1963 Dodge Dart Gt 3.7l on 2040-cars

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Dodge celebrates centennial with Charger and Challenger 100th Anniversary Editions

In 1914, the Dodge brothers went from being a parts supplier to a full-scale automaker, and to celebrate the centennial of this milestone, Dodge will offer special editions of the 2014 Charger and Challenger early next year. Both cars will be sold in limited numbers (although no specific number was given), and these cars will stand out thanks to unique touches like 20-inch wheels, 100th anniversary edition logos and the exclusive High Octane Red Pearl Coat paint job (shown above).
The 100th Anniversary Edition package, which runs $2,200 on the 2014 Charger and $2,500 on the 2014 Challenger, comes with red or black leather seats with a cloud print (for a denim-like look) and metal badges on the seatbacks that read "Dodge Est. 1914," while similar logos are also found on the wheel center caps and front fenders. The instrument gauges are unique to each car, with the Charger getting black gauges and the Challenger getting white gauges, and to enunciate the 100-year anniversary, both cars have red numerals on the speedometer for the 100-mile-per-hour mark.
Finishing off the 100th Anniversary Edition cars, which will be offered on V6 and R/T models, Dodge adds a flat-bottom steering wheel and embroidered floor mats as a part of the package. Scroll down for the full press release for these commemorative models.

Dodge Challenger spied exercising supercharged Hellcat Hemi V8

One of the prime complaints against the Dodge Challenger is that, even in SRT8 guise, its 470 horsepower is responsible for hauling over 4,200 pounds of vehicle. For comparison, the 420 hp in the Ford Mustang GT only has to deal with 3,618 lbs. Things only get worse from there, as the higher-performance variants of both the Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro are far more powerful than an SRT8 without adding on much heft.
So what is Chrysler to do? The correct answer is add a whole lot more grunt to its hefty two-door and even the odds. That's where the all-new Hellcat engine comes into play. We reported on this engine in May, and suggested that the Hellcat, a supercharged powerplant based on a 6.4-liter V8, would easily generate 500 to 570 hp and could likely arrive boasting more than 600 ponies.
Chrysler's ace in its sleeve has now been spied testing, with a number of Hellcat-equipped Challengers running the potent new engine both in more urbanized areas and under the sun of Death Valley. The hoods on these testers have been raised to accommodate the engine, and that camouflage over the fascias of these prototypes is there to hide a larger air intake. We also note what appears to be a new split grille under wraps. As for power output, our spies are now suggesting a Viper-equalling 640 hp from the Hellcat-equipped cars.

Chrysler patents smarter minivan folding seats

It's frightening to think of how quickly the mice would have overtaken us if we hadn't stayed one step ahead of them with better mousetraps. We'll never have to worry about that in our relentlessly re-engineered world, though. Case in point: Chrysler has been granted a patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office for an improved design of the already wondrous Stow 'n' Go seating found in the automaker's Town and Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans.
Introduced in 2005, the Stow 'n' Go was improved in 2008, and based on the drawings of this third-generation improvement, the new design appears to allow stowage of the second row of seats without having to move the front-row seats forward as much. It look like it also involves fewer operations and moving parts, with a portion of the seatback being incorporated into the flat floor when the seats are stowed, as opposed to having a completely separate cover.
It's possible that the innovation may appear on the next-generation minivans expected in 2015, but Chrysler isn't commenting on the patent.