Autoblog

Click above for a high resolution image

Steve Saleen's fledgling new company, SMS Supercars, is getting ready to officially debut its first production car and has released a few more photos and information regarding the 570 and 570X Challenger. According to the new press release, the two models are targeted to start at $60,000 and $70,000, respectively. Yes, that's quite a chunk of change, but SMS is making it worthwhile with an extensive list of upgrades. Starting with the powertrain, the SMS 296 supercharger pushes massive amounts of air to the 5.7L HEMI, and true enthusiasts will be glad to know that a proper 6-speed manual transmission will be doing the shifting. Both models also get a high performance suspension, exhaust, 20-inch wheels, and 14-inch front and 12-inch rear brakes. For the exterior, SMS replaces the front and rear bumpers, side skirts, and hood, and adds a rear spoiler. The 570X model also receives carbon fiber front and rear splitters, a carbon fiber diffuser, and a rear wing that replaces the spoiler. The interior receives upgrades as well, including two-tone leather sport seats, leather door inserts, a leather grip shifter, 200-mph gauge cluster, and auxiliary gauges for the supercharger. Each vehicle will also be personally signed by Steve Saleen. Follow the jump for the press release and check out the gallery below.

[Source: SMS Supercars]

Dodge is looking to spur sales in Germany while at the same time increase the country's birth rate in a new marketing campaign that's one for the ages. German women who come to a Dodge dealership with proof of procreation and the resultant pregnancy will get a discount on the Dodge car or minivan of their dreams. Apparently, the birth rate in Germany is precariously low, which has led Dodge to, ahem, conceive this idea. Expecting moms get nine months (clever) deferred financing if they can present proper proof of their pregnancy. Considering women have to pee on those sticks to find out if they're preggo, we hope local German dealers have plenty of latex gloves and disinfectant on hand. When my wife had some odd cravings when she was pregnant, but never once did she ask for a Dodge. She did tell me once, however, that the Dodge Ram logo looks like a uterus, so maybe this campaign makes sense after all.

[Source: Obscene Desserts, Photo by Viewmaker | Creative Commons 2.0]

To anyone who's spent any time in the vast desert stretches of the southwestern United States, lifted and stretched Pink Jeeps are likely a familiar sight. The company has been around for nearly 50 years taking passengers across very rough stretches of land where pavement is but a distant memory. Ask anybody what it's like to ride for a few hours in a highly-modified Jeep Wrangler and you could hear a few shocking expletives. So, when Pink Jeep Tours needed another vehicle that was capable of moving lots of people and gear over great distances, a Jeep didn't quite seem to fit.

So, how do you out-Jeep a Jeep? You don't, but you can always try a Dodge Ram 3500 with its 6.7-liter Cummins turbo-diesel engine. To make it resemble one of its Jeeps, Pink Jeeps hired Prefix Corporation to add a classic seven-slot grille -- completely approved and licensed by Chrysler no less -- along with the requisite Pepto-like hue. A lift-kit, air suspension, 35-inch tires and a luxurious (by Wrangler standards anyway) interior with reclining leather captains chairs, 15-inch LCD screens with DVD players, and foam insulated side walls to keep the cool air inside completed the transformation. Jeep purists need not worry, there's still no better way to explore the outdoors than in an open-air Wrangler, but when a bit more comfort is needed, you can always slap a slotted-grille on a Ram.


[Source: The Detroit News]

Cowboys and truck-lovers unite for the Texas State Fair every year around this time. It's where big-time truckmakers often release special editions of their pickups just for the Texas market, again underscoring just how important the Lone Star State is for sales. So it is this year with the 2009 Dodge Ram Lone Star edition. Starting life down the assembly line as a Ram Crew 1500 SLT in either two- or four-wheel drive, various chrome accents, 20-inch wheels (either painted or chromed) and big 4-inch dual exhausts integrated into the rear bumper have been added. Inside, a lighting group is standard equipment along with an up-level leather steering wheel. Lest those following you don't know what or where you're driving, a Lone Star badge is affixed to the tailgate left of the huge Ram-head logo. Very subtle. The good news is that Texans won't be charged an arm and a leg for the Lone Star edition, as it adds just $1,500 to the price of a HEMI-equipped Ram, a big savings over the $3,560 it would cost to replicate otherwise. If all of this is enough to make you want one, and you live in Texas, expect the Lone Star to reach your favorite dealer sometime next month.


[Source: Dodge]

While most of us would be more than happy to own just one Viper, some lucky company will soon take the entire operation off the hands of Chrysler, LLC. We hear there are multiple interested parties, and according to Vice Chairman Tom Lasorda, Chrysler is looking to begin real negotiations within the next few weeks. It's hard to imagine a Viper coming from a manufacturer other than Dodge, but there has been talk that the iconic American sportscar could be gobbled up by a well-known tuning firm, or even a group of investors. Whatever happens, we just hope that the Viper -- as a car or as a brand -- continues showing its formidable fangs and doesn't end up a mere shed skin of its former self. You can check out our First Drive of the Viper ACR or our In the Autoblog Garage review of the Viper SRT-10 to see just what we think about Dodge's supercar.



