The Dodge Caliber hatchback and Nitro mid-sized SUV have been removed from the Dodge UK line-up. The decision to quietly drop the models from the Dodge line-up follows extremely slow sales for both vehicles.
It also means the Dodge Journey is the firm's only model on sale in the UK - a point illustrated by the fact that the Dodge UK website now offers only one model via the 'Select a vehicle'. However, strangely enough, the two vehicles still appear on the Dodge UK site via an extension on the domain name.
The Journey was revamped earlier this year, getting a revised model line-up and more kit as standard.
Stop the press; believe it or not, Dodge finally decided to bring the entry-level Challenger SE V6 into (some) terms with the 21st century by replacing the four(!)-speed manual automatic transmission with the same five-speed auto used in the V8 models. The updated Challenger SE with its 3.5-liter V6 was revealed along with a new SE Rallye edition at the Spring Festival of LXs in Irvine California this weekend.
Edmund's Insideline that broke the story claims that while Chrysler did not announce performance figures, it did reveal that the 5-speed auto helps the SE deliver 25mpg on the highway. However, this could be a typo as that's the exact fuel economy rating that the company gives for the current SE with the 4-speed auto.
As for the Challenger SE Rallye, it will be available from April with a base price of $26,490 including destination. The Rallye package adds dual hood and deck lid stripes, 18-inch five-spoke alloy wheels with black accents, a body colored boot-lid spoiler, a chrome fuel cap and "Micro Carbon" interior accents.
The proposals for extended-range electric vehicles just keep coming in. The latest company to announce new developments in the field of hybrid cars is FEV, a powertrain and vehicle engineering firm headquarted in Aachen, Germany. The firm announced that it will show a range-extended electric vehicle (ReEV) with plug-in capability based on the Dodge Caliber platform at the 2009 SAE World Congress in Detroit (April 20-23, 2009).
The Caliber ReEV's propulsion system employs a 1.0-liter, 3-cylinder, 4 valve engine mated to a UQM PP75 generator that provides 41kW of continuous power in extended-range mode, with a peak power of 75kW.
The energy generated is stored in a 20 kW-h liquid-cooled Lithium Ion battery pack that operates at 346V, with a Delphi DC/DC converter. FEV said that the batteries provide enough power for the car to cover a distance of 40 miles or 64 kilometers which seems to be the magic number for most vehicles of the sort... The Caliber ReEV can accelerate from zero to 60mph (96km/h) in 8.3 seconds and has a top speed of 84mph or 135 km/h.
For the record, the Caliber pictured above is a standard model as FEV has not releases any photos of the ReEV prototype.
Dodge's motorsport division has launched a new series of online ads featuring the company's 'big-bad' NASCAR bus that will be making an 88-stop tour across the country to promote the Dodge product lineup. Nicely done commercials, too bad that Chrysler's PR department (ha, that's a good one...) hasn't taken the time to promote the ads as we stumbled upon them by chance, but we guess we'll get the word around...
Cash-strapped Chrysler LLC didn't have a lot of money to spend on concept cars at this year's Detroit Show so Dodge was left with the re-introduction of the Lotus Elise based, all-electric Circuit EV sports coupe. As many of may remember, Chrysler had presented the Dodge EV along with two other all-electric prototypes last September. Aside from a few subtle cosmetic changes that concern the front-grille and bumper, the new alloy wheels and the quirky orange paint job, there aren't any substantial differences between the Circuit EV and the EV.
The Circuit EV is propelled by a completely electric ENVI drivetrain, that utilizes just three powertrain components that include a 200 kW (268HP) electric motor to drive the wheels, an advanced lithium-ion battery system to power the electric-drive motor, and a controller that manages energy flow.
Dodge claims that the zero-emissions Circuit EV sprints from zero to 60mph (96 km/h) in less than 5 seconds while it hits the quarter-mile in 13 seconds and achieves a top-speed of more than 120mph (196 km/h).
The Dodge Circuit EV has a driving range of around 150 to 200 miles between charges. The batteries can be charged simply by plugging into a standard 110-volt household outlet. The recharge time can be cut in half by using a typical 220-volt household appliance power outlet.
The U.S. Air Force has spent taxpayer money collaborated with Galpin Auto Sports, which is widely known through its involvement in MTV's Pimp My Ride show, to create customized versions of the Ford Mustang and the Dodge Challenger pony cars. Why, do we hear you ask? Well, the Air Force needed something a bit more spectacular than your typical TV ads to draw the attention of new recruits. The result is the air-force-inspired white Ford Mustang 'X-1' and black Dodge Challenger 'VAPOR' that will travel across the country this year.
The 'X-1' Mustang features a 'jet cockpit that includes a single-driver ejection seat placed centrally, short shifter, flight stick, and a high-tech instrumentation panel. On the outside, the heavily modded 'Stang gets a wide bodykit, dark alloy wheels and a pair of Lambo-style scissor doors. Power is provided by a custom 4.6 liter V8 engine with 500HP, courtesy of Ford Racing.
The more radical looking Dodge Challenger 'Vapor' continues the air-force theme with a 'Stealth' bodykit, carbon fiber exterior trim, a custom stealth exhaust mode that gives the driver the option to run the vehicle in complete silence, one-off carbon-fiber wheels, radar-absorbing paint, proximity sensors, and a 360-degree camera with a quarter-mile range.
Like its Ford counterpart, the Vapor's interior comes with aircraft style controls plus a passenger side steering wheel, GPS tracking, night and thermal vision via a film on the front windshield, and what Galpin calls, as the "most technologically-advanced computer system with remote control UAV-type access from anywhere in the world utilizing the internet."
