2004 Dodge Neon Se on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Here are the cars Fast 8 characters will drive in Iceland

The eighth installment of the Fast & Furious franchise will feature some characteristic wheel-to-wheel adventuring, this time on Icelandic ice. As revealed by the F&F production team, here are some of the vehicles that will be seen in the film. What else could Dominic Toretto drive than a Dodge? The previous film showed a Charger fitted for off-road driving, and this time the classic shape has been formed into an ice racer. The muscle car is still recognizable, but the altered wheelbase and fender flares make this something quite different. And as the bullet holes testify, the matte black machine is definitely going to see some action. Letty drives a Local Motors Rally Fighter, which might be the best fit for the ice scenes. The off-road coupe has been modified with a brush bar and some serious roof-mounted lights. Roman will be seen behind the wheel of an orange Lamborghini Murcielago, easily standing out in the frozen wastes. To top it off, there are some tank-like machines: There's a tracked Ripsaw for Tej Parker and an "Ice Ram" for Hobbs, who is played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Both of these look like mean machines, and on the screen they'll probably prove to be the admission ticket's worth. Related Video: Featured Gallery Fast 8 Ice Cars Image Credit: Fast & Furious Facebook page Celebrities TV/Movies Dodge Lamborghini Off-Road Vehicles Special and Limited Editions Supercars local motors fast 8 ripsaw

Jay Leno drives a 1970 Dodge Charger with 1,650 horsepower

When Jay Leno says a vehicle might have too much horsepower, he's got our attention piqued. That's exactly what he thinks about the 1970 Dodge Charger Tantrum from Wisconsin-based SpeedKore Performance. While it still looks like a classic muscle car, the front end now features a carbon fiber hood and fenders. Underneath the lightweight parts, there's a twin-turbo, 9.0-liter Mercury Marine offshore boat racing engine with an astonishing 1,650 horsepower, or an only slightly less asinine 1,350 hp on pump gas. Jay is very mechanically intrigued by the Charger at the beginning of this video, and puts it on the lift to take a look at the underside. The engine plumbing is a thing of beauty, and the mill packs a massive radiator and intercooler to keep things running cool. Leno's drive in the Tantrum is especially interesting. The beastly engine is difficult to control, and anything above half throttle in most gears can spin the rear tires. The significant turbo lag also makes the power unpredictable. When Jay finally finds a straight piece of road, he puts the hammer down and rockets into the distance. And, of course, you know Jay's not going to end the video without some suitably smoking tires. Related Video:

Chrysler, Nissan minivans earn 'dire' crash test results, says IIHS [w/video]

First introduced in 2012, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's small-overlap frontal crash test has become the bane of many auto engineers' existence. It's a particularly steep design challenge because it forces just 25 percent of a vehicle's front end to take the brunt of a 40-mile-per-hour impact. The newly released results of four family-minded minivans underscore just how difficult the crash test is: only one scored an Acceptable rating, and the other three did very poorly. The 2008-2015 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan, plus the 2011-2015 Nissan Quest, all received Poor ratings in the test, the IIHS' lowest possible score. The three of them showed significant crash intrusion into the driver's area. The dummy in the Nissan actually had to be cut out of the vehicle, with an IIHS spokesperson remarking, "the structure collapsed like a house of cards." In the Fiat Chrysler Automobile vans, the steering wheels moved out of the way, making the airbag less effective and letting the driver's head hit the dashboard. While it was not actually crashed, the agency is also giving the 2009-12 Volkswagen Routan a Poor score because it shares a structure with the FCA models. The newly released results of four minivans underscore just how difficult the small-offset crash test is. The refreshed 2015 Toyota Sienna (shown), conversely, earned an Acceptable rating and is also a Top Safety Pick+ because of its optional forward collision warning and automatic braking system. While the crash test dummy moved around during the impact more than the agency would have liked, sensors showed a low risk of injuries. The IIHS tested the Honda Odyssey last year, and it earned a Good overall score, the agency's best ranking. It's also a Top Safety Pick+ vehicle. The only member of the minivan segment left to test is the latest Kia Sedona, and the Institute is reportedly waiting a little longer for Kia to make changes to improve the model's performance. When reached for comment, Nissan spokesperson Steve Yaeger provided Autoblog with the following statement: "Nissan is committed to vehicle safety and believes that consumers should have information about crash protection so they can make educated buying decisions. Nissan is proud of the 2014 Quest's "good" rating in the IIHS front moderate overlap and side impact tests as well as a "good" head restraint rating.