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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Minivans/MPVs , Sports/GTs , SUVs , Green , Chrysler, LLC. , Dodge , Jeep CNBC's Phil Lebeau got a sneak peek at the new EVs Chrysler is developing, and it looks like Auburn Hills is pulling a Tesla, among other things. The yellow Dodge EV you see here is basically an electrified Lotus Europa. With lithium ion battery power, it's reportedly got an operating range of 150 - 200 miles and can be plugged in to household 110 or 220 outlets. Figure a four-hour charge on the latter, and 8 or so on the former. Zero-to-sixty is said to be under 5 seconds. Like we said, this is basically Chrysler's Tesla, right down to the Lotus-sourced donor vehicle. We'll see the Dodge EV introduced formally later this afternoon, along with range-extended EV versions of the Chrysler Town & Country (can you say, "killer app"?) and Jeep Wrangler. With regard to timing, Chrysler says it would like to have "at least one" of these vehicles on...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Time Warp , Convertibles , Sports/GTs , Chrysler , Dodge Click image above for high-res gallery of pics of this new 'Cuda Convertible Concept var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/autos/Chrysler_Cuda_Convertible_Concept_shows_up_at_Cars_Coffee'; Maybe the 'Cuda is alive after all. While we have speculated about the existence of one ever since we first heard a hint of the SEMA show car from last year, all we've had to work with since are rumors and sketches of what might be. Well, today at the weekly Cars and Coffee show in Irvine, a genuine 'Cuda Concept was parked right in the midst of everything. A convertible nonetheless. It just sat there with only a few people really spotting it for what it was. Considering that real original '70s 'Cudas are plentiful at this show and that several Challenger SRT-8s have already made appearances, it doesn't seem surprising that people might not spot this concept immediately. The surprising part...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Coupes , Sports/GTs , Chrysler , Dodge click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Dodge Challenger SE and R/T Back in April we reported a top Chrysler executive had leaked to The Detroit Free Press that the 2009 Dodge Challenger SE would start at $23,995. Apparently this executive is not very much in the loop, as Dodge officially announced today that the base model Challenger SE would start at just $21,995, which includes $675 for destination charges. Just to refresh your noodle, the Challenger SE is the base model and comes with a 3.5L V6 producing 250 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque. And for comparison's sake, a 2008 Ford Mustang V6 starts at $19,650, though that's excluding destination charges. The next best Challenger is the R/T model, which Dodge says can be had with a 370-hp 5.7L HEMI V8 starting at $29,995. Finally, the 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8 that's already been on sale for a year will get a hefty $2,000 bump in its starting price...
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Filed under: Motorsports , Coupes , Sports/GTs , Chrysler , Dodge Click above to see what the Vanishing Point Challenger looked like before The Chrysler employees who entered the prototype Dodge Challenger in this year's One Lap of America may have taken the car's Vanishing Point theme a bit too seriously. Just like in the classic film, the stark white Challenger came face to face with a solid object. The car met its demise in Round 2's time trial event at Road America after getting loose through turn 1. It then left the track and came to a stop perched atop a tire-wall. This course of events departs slightly from the original movie plot, where the Challenger did not meet its destructive fate until the final frames. The film version also somehow managed to survive its own slew of off road adventures without much harm, proving that Hollywood doesn't necessarily mimic real life. Fortunately the Challenger driver, Erich Heuschele, came away from his off track excursion unscathed...
