“Dodge Challenger SRT10″.

Got a helluva nice ring to it, dontcha think?

The current top-o-the-line Challenger, the SRT8, is a pretty beastly muscle car, one that delivered more than its rabid fans had expected. Quite frankly, its performance statistics are more than enough.

Dodge’s high octane SRT team apparently didn’t think so. I bet what happened is one day after work one of the SRT boys was a little more depressed than usual: the Viper is getting axed, performance now bows to mileage, the days of the muscle car is ending, etc. So he decided, screw it, if we’re going to go out, then we’re gonna go out with one hell of a bang.

Which left the question: how? Well I bet that was solved rather quickly, just get a bigger engine, and a bigger engine means only one thing: going to the Viper for its V-10.

Performance info and pics (including that of the Challenger SRT10 chillin’ with the Viper) after the jump.

Continue Reading…

This is what happens when you combine a modern muscle car with some good ol’ nostalgia.

The LS7 Concept was inspired by the COPO Camaros of the late 1960s. For those who are unfamiliar with the “COPO” designation, it was made famous by motorheads like Don Yenko in the late 60s. What happened was you could walk into any Chevy dealership and decide you wanted a COPO Camaro for drag racing. You checked the box, and a beastly race-bred Camaro was yours, fitted out with the requisite goods like drag racing tires, the standard safety equipment, suspension, roll bars, basically all you needed to dominate those puttering Mustangs at the track.

As is self evident, the LS7 badge means that GM has decided to stick a big, fat, 550 horsepower middle finger to the evironment, the economy, and all those advocators of GM’s and the muscle car’s deaths. GM has also thrown in a 6-speed Tremec manual transmission, a Hurst shifter, Brembo brakes all-around, performance exhaust, 20 inch wheels, and lowered ride height.

Keep in mind that the Chevrolet Camaro is the official car of SEMA this year, so stay tuned for more Camaro concepts.

More pics of the LS7 after the jump, as well as some live shots. Continue Reading…

No, no, no!

Say it ain’t so! This is terrible news!

Dodge is apparently going to begin negotiations for the sale of its “Viper” nameplate. Chrysler has always been the most anemic of the Big Three, and with Ford and GM both hit hard by the economy crisis, I can only imagine what the situation is like at Chrysler’s big brass. Must be hell.

But this is sad, terrible news, even though it was kind of expected. I had always hoped that Chrysler would find a way to keep the Viper alive, maybe as a low volume, limited production a year type of image car. But the financial strain was apparently too great, and now its the Viper that is under the axe.

This is personally rather distressing for me, as the Viper has always held a special spot in my heart (and that of many others). Though the Viper and Corvette have always blood enemies in competition, I hold them both in equal esteem and adoration. To me, they symbolize the epitome of the American muscle car, that is to say, a no frills, rude, obnoxious, rough, aggressive, and above all, powerful car. The Corvette and the Viper aren’t elegant, they aren’t refined, they have absolutely no finesse— instead they’re just dominant, raw, and beastly, and that scares the crap out of everyone else.

To hear that the Viper, an icon of Dodge and of America, is going to be sold… well, my day just got a little less bright. I hear that it might be sold to a tuning company, or a group of investors, whatever it is, I hope that at least in stays in America (if it becomes the Tata Viper I’ll shoot myself). The look might stay the same, the badge and performance might remain, but it will no longer be the Dodge Viper, and that’s a damn shame.

Times change. It used to be that a car was measured in terms of torque and horsepower, then the focus became more on horsepower, and then the Veyron came out, and everything became measured in terms of top speed. Then gas hit four bucks a gallon, so now it’s all about mileage. So I’ll give you the crucial, most important news about the new Camaro first: It gets an EPA estimated 26 miles to the gallon. With conservative driving (e.g. not going 80 mph in a 60 mph zone) that number can rise to the low 30’s. So that’s the important news, the real juicy stuff, and if you still care about such mundane items as performance, which is just sooo déclassé, then here is the Nürburgring time for the Camaro SS— 8:20.

But back to the important stuff, like carbon emissions…whoa. Wait a minute. An 8:20 on the ‘Ring? Damn! That’s pretty good, considering the rather hefty curb weight and almost complete disregard to aerodynamics of the Camaro. Continue Reading…

Check out these two comparisons by Car and Driver and Motor Trend. Both feature the all new Dodge Challenger, and in both tests, the Challenger was pitted against its only current rival— the Mustang. Now, since the Dodge will only be sold in SRT8 trim for this year (the most powerful of the bunch), it’s only fair that it competes against an equally powerful Mustang. Car and Driver chose the Mustang Bullitt, and Motor Trend selected the Shelby GT500.

The Mustang was the first true muscle car in a few decades, and its retro fifth generation design stole the hearts of many consumers (and a good chunk of their change). The Mustang has been the undisputed champ, partly because it was a good car, but mostly because it had the segment all to itself. Now, however, the old ‘Merican pony is going to have to fight for its title, with the new Dodge Challenger the first to strike, and the Mustang’s most feared rival, the Chevy Camaro, due to brawl with both of them in 2009. From the looks of things, it’s going to be one heckuva fight.

Go to the links above for the comparisons, if you could care less about the tests but just want the results, I’ll have the gist of both tests, the winners, and a lot more pics after the jump. Continue Reading…

Happy Fourth of July to all you car buffs out there!

Since the Fourth of July is a celebration of America and all things American (except maybe gas prices), I’ve put together this little Fourth of July Special, an article dedicated to all American cars. I actually got the idea from Car and Driver, and you can see their article here. Anyway, this is compromised of what I believe are the current finest examples of the American automobile. Not all are in production, but those that aren’t will be. I chose these cars because they herald the new “era” of the Big Three, , who are just beginning to make cars that you actually want. So if you’re a car buff and you love your country, this might just make you proud to be an American again, and just in time for the Fourth of July. And if you aren’t American, these cars might just make you wish you were.

You might not agree with all the choices, and if there is a car you disagree with or if there is one you think should be on the list, any and all comments are welcome. Keep in mind that this is just my opinion of cars that have that good ol’ American feel— and make me proud to be an American. Continue Reading…