Perhaps it was part good luck and part cautious driving. But we managed to roll through nearly 200 miles in a 2010 Dodge Viper roadster on main streets, four-lane highways and winding rural roads without incident while testing the redline limit in second gear, challenging some of our favorite twists at record speeds — for us — and hitting triple-digit numbers on several occasions.
Chrysler’s in-house parts group, Mopar, is well-known for its ability to turn pedestrian mommy-mobiles into thundering street piranhas. The Dodge Challenger earned its own reputation for devouring otherwise-impressive competitors. Together, the two will create a unique vehicle to scare the crud out of everybody.
Dodge’s mid-size SUV bunker was a little full with the Durango holding court as captain and the smaller, but not too small, Nitro resting in its shadow. Nitro is a fine vehicle, sharing genes with the Jeep Liberty. Given a more refined unibody Durango coming for 2011,
Dodge is working on a new Charger for next year, and all indications are it will be a fantastic machine that offers all of the styling and performance for which the brand is known. But, there’s no need to wait until then when there is the current Charger SRT8 ready for the asking at your local dealer.
After a brief hiatus, Dodge is about to rip open the mid-size SUV field with an all new, dramatically-styled three-row wagon that will surprise drivers. Sharing a platform with the all-new Jeep Cherokee, and riding on a large number of Mercedes-derived components from the ML-Class SUV,
Dodge is on a new journey, overhauling virtually every vehicle in its line-up. From the compact Caliber to the Avenger mid-size sedan, muscle-bound Charger, Caravan, re-designed Durango, and iconic Challenger, everything is getting updated interiors, exterior refinements, and a thorough re-engineering of chassis and powertrains. The popular Journey crossover has not been exempted.
The news hit SUV fans back in late 2008 – the Dodge Durango, with room for eight, two (one a HEMI) V-8s, a V-6 and even a hybrid four-wheel-drive version, was dead.
Dodge’s road with the Challenger was never going to be an easy one. Even in the good old days, the car was over-shadowed by its arch rivals, the Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro. As the latest generation was prepared for market, Ford launched a brand-new retroish Mustang and Camaro rolled out a future-tech concept with all the right style. In comparison, the Challenger looked cool, but stood in the shadows. Now that I think about it, that’s really unfair.
Recently, I had a new Dodge Grand Caravan for a week-long test drive. Yes, I know it is a minivan, but with so many manufacturers re-introducing them, it certainly appears they are making a come-back. The Dodge Grand Caravan has always been very family-friendly. Many have considered the Dodge Caravan as a main-stay of the vehicle line-up. It has been steady and reliable for many years. However, with the big and bulky SUV's that permeated the industry these past few years, up-and-coming males turned up their noses at the minivan. Now, more moms are convincing their husbands of the advantages and flexibility of the family minivan.