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Filed under: Motorsports , Time Warp , Coupes , Sports/GTs , Chrysler , Dodge Click above for high-res gallery of the Dodge "Vanishing Point" Challenger It's good to know that there are folks at Chrysler who are still having a good time despite the rubbish state of auto sales in the U.S. The best evidence of this is the automakers's entry this year's One Lap of America "cross-country" race. Chrysler's Vice President Ralph Gilles and Erich Heuschele, Vehicle Dynamics Supervisor for SRT, are entering a blank white Challenger inspired by the 1970 Dodge Challenger that stars in the cult film Vanishing Point from 1971. The plot of the original movie revolves around a guy named Kowalski who has to deliver a white 1970 Challenger from Denver to San Francisco. He's aided by a blind DJ named Super Soul who listens to the police band and delivers helpful if not clairvoyant info to the protagonist over the radio. It's fitting then that Gilles and Heuschele...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Sports/GTs , Chrysler , Dodge Click on image above for his-res gallery of the SRT8 As expected, the entire first-year production run of 6,400 Dodge Challenger SRT8 models has sold out. The purchase slots for 2008 models were in short supply two months ago when we reported that more than 10,000 orders had been placed for the 425-hp muscle car. You can still give your dealer all the coins in your piggy bank, but the money goes on the hood of 2009 model, scheduled to arrive this fall. If the thought of missing out on one of these rare 2008-model HEMI-powered beasts is keeping you up at night and you just can't wait for next year, there's always eBay. Although Chrysler tried to dissuade dealers from gouging, more than two dozen of the $37,995 (base MSRP) cars have been put on the auction site -- mostly by speculating dealers with prices in the mid-$50,000 range. Ah, the joys of a free market... Gallery: 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 Gallery: Chicago 2008: 2008...
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Filed under: Chicago Auto Show , Concept Cars , Podcasts , Spy Photos , Coupes , Sports/GTs , Trucks/Pickups , Audi , Chrysler , Dodge , HUMMER , Suzuki Episode #86 of the Autoblog Podcast is well-caffeineated. We spend a good bit of time talking about the excitement that's filled the Autoblog garage lately. Damon used a handily available Audi R8 as a chase car when we went to drive the Tesla Roadster, and Alex has been sampling the Subaru Tribeca and STI, as well as a rogue Volvo S80. John has been having a blissful month rocking the 1999 Oldsmobile Alero Coupe, too. There's lots of good car talk, and we take a detour into cupholder minutiae before getting to actual news. A few embargoes fell in front of the upcoming Chicago Auto Show . Car and Driver's blatant cover poll opened the door for Challenger images. Subterfuge aside, the Challenger's a knockout, despite its interior that's granted refugee status to the Sebring's trappings. Trucks will make some news at...
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Filed under: Motorsports , Sports/GTs , Chrysler , Dodge Dodge Challenger Super Stock shown from 2006 SEMA Show Just like in the '60s, some people will take their new 2008 Dodge Challengers to the drags. Chrysler is reportedly ready to make this very easy for new Challenger owners. Allpar is reporting that within a few weeks, there will issue forth from Chrysler a Super Stock special version of the Challenger. The intended application is Stock Eliminator drag racing, and the cars get their own VINs and lots of lightening. Powering drivers down the strip will be versions of the Hemi and 5.9 liter Magnum V8s, twisting through manual or automatic boxes. Jettisoning things like wipers, HVAC, sound deadening and seats make for a Challenger that's definitely not road-ready, but much lighter for track applications. 800 pounds have reportedly been trimmed out of the car through the omission of equipment and special composite body parts. Mechanicals have been modified to better suit the...
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Filed under: Chicago Auto Show , Spy Photos , Coupes , Sports/GTs , Chrysler , Dodge Click image for a gallery of Challenger spy photos As we get closer to the official unveiling of the Dodge Challenger, tips continue to arrive in our inbox from reader who've eyeballed the car themselves. One such reader is Darryll, who encountered a still-camouflaged Challenger R/T 6-speed as it took a breather from winter testing. The open hood left the 5.7L HEMI plainly visible , and the interior was not shrouded, allowing Darryll to snap off a couple of photos of the instrument panel from outside the driver's side window. Combine this view with the shots published last week to get a good ballpark estimate of what to expect. As we saw before, the car uses a pistol-grip shifter for the manual gearbox and an uncomplicated three-dial HVAC control setup. As with the Challenger concept car , the instrument cluster is trimmed out in the same metallic finish as the center console area, and the gauges...
