The Dodge Ghoul has been discussed for a year, and some still believe that the Dodge Demon 170 fulfills its destiny. However, a Dodge Ghoul is indeed on the way, sitting on the next-generation Challenger/Charger platform. The new car, on the LB Challenger platform, will be powered by the Hurricane twin-turbo inline six, but with … Read more
Guest Opinion. While many are reluctantly sounding approval of the sound of the second version of the Charger Banshee Concept’s Fratzonic chamber, I love it. It is a major step in the right direction, making it sound like there is something living and breathing within this vehicle.
Many video reviews call it “fake” sound; but Dodge took the sound of the motors, tuned the frequency, and pushed it through a resonating system (electronically amplified) to create the sound. The concept is no different from aftermarket mufflers. Some companies make speaker systems with downloadable V8 sound tracks, but Stellantis did something different—using the EV motors’ actual sound. Not to get into a long-drawn-out debate about real or fake sound, something else lurks beneath the surface of the waters at Dodge.
Jeep has officially unveiled the concepts for the 57th annual Easter Jeep Safari which takes place on April 1-9, 2023 in Moab, Utah. Here they are—all seven of them on one page, including one 1978 “SJ” Cherokee merged with a Wrangler Rubicon to form an entirely new beast; an all-electric Wrangler; a purple-pink model; a two-seater Grand Wagoneer with a popup camper built in; and a few others.
When we brought you the information on the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 from the live debut in Las Vegas, we only talked about the MSRP (retail price), which is $96,666 for the United States. Today, we bring you the official prices for all of the options from Dodge, many of which are relatively unchanged from the other 2023 Dodge Challenger models. There have been other numbers being shared around social media, but those sources (as usual) cite incorrect numbers. These are the official, correct prices for the Demon 170 options from the Dodge ordering system – not numbers found randomly on the internet.
One of the custom vehicles Jeep is bringing to Moab will be a Wrangler 3.0 Magneto. The name suggests a hybrid-Hurricane combination—dual H power, so to speak. The reality is not quite so poetic: it’s the third Magneto concept. That said, the concept does bring up speculation about the Wrangler and Challenger (and Charger) once the 6.4 liter SRT Hemi—the “392”—goes away.
One of the less-likely NASCAR champions was a full-sized L-head straight-six car from a premium brand, brought out in the same year as the first, 180-bhp Chrysler Hemi. The Fabulous Hudson Hornet may not have had a V8, but it had three other things going for it: lighter weight, a stiff unibody, and a sunken floor and engine which gave it phenomenal handling when compared to most American stock cars of the day. The straight-six was nearly as big as the first Hemi—308 cubic inches (while that first Hemi was 331 cid)—but was hooked up to a manual transmission and had less weight to push around.
When the embargo lifted on the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 on Monday, we focused on key parts of the new package, including power, performance, and production numbers, but we didn’t get into how this package makes so much more power than the closely-related Redeye. Today, we dive into what makes the Demon 170’s supercharged Hemi so much more powerful—reaching 1,075 horsepower. (See our initial piece about the 1,025-horsepower, 8-second Demon 170).
When Tim Kuniskis introduced the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 to a small group of media in early March, he held up a camshaft and said that it was the only component that was directly shared between the 6.2-liter Hemi in the Demon 170 and the 6.2-liter Hemi in the Redeye. Everything else was revised in some way, if not replaced altogether.
When Dodge introduced the new Hornet last August, the production-ready GT and R/T models were joined by the GLH Concept – with GLH standing for Goes Like Hell, just as it did on the Omni GLH. That GLH Concept was based on the GT, which derives its power from a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine that delivers 268 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque, rather than the more powerful Hornet R/T plug-in hybrid.
On the surface, it seems like a smart decision to focus on the non-hybrid model for a performance package like the GLH, but with the R/T hybrid packing quite a bit more power, it seems like the better basis for a go-fast model – even though it is a fuel-friendly hybrid.
