Dodge (Page 53)

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.

In February, TorqueNews brought you the news that Ford Racing had submitted a stock car body for the approval of the NASCAR Sprint Cup officials but before the governing body passed judgment on the Mustang race car; Ford has announced that they will stick with the Ford Fusion stock car body for the 2013 season.

Fiat had moved one step closer to their official merger with the Chrysler Group as CEO Sergio Marchionne has unveiled his new managerial plan with includes a group of 22 management members who will form the "group executive council" – including 4 individuals who will head up the company’s efforts in the various geographic regions.

The 2012 SRT models including the Dodge Charger SRT8, the Dodge Challenger SRT8, the Chrysler 300C SRT8 and the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 are just hitting the streets but an exciting rumor has Mopar lovers looking to next year as it has been whispered by the masses that the SRT brand could offer a supercharged package for the 2013 model year.

We previously brought you the news of the MoVenture – a cross country road rally sponsored by Chrysler’s performance and aftermarket division Mopar and as hump day arrives, the MoVenture teams are halfway through their race from Detroit to Colorado.

The Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 is a truly amazing muscle car but when the 2012 models hit showrooms later this year – the brawny street brawler will get even more impressive thanks to a few new additions including the suspension system and shift controls first seen on the Charger SRT8.

Over the past few months, the only product available from Chrysler’s newly formed SRT brand was the 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 but for the 2012 model year there will be 4 products in the lineup – with prices announced today for the high performance Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep models.

The Dodge Viper has officially been out of production for over a year now but in the last Viper-less 12 months, the Mopar supercar has continued to set track records around the country – this time shattering the old track record at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Since separating from the newly formed Ram Truck brand, the Dodge brand has gone away from the Ram’s head logo to a bold font logo bearing the Dodge name with two red lines along the back and to recognize the new logo and new era of the Dodge brand, Chrysler Group has re-launched the official Dodge brand blog – RedLineDodge.com.

The good times continued for Chrysler in June, as the company led all major automakers in the US auto industry with a year-over-year growth of 30% - moving them into the third spot in vehicle sales for the month of June 2011 as they jumped over a still-struggling Toyota.

The Chevrolet Camaro has led in the rear wheel drive sports car segment over the Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger and Nissan 370Z from January to May but as June 2011 sales results have trickled in – the Ford Mustang has claimed the top spot in sales for the month.

Chrysler's redesign of the Dodge Durango SUV and Charger sedan earn "most improved" awards from Consumer Reports, but other updated models are still not up to snuff.

Some folks are born to the racetrack and others find themselves there by a less direct route. Driving the latest automotive models about a track designed by, operated for and maintained in the interests of regional car and motorcycle-racing clubs is a rare opportunity for many in the automotive media. High Plains Raceway is just such a place under an hour East of Denver, where the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press provided track time for those attending the second annual Rocky Mountain Driving Experience this week.

Even though American models like the Ford Focus and Chevy Cruze are flourishing in the US market, the Dodge Caliber has never received a great deal of respect – a problem Chrysler hopes to fix that when they unveil the next generation of the Caliber at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The folks from the Chrysler Group and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have announced of a wide variety of 2011 model year vehicles from the Chrysler Group, affecting 12 vehicles across the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands.

Today the folks at General Motors posted a video on YouTube of the 2012 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 on the famed Nürburgring race course in Germany – a video in which the ZR-1 turned a stunning lap time of just 7:19.63, effectively destroying the record held by the Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR since August 2008.