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Low-budget Challenger-Charger road trip is worth a mint

ocfleet — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 23:30:00 +0000

By RICK KRANZ – Automotive News

Dodge is planning an 8,000-mile road trip that ends in California to introduce its Hemi-powered 2011 Challenger SRT8 392 and restyled 2011 Charger R/T.

It’s a low-budget, grass-roots effort that will be handled by just two people, Dodge spokespersons Heather Heughens and Scott Vandekerckhove. There’s no expensive support team trailing behind. They are on their own.

Two cars will leave the Detroit area Monday, Nov. 15, head south, then turn left when they cross into Ohio.

Stops are planned in Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. The last stop is set for Dec. 20 in Corona, Calif.

Along the way the two cars will visit Mopar clubs, tuner shops, car shows and dealerships, giving people a preview weeks before the cars arrive in showrooms. Stops are planned in 28 cities, and trip highlights will be posted on Twitter and redletterdodge.com.

I expect thousands of Dodge enthusiasts will be snapping photos, sending copies to friends and wanting to learn every detail about the two cars. The CBs also will be buzzing as the duo pass big rigs on the interstate.

The news for Dodge is that the 2011 Challenger SRT8 392 has a 392-cubic-inch Hemi (6.4 liters), an engine size not offered in a production car since 1958. The engine produces 470 hp and 470 pounds-feet of torque.

The 2011 Charger has been re-engineered, and the all-new sheet metal draws on styling last seen on the late-1960s Chargers. The car still has a “don’t mess with me” attitude.

For the cost of gasoline, motel rooms, food and the two drivers’ time, Dodge will be generating millions of bucks in publicity for the Charger R/T and Challenger SRT8 392.

And you can bet that nearly every one of those enthusiasts will be heading to a Dodge dealer when the production cars arrive.

Chrysler 200 can’t come soon enough

ocfleet — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 23:20:52 +0000

By MARK RECHTIN – Automotive News

Chrysler design boss Ralph Gilles says the restyling of the Sebring mid-sized sedan — to be unveiled at the auto show here this week — will be so dramatic that it is being renamed “200” to show how much it has changed.

Let’s hope he means that “200” represents the number of major changes to the vehicle, or the percentage improvement over the old model, because, as it is, the Sebring is in dire need of rescue.

Let’s start with the interior. The word “nondescript” would be kind. Acres of cheap plastic that scream rental car. Build-to-cost buttons, switches and knobs and uncomfortable seats. Driving the car is not much better. The engine is thrashy — the gearing too short in low range and too tall higher up. The suspension is jarring on uneven roads, and the steering is an evil brew of vague and twitchy.

The exterior styling is nothing offensive, which is typical of the mid-sized sedan class. So if the 200 is attractive, it might actually have an advantage over the segment’s pedestrian offerings.

In a recent interview, Gilles said the 200 was “every bit, if not more than, what Ford did to the Fusion.”

He said the front and back fascias are completely restyled, and even more important, the handling dynamics were completely rethought and interior noise was reduced by 10 decibels.

But as we taxpayers ponder the 11-figure price tag of saving Chrysler, one wonders, was it worth it?

The 200 will be the first evidence.

Electric cars get charge from stimulus

ocfleet — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 18:55:11 +0000

Thanks to President Obama’s stimulus package, Americans can now get big tax breaks on more types of electric vehicles.

The credits originally would have stopped after they had been claimed on 250,000 vehicles across the whole industry. Now the credits will apply on to up to 200,000 vehicles from any single manufacturer.

The old rules, passed in the fall of 2008, applied only to cars in the traditional sense, i.e., four-wheeled vehicles. Now three-wheeled and even two-wheeled electric vehicles are also eligible. Tax credits for these vehicles are calculated differently and they won’t be available until next year.

Read the rest at http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/autos/0902/gallery.electric_car_credits/index.html