1998 Dodge Durango Slt Sport Utility 4-door 5.2l on 2040-cars

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Dodge performance trio thrashed on Roadkill

Of all the shows that Motor Trend does, Roadkill is probably the last one we'd pick to evaluate the latest performance automobiles. That's not a slight against David Freiburger or Mike Finnegan, who host the show: they're certified gear-heads and the go-to guys when it comes to hot rods, rat rods and anything grungier than it is shiny. But as exemplary as they are of Detroit muscle, the Charger Hellcat, Challenger Hellcat and Viper are also shiny new pieces of metal. Still, since it will now be sponsoring the show, someone at Dodge apparently thought it would be a good idea to hand Freiburger and Finnegan the keys to the company's top performance models. So to ring the best out of them, they solicited help from some of their colleagues at MT, gained access to a closed-down air strip, devised as many ways as they could to destroy the tires, and proceeded to set about doing exactly that. Watch the grin-inducing mayhem unfold in the half-hour clip above. Related Video:

Germans, Brits and Ferrari's new V12 SUV | Autoblog Podcast #748

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd. With the Detroit Auto Show now in the rearview, focus shifts to news that crept up outside of the North American spotlight. The two talk about the new Ferrari Purosangue SUV, then pivot to a discussion about the future of the Dodge Charger and Challenger based on rumors of a new assembly facility. Next, they discuss what they've been driving recently. Byron leads off with anecdotes from his trip to Spain to drive the 2023 Range Rover Sport and his weekend with the VW GTI SE. Next, Greg talks about the ups and downs of the BMW X3 M Competition and Mercedes-Benz GLE450 Coupe. After that, they spend your money; this week's is a whopper.   Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #748 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Ferrari Purosangue SUV revealed: V12 power, big price tag, surprisingly pretty Dodge Charger/Challenger production moving to Windsor? Cars we're driving 2023 Land Rover Range Rover Sport 2022 Volkswagen GTI SE 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 2022 BMW X3 M Competition Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Ferrari Purosangue revealed

Dodge Charger Pursuit takes Tesla interior approach

A police car's computer is just as integral to its duties as a set of lights and sirens. The popular approach for these systems is to grab something like a Panasonic Toughbook laptop, add a big, bulky tray to hold it, and use this inelegant setup for running plates and doing all the other things a cop needs to do while on the road. The downside, besides simple aesthetics, is that this arrangement robs the officer's shotgun-riding partner from legroom. Dodge, though, has come up with a far more elegant and functional solution. Taking a page out of Tesla and Volvo's book, Dodge has replaced the five-inch UConnect display and laptop mount in the Charger Pursuit police car with an enormous 12.1-inch, portrait-format touchscreen display. Called, UConnect 12.1, the new system doesn't do away with the old fashioned computer outright. Instead it moves the bulky unit to the trunk, where it can connect to the display via an ethernet cable. This is good for multiple reasons. First, there are no pricey installation or upfitting charges, like there are for most laptop carriages. Secondly, the plug-and-play nature of the new UConnect system won't require the department to buy new laptops. And third, there's no need to retrain officers, since the only thing that's really changing is the input. While the Charger Pursuit will continue to offer redundant audio and HVAC controls, the 12.1-inch display can, at the press of a "button" split to display Fiat Chrysler's familiar 8.4-inch display. Make one more tap on the screen, and the police-issue laptop can be managed through the full touchscreen. The touchscreen will also display a menu bar at the top of the page, which can easily be edited by officers. All it takes is a simple drag and drop from the application menu to the top of the display. According to Dodge, the touchscreen will even play nice when its operator is wearing gloves. "As America's high-performance police vehicle, Dodge Charger Pursuit is going big for 2016, offering a massive, Uconnect touchscreen system that streamlines a law enforcement officer's computer system with our easy-to-use Uconnect system – on an all-new laptop-sized 12.1-inch touchscreen display," said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge and SRT's president and CEO.