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Filed under: Chicago Auto Show , Spy Photos , Coupes , Sports/GTs , Chrysler , Dodge click to enlarge While the exterior of the production 2008 Dodge Challenger is a secret no more, the interior has managed to stay hidden from view. That changed today when a link to this pair of interior spy shots was found on the challengertalk.com forums. While no designs seen in spy shots are final until the production car is officially revealed, this appears to be where Dodge is at with the Challenger's interior at the moment. To be honest, we're really underwhelmed. Not that we expected a bunch of retro queues inside the Challenger, and not that the car's exterior is all that flashy either, but this center console looks like a parts bin special with a side of fries. We dig the shifter handle, though, and we'll reserve judgment on the gauge pod that's trimmed in shiny metal until we get a better view. Who knows, maybe some will appreciate the plain Jane interior and insist it values...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Detroit Auto Show , Economy , Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , SUVs , Green , Chrysler , Dodge , Jeep Click image for a hi-res gallery of Chrysler's concepts We're back from the Chrysler press conference that saw the Detroit Auto Show debuts of the Jeep Renegade , Dodge ZEO , and Chrysler ecoVoyager . As we have mentioned already, each is born out of the automaker's ENVI program, the focus of which is on new, environmentally-friendly electric propulsion. As such, all the concepts share the same 200 kw (268 hp equivalent) electric motor powered by a currently nonexistent lithium-ion battery pack and augmented by a secondary "range-extender" in the Renegade and ecoVoyager. That includes a vaporware fuel-cell in the latter. It's all okay, though, because as Chrysler's Frank Klegon pointed out, these are "pure concepts." He then went on to say that these "pure concepts" would be seen "in future production vehicles...
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Filed under: Chicago Auto Show , Spy Photos , Coupes , Sports/GTs , Chrysler , Dodge var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/autos/Dodge_Challenger_likes_to_go_naked_in_the_rain_PICS'; Autoblog reader Ray O'Connor happened upon an undisguised Dodge Challenger on his way to work in the Detroit area and managed to snap a photo of it from behind the wheel. At first, we wondered whether the HEMI orange car pictured was simply the concept car out and about, because it has been known to traverse public roads before. Neither the ducktail spoiler on the trunklid nor the taillamp design shown on this car are features of the concept, however, so we're guessing one of the preproduction cars was stretching its legs a bit. Or maybe Chrysler's taking a page from GM and, like the Camaro, has decided to just get rid of the camo altogether . In any case, the car will finally be revealed to the world next month in Chicago, and we'll be there, as always, to cover it. Thanks, Ray! Gallery:...
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Filed under: Sports/GTs , Etc. , Chrysler , Dodge It's no secret that Chrysler's going through a rough patch right now as it sets its turnaround plan in motion. Just last week, the automaker announced additional job and manufacturing cutbacks and killed off four underperforming models. Of interest to enthusiasts, however, is the news that SRT, the in-house tuner responsible for niche vehicles like the Dodge Charger SRT8 shown above, went unscathed. In an interview with Edmunds Auto Observer, SRT marketing head Michael Accavitti weighs in with his thoughts about SRT's current position and future direction, how the Daimler split affects it (not much, apparently) and how it'll fare under new Chrysler boss Bob Nardelli (Accavitti is extremely "up" on the former Home Depot chief). We encourage you to read the interview in full, but based on his comments, it seems that SRT remains very much in the plan for Chrysler. It has received support from new sales/marketing/product czar Jim Press, who...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Frankfurt Auto Show , Podcasts , Coupes , Sports/GTs , Crossovers/CUVs , Aston Martin , Bentley , BMW , Bugatti , Dodge , Ford , GM , Jaguar , Lamborghini , Mercedes Benz , MINI , PSA , Volkswagen , Volvo , Renault , Brabus...
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Filed under: Coupes , Sports/GTs , Chrysler We feel a "Thank you, Captain Obvious" is in order for this piece of news that was published all the way back on July 12th within the walled garden of Ward's Auto. The news is simply that Chrysler has confirmed...
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