Dodge Challenger SRT8 stick-shift on the road

We’ve had a 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT-8 for a few days, and while we’ll be writing it up more thoroughly soon, a few high points quickly come to mind.

First, everyone stops and stares at this car - partly because it’s bright red with a big stripe down the hood. People want to know what it is. The general public still hasn’t discovered the Challenger, despite all the magazine covers, newspaper photos, and excitement. What’s funny is the range of spectators… young and old, men and women, import and domestic drivers. We’ve had numerous problems with other drivers hitting their brakes suddenly when they see us coming, wanting to get a better look, and drivers hanging out in the (huge) blind spots to keep us in vision. And, of course, we’ve gotten lots of thumbs ups.

The clutch is heavy, but not as heavy as in the old days; it’s not that far off 2.4 turbo clutches, with a small but predictable area of engagement. The shifter goes in easily, but takes a lot of getting used to, partly due to the six speeds (which makes 1st, 3rd, 5th, and Reverse, all of which are on the same plane, a little crowded). It’s also a bear of a car, with the 425 horsepower Hemi V8, a heavy feel familiar to other LX car drivers, and instant response if you’re in the right gear, which isn’t necessarily the case. To get surprisingly good highway mileage (at 65 mph, you can easily exceed 25 mpg), Dodge put in a serious overdrive sixth gear, which is a good thing, though you have to drop down a gear to get any serious acceleration at normal highway speeds. If you’re zooming along at 95, we assume it works out just fine.

The first gear is fairly low, so there’s a good spread, though most of that spread seems to be in the upper gears; first, second, and third shoot by quickly and often it makes more sense to skip a gear or two when acceleration hard. You can maximize your thrust by going through each and every gear, but for those times when you want to launch hard but then don’t need every last pony, skipping is a lot smoother and easier.

The engine is surprisingly loud and growly, so that even as you’re loafing at 1,500 rpm at 75 mph in sixth gear, you hear the engine at all times. To get into first smoothly requires a decent push on the gas pedal which vrooms the engine rather noticeably. This is not a subtle exhaust tuning. It’s sweet music when you can let it all out, which isn’t often and doesn’t last very long, not with 425 horses hooked up directly to the rear wheels. You can, however, drive very gently and smoothly if needed.

We have a lot more on this unique car (including numerous photos) in our full test report, which is close to its final form (and will be complete by the end of the week). If you want to comment on the article, feel free to do it here (oh, and please Digg this post or share the bookmark using the light gray icons below and to the left).

Dodge Royal Monaco…pickup truck

It has to be seen… for the full story and more photos, see http://www.allpar.com/cars/dodge/mystery-monaco.html … this precious pickup is in Germany. Thanks, Duc-Man, for sending us the photos.

The 2009 models and the Hemi horsepower conundrum

As you may already know from reading the forums announcement, the news page, and the home page, we’ve updated our coverage of the 2009 models.

What you may not know is that we’ve just finally updated every individual Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep model that had 2009 changes, so those are all in sync.

You may have noticed that the Hemi engine has wildly varying horsepower figures. There’s all sorts of speculation on why that may be. Here are some leading contenders:

• Chrysler PR people got a bunch of numbers mixed up. That’s supported by the Durango/Aspen press release which reports 356 and 365 horsepower - twice for both numbers.
• The engines are carefully tuned for the application, in some cases to get better gas mileage, in others to get more peak horsepower.
• The engines and their accessories can have different levels of efficiency and tuning, but the more horsepower they achieve, the more it costs. Therefore, power has been matched to the marketing and financial needs. The Ram, for example, had to be very close to Toyota’s 5.7 liter engines.
• The Hemi needs to breath well, and can’t do it in every vehicle. The Ram has a bigger underhood area and so gets the most power. The Challenger was designed around the layout of the engine and gets the second best power, etc. (Remember, we’re still just speculating.)
• The engine power is matched to the components and handling capabilities of the vehicle. Since it’s very heavy, the Ram can get more power without needing to upgrade numerous suspension parts, with various financial and gas-mileage costs; it also has a heavy duty axle for capacity reasons and doesn’t need an expensive axle upgrade to handle more power.
• Power ratings on the Ram were announced before gas mileage became an issue. Other applications of the new VCT Hemi were tuned for gas mileage, but the Ram number was “locked in.”
• In the case of the Ram 2500 and 3500, power is limited to increase durability.
• Chrysler is playing with our heads to see what kind of crazy theories we come up with. Really, the engines are all the same.
• After announcing the Ram 1500’s power rating, the engineers discovered that they could come up with a more satisfying, flatter torque curve by sacrificing some peak horsepower. Again, the Ram 1500 was locked in - they had already announced the number to the press.

