1970 Dodge Dart Swinger Hardtop 2-door 5.6l on 2040-cars

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Dodge, Hyundai crowdsourced-funding sites deemed successes

What's not to love about crowdsourcing? This idea, after all, has given us Kickstarter as well Local Motors, but automakers are starting to use the social platform to sell more cars (or just drum up a little PR). Both Dodge and Hyundai have used "crowd-funding" recently, and while Automotive News is reporting that neither has racked up big sales with this gimmick, both automakers are pleased with the attention.
For Hyundai, it teamed up with website Motozuma.com to help customers crowdsource money for a down payment, and the automaker matched this amount up to $500. Last year, this helped Hyundai sell an extra 1,600 units, a fraction of its total 2012 sales. That figure is far larger than Dodge fared with the Dodge Dart Registry - it netted only two sales and a small number of individual options. This registry did help University of Southern California fraternity crowdsource $18,000 to buy a Dart for a local Meals on Wheels, however. Despite the low sales figures, Dodge and Hyundai are considering their crowdsourcing programs a success since it helped them connect with younger buyers.

Explore Dom's 1970 'off-road' Dodge Charger from Furious 7

The Aficionauto, Christopher Rutkowski, already drove Dom's 1970 Dodge Charger from Fast & Furious and Fast Five. Now he's returning to the franchise for an interview with Dennis McCarthy, the vehicle coordinator on the last five Fast and Furious films, plus a close look at the custom off-road Charger that's one of the automotive stars in Furious 7. Given his resume, when McCarthy admits this is his new all-time favorite vehicle from the franchise, it really means something. Don't worry. McCarthy is careful not to spoil any of the film's action while he shows off the Charger and Shaw's fast attack vehicle that takes on the Dodge. McCarthy does reveal the one car that he still dreams to build for the series, and it's something that every fan should see. This looks like a fantastic blockbuster movie season for anyone that loves to watch cars crash and explode on the big screen. Furious 7 is in theaters right now, and based on the trailer, it promises the biggest stunts ever from the long-running franchise. And in just a few weeks, Mad Max: Fury Road hits cinemas to add a dystopian tinge to the automotive action. Related Video: Related Gallery Dodge Charger Off-Roader for Furious 7 News Source: The Aficionauto via YouTubeImage Credit: The Aficionauto Celebrities Design/Style TV/Movies Dodge Off-Road Vehicles Performance Videos Fast & Furious furious 7 the aficionauto aficionauto

Stellantis ready to kill brands and fix U.S. problems, CEO Tavares says

  MILAN — Stellantis is taking steps to fix weak margins and high inventory at its U.S. operations and will not hesitate to axe underperforming brands in its sprawling portfolio, its chief executive Carlos Tavares said on Thursday. The warning for lossmaking brands is a turnaround for Tavares, who has maintained since Stellantis was created in 2021 from the merger of Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA that all of its 14 brands including Maserati, Fiat, Peugeot and Jeep have a future. "If they don't make money, we'll shut them down," Carlos Tavares told reporters after the world's No. 4 automaker delivered worse-than-expected first-half results, sending its shares down as much as 10%. "We cannot afford to have brands that do not make money." The automaker now also considers China's Leapmotor as its 15th brand, after it agreed to a broad cooperation with the group. Stellantis does not release figures for individual brands, except for Maserati which reported an 82 million euro adjusted operating loss in the first half. Some analysts say Maserati could possibly be a target for a sale by Stellantis, while other brands such as Lancia or DS might be at risk of being scrapped given their marginal contribution to the group's overall sales. Stellantis' Milan-listed shares were down as much as 12.5% on Thursday, hitting their lowest since August 2023. That brings the loss for the year so far to 22%, making them the worst performer among the major European automakers. Few automotive brands have been killed off since General Motors ditched the unprofitable Saturn and Pontiac during a U.S. government-led bankruptcy in the global financial crisis in 2008. Tavares is under pressure to revive flagging margins and sales and cut inventory in the United States as Stellantis bets on the launch of 20 new models this year which it hopes will boost profitability. Recent poor results from global carmakers have heightened worries about a weakening outlook for sales across major markets such as the U.S., whilst they also juggle an expensive transition to electric vehicles and growing competition from cheaper Chinese rivals. Japan's Nissan Motor saw first-quarter profit almost completely wiped out on Thursday and slashed its annual outlook, as deep discounting in the United States shredded its margins. Tavares said he would be working through the summer with his U.S. team on how to improve performance and cut inventory.