During the lead-up to the debut of the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170, Dodge showed teasers depicting what appeared to be a pair of leprechauns. Social media’s smoothest-brained users were quick to proclaim that they were ghouls, allegedly confirming the rumor that the Dodge brand was working on a package called the Ghoul, but that was not the case.
Earlier this month, Dodge invited a small group of media to the Auburn Hills headquarters to preview the Challenger SRT Demon 170. Brand boss Tim Kuniskis walked us through the key features and numbers of the newest supercharged muscle car; when he was done, he asked if there were any questions. As you might imagine after the reveal of a thousand-horsepower muscle car, there were plenty of questions about the Demon 170, but a few of us wondered why the teasers featured leprechauns. Kuniskis laughed and asked if we wanted the real story or the story from the marketing people. Of course, we wanted the real story…
We knew that the seventh and final Last Call special edition car would be more than an appearance package, but the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 is more performance than we expected for less money than we expected. There is loads of information to unpack on this model, but we will cut to the chase and talk about the numbers that everyone really cares about.
The 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 is powered by a 6.2-liter Hemi topped by a 3.0-liter IHI supercharger. When running on E85 (85% ethanol), it makes 1,025 horsepower and 945 lb-ft of torque. Even on 93 octane pump gas (E10 ethanol), the Demon 170 will make 900 horsepower and 810 lb-ft of torque. The driver doesn’t need to do anything when changing from gasoline to ethanol blends…. [more at the original story]
Recall Monday brought more Ford recalls than usual. Their issues include:
Rupturing brake hoses (2013-2018 Ford Fusion/Lincoln MKZ)
Failing wipers (2021 F-150)
Rear caliper bolts (2022 F-53 and F-59)
Rear cameras (2021-22 Bronco)
Trailer lights not working (2023 Maverick)
Chrysler’s role in creating the Moon rockets has long been ignored; it’s not even mentioned on multiple Wikipedia pages which ignore the prime contractor but mention Rockwell and Boeing. Yet Chrysler did not just have a hand in creating the Saturn V vehicles used in the Apollo missions; they were the prime contractor for these and for the Redstone missiles which came before.
Chrysler started working with the combined Army-Air Force rocketry program from its earliest days, running the Warren, Michigan factory which produced the Redstone missiles. While the rocket engines and fuselages were produced by other companies, Chrysler coordinated them, put them together, designed and produced some of the electronic control and ground systems, and provided part of the ground support crews. The photo above, from the 1965 Chrysler Annual Report, clearly shows ground crew members wearing Chrysler shirts.
Motales recently recovered the story of Chrysler’s role in rocketry, including their work in developing digital telemetry for the Apollo missions. From the Redstones to the final launch (of Skylab), Chrysler was America’s chosen leader in aerospace. The company only left the business when NASA rejected its space shuttle design. (See https://www.motales.com/chrysler-corp/aerospace-defense/rockets-by-chrysler.php for more)
Someone claiming to be a salesman is claiming that a Jeep Wrangler refresh is coming soon. The basic design is the same, but the 2024 Wrangler is rumored to offer power seats, ventilated seats, new gauge cluster and UConnect with a larger 10-inch touch-screen. (2024 Jeeps are not shown below.) The 392 is to continue, with … Read more
American Stellantis Marques had no recalls in the past week, but Ford managed to sell 2023 F-150s, Expeditions, and Navigators without heat-treated front axle pinions, and have inactive defoggers in 2023 Transits….
The newest teaser is titled “Scream @ 215 mph” and it starts off with the angry leprechaun from the previous two videos, with glowing gold eye. A few seconds in, a hand from off-screen holds up what appears to be a handheld racing weather meter. The hand holds it up to the angry leprechaun and when he screams through it, the readout lights up with the following information:
The original Hemi V8 debuted on the 1951 Chrysler and then moved out to Dodge and DeSoto cars; Plymouth never had one because at that point Chrysler, Dodge, and DeSoto were strictly upscale and Plymouth was mass-market. To make a V8 practical for Plymouth, it had to be cheaper and faster to make—much cheaper, much … Read more