[Source: Just-Auto - sub req'd]

The Dodge Challenger SE is a good-looking coupe that dealers say is selling very well. We liked the base Challenger SE because it carried most of the styling cues of its far more expensive and fast SRT8 sibling at a reasonable price, and we can't wait to try out the mid-level HEMI-powered R/T. Chrysler is now looking to add still more visual bark for its bite-less V6 Challenger with an SXT trim package. Chrysler of Canada is researching what the SXT Challenger should look like, and the Pentastar recently displayed a mock-up of the coupe at the Georgian College Autoshow in Barrie, Ontario, Canada to gauge interest. Chrysler surveyed Canadians regarding whether the SXT Challenger should receive a racing stripe, and also gave onlookers a choice of an 18-inch Mopar rim, or some played-out chrome rims. Chrysler also asked how much the SXT package should cost, and we're hoping our northern neighbors checked the "Less than $500" box, if only because the other choices were more expensive. The Cheers and Gears forums suggest that the SXT model may be for Canada only, but we have no information either way. Check out pics in our gallery below and click through to Cheers and Gears for more.


[Source: Cheers and Gears]

As we learned this morning from Bob Nardelli's appearance on CNBC, Chrysler LLC is getting into the electric vehicle game and plans to have something on the market by the end of 2010 – the same time GM plans to start selling the 2011 Chevy Volt. The vehicle in question will be one of these three EVs, all of which are powered fully or in part by electrons.

The first and perhaps most exciting is the Dodge EV, which is an all-electric sports car like the Tesla Roadster. In fact, Chrysler seems to have taken a few pages from Tesla's playbook, which is evident by the fact that its EV is wearing the body of a Lotus Europa at the moment. Lotus also worked with Tesla on the development of its Roadster and is probably offering its expertise in electronics and lightweight vehicle design to any automaker willing to pay for it.

Chrysler says the Dodge EV uses a 200kW or 268 equivalent horsepower electric motor mated to an "advanced lithium-ion battery pack and an integrated power control module". Peak torque is 480 lb-ft, which helps propel the lightweight Europ... Dodge EV to 60 mph in less than five seconds and a 120 mph top speed. Its range is pegged at between 150 to 200 miles with recharge times of 8 hours for 110-volt outlets and four hours using a 220-volt.

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. Presumably equipped with lithium ion battery power, the Dodge EV has a reported 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 the market by the end of 2010, the unofficial official year of the electric/plug-in car.

Look for all three prototypes to head to D.C., where they'll be showcased for Congressional leaders who have a say in whether or not Washington will show Detroit the money they've been asking for.

For now, you can watch the preview unveiling of the cars on CNBC by watching this video. Chrysler's got something planned for 1PM today, so we expect to have a lot more info and photos then. Stay tuned.

UPDATED: Full details now posted here.


[Source: CNBC]

Not long after we learned that the famous Top Gear trio was in the U.S., a fan managed to snap some shots of Clarkson, Hammond and Mays testing their favorite examples of American muscle at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The hosts made their way to salt flats by way of Reno, Nevada where they had a few modifications done to each vehicle in the name of high speed safety, namely driveshaft loops and fire extinguishers. If you saw our previous post on the subject, you already know that Clarkson is driving a Corvette ZR1, Hamster a Challenger SRT8 and May the super-fast but still luxurious Cadillac CTS-V, a car that shares much of its supercharged V8 architecture with the new force-fed mill in the 'Vette. We can already surmise that the ZR1 easily took top honors at Bonneville thanks to its slippery shape and abundance of power. Now, which car wins the comparison test? We look forward to next season to find out. Check out the gallery below for more pics of the action going down, or click here and follow the photostream. Thanks for the tips, AkulaX1 and Andi!


[Sources: Flickr, Digital Corvettes]

In another obvious sign of the times, Dodge is launching its brand new and totally redesigned 2009 Ram half-ton pickup truck with incentives right out of the gate. Purchasers who only need a regular cab will get $500 off the Ram's base price of $22,170 before options while those looking to get a quad cab or crew cab will get double that amount off their new truck. We're sure that potential buyers won't be complaining, but it's a far cry from the 40% savings being offered on '08 Rams. We verified these numbers by using Dodge's online configuration tool, which does not yet allow you to order up the innovative RamBox option. That lockable storage unit is built right into the bed rail of the pickup and will reportedly run you $1,850. That seems pretty reasonable considering that Dodge is the only brand offering this type of storage solution. Still not sold? Did you know that a RamBox is nearly big enough to fit an adult man? Pretty cool, that. Expect to see the RamBox option come online in early November.


[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]