You can speculate and guess along with us - the only people who really know are in the basement and executive towers of the Mall of the Pentastar, otherwise known as the Chrysler Technical Center.

Allpar posts 2008 Challenger SRT8 test drive

Thanks to Jim Choate for this one. From all we’ve heard, the Challenger is a real winner… especially now that it turns out the SE model (with the V6) has both decent acceleration and a good price.

Sorting it out

We know there is a replacement for the Grand Cherokee coming to the North Jefferson plant, based on Tom LaSorda’s statements. This should really be no surprise. It is planned to be lighter than the current model, also no surprise, given gas mileage issues and the reason why the current model is as heavy as it is (rumor has it the Mercedes people demanded changes based on their own needs). This vehicle will most likely end up being worked over and produced as a Mercedes, as the current one is.

Most likely some other vehicle will be built with it á la Nitro/Liberty. Prime candidates are the Aspen and/or the Commander. Maybe the Durango… it all depends how they want to play it. If the Grand Cherokee is the luxury version, a companion Dodge would make more sense than a companion Chrysler. On the other hand the Commander could be the true-luxury version, and the Grand Cherokee the sortakinda Oldsmobile version. They could also make a “lifestyle Dakota” from this.

Small cars… are a big open question. I suspect Chrysler has numerous paths under way and is trying to figure out which will work. There are two pacts in China, one with Chery and one with Great Wall, which might come to nothing or be the next small Chrysler, replacing the Horizon. There is the possibility of using the Fiat 500 chassis, and there is the thought that maybe engineers from Chrysler have been working on their own A-class car and that no matter who builds it, it is still coming from the plans that started to be drawn up last year or the year before. And then there’s the B-car, coming from the future Nissan Cube… and to confuse matters, the Nissan Versa spinoff to replace the Hyundai Atoz.

D-class (Sebring/Avenger) cars are coming, and I believe that they will be sourced from Chrysler, especially since they seem to be planning a whole series of vehicles at long last (the same plans were apparently made for numerous other projects). They’d want to keep control in-house if they were making sedans, coupes, hatchbacks, minivans, and crossovers all from the same source.

Hanging over all these future projects is the question of model cuts. It would not be insane to think that maybe the Durango and Aspen and Nitro will all be allowed to die. The Liberty may not even be needed, if the Grand Cherokee replacement can be built in two varieties - think Cherokee and Grand Cherokee. The old Jeep used to do things like that. I don’t know if the Liberty has a real following, but I doubt the Nitro does.

By the way, I’d appreciate it if your comments focused on what is likely to happen, not what you’d like to happen. You know my opinion, but here it is again:

Dodge - muscle cars (Challenger/Charger), Ram, Dakota, Caravan (sporty suspension tuning).
Chrysler - 300C, extended-wheelbase 300C (”New Yorker”), true-luxury T&C.
Plymouth - small crossover (”PT Cruiser”?), small cars, low-end, V6-only big car.

Journey in the Journey

After reading dozens of hands-on reports from the Dodge Journey, all positive, I finally snookered one myself, though only for a few days. So far, I’m very impressed. It doesn’t feel anything like the current Sebring or Avenger; the interior looks great (mine is black, and because it’s an R/T (AWD) there’s chrome accents everywhere); and the ride is quite good, without giving up much in cornering. Acceleration is pretty good, with the 3.5 liter V6 quieter than I’ve ever heard it, and sound insulation is excellent. I think Chrysler has a winner here - especially once it gets the Phoenix engine, diesel option, and automatically-shifted manual transmission to edge the gas mileage up. In the meantime, I look forward to getting my hands on the thriftier four-cylinder.

By the way, EPA-rated gas mileage on this one - remember, it’s AWD - is 15 city, 22 highway. Ack! Full sized minivans can beat that. The price clocks in at around $28,000 base - but mine is pretty well loaded to the gills, with a sticker of $34,240. That’s more than a Hemi Charger and, I think, more than the Challenger R/T… but it has all sorts of options like a sunroof, big wheels, and rear seat video. That stuff all adds up.

See our Dodge Journey report.