First came the Dodge Challenger Hellcat with a 6.2L, 707 hp supercharged V8. Now comes a four-door Charger sedan version good for 204 mph. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Links open in new windows
+ General Motors plans to invest $6.5 billion in its Brazil operations over the next five years, primarily in plants and product development. More at Reuters.
+ A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO (3851GT) sold for $38.1 million at the Bonhams Quail Lodge auction, setting an all-time automobile price record. More at The New York Times.
+ Ford will team with Michigan utility DTE Energy to build a solar array, the largest in the state, at the automaker’s world headquarters in Dearborn. More at The Detroit News.
+ Three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart will sit out this weekend’s event at Michigan, with veteran Jeff Burton chosen to fill in. More at NBC Sports.
+ Motor Trend is reporting that the next-generation Corvette ZR1 will be mid-engined and could be named the Zora in honor of Zora Arkus-Duntov. More at Motor Trend.
+ Dodge has introduced a Charger four-door version of the Hellcat, which shares its 707 hp supercharged V8 with the Challenger Hellcat. More at USA Today.
+ Former U.S. Attorney David Kelley, now with Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, has been appointed to monitor vehicle safety issues at Toyota. More at Bloomberg.com.
+ The Wood Brothers have formed a technical alliance with Team Penske and hired Ryan Blaney to drive in a partial Sprint Cup schedule next season. More at Sporting News.
+ Automotive supplier Autoliv has announced a new operating structure with separate divisions for passive safety and electronics. More at Automotive Business Review.
For the previous Executive Briefing from August 11, click here.
I’m sorry, maybe I’m just having a bad morning reading about all the truck crashes on another site, but a 4 door capable of 204 mph? Is this where we’re going with passenger cars? Load your kids in the back seat and go 204 mph. Wonderful.
Is this where we’re going with passenger cars?
I now. It seems ridiculous. But the age of the personal automobile is rapidly fading and manufacturers have to offer sometime to pique the interest of middle school boys and keep them hungering for a car.
You can’t do it with great design; the safety police have put a damper on that. Race cars aren’t sexy looking anymore either. You can’t do it by loading the car up with the same fancy electronics that are luring them away. So all you have left is power or green technology. If this is the end, maybe the meanest, baddest dinosaurs should play us out.
Personally, I think we need to ditch the armored car and angry bee look and get back to classic design. Worried about hitting pedestrians? Get a louder horn and ticket them for not crossing at the corners. Worried about truck bumpers at eye level? there’s no reason they have to be that high, bring back station wagons.
That noise you hear in the background is Dodge thumbing their nose at all other manufactures. Again
When the Hemi Charger returned to production, I read somewhere that it was electronically limited to 157 mph. I don’t guess an additional 47 mph will kill you more if you hit a stationary object.
Edit
Manufacturer’s
A 700hp, 200mph production car? As someone who has been into cars, bikes and racing for decades I should be excited by this. But I’m not, it doesn’t make me feel anything at all. I don’t know why but I’m sure it’s not just that I’m older – other cars do excite me. Maybe it’s because the numbers are so high that they’re irrelevant, or maybe it’s because it’s not all that hard to do this kind of thing these days. But meh…
I understand what everyone is saying but I still want one. Badly.