Dodge (Page 54)

People who go to the auto show in Orange County, Calif., through the end of this weekend will be able to test drive dozens of 2012 cars, trucks and vans -- everything from the new Volkswagen Beetle to the Fiat 500 and Chevrolet Sonic.

The new 2013 Ford Police Interceptor has been validated in its most rigorous testing to date by the Michigan State Police with top scores in 0-60 acceleration, braking, and handling. No police vehicle is taken seriously that does poorly in that test.

Just a few days after Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne sent an angry letter to UAW President Bob King when King failed to show up at a contract negotiation meeting with the auto boss, workers at Chrysler’s Dundee Engine Plant in Dundee Michigan have voted heavily in favor of striking.

Last night the current contract between the UAW and the Chrysler Group expired and to prevent the workers from being forced to work without a valid contract, Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne flew from the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany to Detroit to finalize the new contract with UAW President Bob King – the only problem is that King didn’t show up.

Mum is still the word from Chrysler but thanks to the wonders of the internet, we have our first look at the 2010 Dodge Viper SRT-10 ACR making laps around the Nürburgring en route to setting a stunning new record time of just 7:12.

The Dodge Viper has been out of production for over a year but after watching the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, the Porsche 911 GT2 and the Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition bump the Viper from the top spot, Chrysler’s SRT division headed back out to the famous German race course with stunning results as the 2010 Dodge Viper ACR ran a lap of just 7:12.13 – easily putting the Viper back atop the list of the fastest production vehicles around “the ‘Ring”.

We have known for some time now that Maserati was planning to unveil a new luxury sport utility vehicle at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show and as the huge German event has begun, the new Jeep Grand Cherokee based Maserati Kubang has met the world with a look that is very distinctly all-Maserati.

Toyo Tire USA has announced their largest promotion ever, the Ultimate Ride Sweepstakes, which will award one winner with a set of Toyo tires each week while one lucky winner will get the Grand Prize – a custom 2011 Dodge Durango.

Sales figures from around the American automotive industry are in and once again, the Chrysler Group was the strongest automaker in the industry in terms of growth with the smallest of the American Big 3 improving by 31%.

There has been no official word yet but according to multiple sources, the Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition has shown that its name is more than a marketing scheme as this specially tuned Lexus supercar has reportedly set the new production car record on the Nürburgring Nordschleife course with a stunning lap of just 7:14.

We have known for some time that the Chrysler Group would be introducing their new ZF-built 8-speed automatic transmission and today, the information on the new fuel-saving transmission has been made official and in 2012, the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 powered by the 3.6L Pentastar V6 will come with this new transmission option.

The Chevrolet Camaro once again lead the segment in sales, with the Chevy muscle besting the Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger and Nissan 370Z through August 2011 – the 7th time Chevy has lead the segment out of the 8 months of 2011.

Just one week after Chrysler’s Ram Truck brand saw one of its models end with the last of the Dakota’s coming off of the assembly line, a new model enters production as the new Dodge Grand Caravan-based Ram C/V begins production in Windsor, Ontario.

The Dodge brand has become a regular competitor in the legendary Targa Newfoundland but for the 2011 rally event along the eastern coast of North America, Chrysler’s newly formed SRT brand will have three vehicles racing to raise money for autism research – with brand CEO Ralph Gilles leading the trio into battle.

The Dodge Caliber has never seen the success that the Chrysler Group had hoped for when it was launched in 2007 and with a replacement vehicle based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta planned for unveiling at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, it came as no surprise to hear that the last Caliber will roll off of the assembly line on November 23rd, 2011.

Tuesday, August 23rd 2011 marks the end of an era for the Chrysler Group as the Dodge Dakota turned Ram Dakota will officially see the end of its 24 year production run.

We have known since late last year that Maserati would soon be offering a high end performance sport utility vehicles based on the new Jeep Grand Cherokee and thanks to inside information from Automotive News, we now know that this new Maserati SUV will be built in Detroit with the official concept debut planned for the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.

During a small media briefing this weekend, TorqueNews had a chance to talk to SRT CEO and President Ralph Gilles about the future of the high performance brand’s lineup as well as their stance on competing with the bestselling vehicles in the class.

This past weekend as the 2011 Mopar Nationals opened at National Trails Raceway near Columbus Ohio, the diehard enthusiasts who came together for the nation’s biggest all-Chrysler show, swap and drag race event got a firsthand look at the new 2012 Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler models as the first stop on the SRT High Performance Tour.

The folks at EA Games have rolled out a new video trailer giving us our first good clear look at the upcoming Need for Speed: The Run, which includes news of a special limited edition pack which offers 5 exclusive events and three special vehicles – the Lamborghini Aventador, the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and the upcoming new Porsche 911 Carrera S.

This morning, the Chrysler Group announced a recall of 299,718 examples of their popular Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans over a concern that the operating unit for the airbag could fail – possibly causing the airbags to open without proper cause.

The Chrysler Group has seen strong numbers since introducing their lineup of new and refreshed vehicles – allowing them to once again lead the American auto industry in terms of growth as they beat out all other automotive groups last month.

Numbers from around the American automotive industry are trickling in and it looks like the Ford Mustang’s lead of the segment last month was short lived as the Chevrolet Camaro bounced back in July 2011 – outselling the Mustang along with the Dodge Challenger and Nissan 370Z.