 through 2014 model years are involved. Chrysler says crimp joints in the brake boosters can corrode if they're exposed to water. If the water freezes, the boosters won't aid braking as they usually do. Chrysler began investigating after some customers said their brakes felt too firm when pressed down. The company knows of one accident, but no injuries, due to the defect. Dealers will install a shield to protect the boosters for free and replace boosters that aren't working properly. Chrysler has since changed the design to make the boosters more corrosion resistant. Chrysler will notify owners of the recall, which involves 867,795 vehicles. Related Gallery Safest Crossovers For The Budget-Conscious Family View 10 Photos Recalls Chrysler Dodge