Did you know that the controversial Dodge Demon name goes back 50 years? In 1970, the restyled Plymouth Valiant, named the Duster, was a massive success. Dodge immediately insisted on getting its own version. That car became the 1971 Dodge Demon. 1970 Plymouth Duster 340 Both the A-body Plymouth Duster and Dodge Demon were fantastic cars for the money (starting just over $2,100). The two cars were virtually identical, underneath. The attractive-looking Demon came with four optional...
Few people are aware of the important role that John and Horace Dodge played in shaping Detroit’s early auto industry, and of the story of a dynamic partnership formed between two enterprising brothers who remained inseparable throughout their lives. John (right) and Horace Dodge HUMBLE BEGINNINGS Born into an industrious but poor family, Dodge brothers, John (born in 1864) and Horace (born in 1868), received their mechanical training from working in their father’s machine shop, in Niles,...
With a spectacular burnout, Leah Pritchett and her 1320-themed Mopar Top Fuel Dragster, helped debut the new Challenger 1320 at the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals, on July 20-22, 2018, at Bandimere Speedway. (The 1320’s name comes from the length of a quarter-mile drag strip- 1,320 feet). This drag-oriented, street-legal muscle car, for the grassroots drag racer, can now be ordered from Dodge for the bargain price of $46,000 (i.e., standard 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack of $38,995,...
The new Daytona borrows only its name, but features Lucky buyers of the 2020 Dodge Charger Daytona Hellcat Widebody are now taking delivery of a very special car. The car commemorates the 50th anniversary of the most outrageous car it ever made, by creating the most powerful sedan in the world. Fifty years ago, Dodge commissioned Creative Industries to build 501 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona models to satisfy NASCAR rules. The 426 Hemi-equipped aerodynamically-styled car dominated at the race...
A popular cost-conscious alternative for Challenger owners to the 5.7L and 6.4L Hemi engines is the 3.6L Pentastar engine. It replaced the 3.5L engine, in 2012, and is rated at an impressive 305 horsepower and 270 lb.-ft. of torque, with 90% of its torque available from 1,800 to 6,350 rpm. Performance from this modern 6-cylinder engine actually exceeds some small blocks from the first muscle car era. Before the first aluminum block was cast, the new Pentastar V-6 benefited from more than...
On November 5, 2019, during the annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Mopar and Dodge/SRT took the wraps off their latest offering, a new, fourth-generation version of the factory-built, racetrack-only, Dodge Challenger known as the Drag Pak. The 2020 Drag Pak will be limited to a production run of just 50 serialized units. It is engineered for grassroots drag racers that compete in sportsman classes in events sanctioned by NHRA and NMCA. Its complete turnkey package and modular kits, make it...
Do you want to protect your wheels and tires from being stolen? The best security is locking lug nuts. These special wheel locks will help keep your wheels and tires safe even in dangerous neighborhoods or unlit parking lots. You’ll sleep better at night knowing that they will still be on your car when you wake up in the morning. Without a unique key, most thieves will be stopped in their tracks if they attempt to steal your rims and may move on to easier scores. Thieves are not only after...
The Challenger concept car, shown at the 2006 Detroit International Auto Show, was a big tease for Mopar fans. It was the answer to a hot rodders’ dream- the reincarnation of a 1970s Dodge muscle car! But, would it make it to production? See the 15:11 minute mark of the following video: Based on the success of the retro-inspired 2005 Mustang GT, Dodge looked at its parts bins and figured out how to use this stuff to create a modern-day Challenger. To accomplish this feat, Chrysler drew...
It’s a fact of life- cars make noise. Inexplicably, there are those in this world who build houses next to major freeways and then complain about the speed of the vehicles going past. There are those who build houses next to airports and complain about the excessive noise. Just as there are those people, there were those who decided that cars were too loud and needed to shut up! This presented car companies with a problem. Their engineers were telling them that for maximum efficiency,...
Air conditioning was first offered by Packard, in 1939, in its production cars. These units were manufactured by Bishop and Babcock Co, of Cleveland, OH. Cars ordered with the new "Weather Conditioner" were shipped from Packard's East Grand Boulevard facility to the B&B factory where the conversion was performed. Once complete, the car was shipped to a local dealer where the customer would take delivery. Packard fully warranted and supported this conversion, and marketed it well. However,...
Four-wheel drive, 4WD, 4x4 ("four by four"), or AWD ("all-wheel drive") is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously. While many people associate the term with off-road vehicles and sport utility vehicles, powering all four wheels provides better control in normal road cars on many surfaces, and is an important part in the sport of rallying. The first application of four-wheel drive, occurred in 1893. In 1937, the...
An anti-roll bar (roll bar, anti-sway bar, sway bar, or stabilizer bar) is a part of many automobile suspensions that helps reduce body roll during fast cornering or over road irregularities. It connects opposite (left/right) wheels together through short lever arms linked by a torsion spring. A sway bar increases the suspension's roll stiffness- its resistance to roll in turns, independent of its spring rate in the vertical direction. The first stabilizer bar patent was awarded to Canadian...
A radar detector is an electronic device that has been used by motorists, for decades, to detect if their speed is being monitored by police using a radar gun. It gave a driver sufficient warning to reduce his speed to avoid being ticketed for speeding. In a general sense, only emitting technologies, like Doppler radar, or LIDAR (pulsed laser light) can be detected. Visual speed estimating techniques, like ANPR or VASCAR cannot be detected in daytime. There are also no reports that piezo...
Since the Obama Administration finalized standards in 2012, to encourage the automotive industry to reach a 54.5 miles per gallon corporate fuel economy average by 2025, manufacturers have been employing every means possible to squeeze another mile out of a gallon of gasoline. A combination of aerodynamics, weight savings, electrification, hybrid technologies and advanced engine management software has gone a long way, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that you save a lot...
Early cars did not have batteries, as their electrical systems were very limited. A bell was used instead of an electric horn, headlights were gas-powered and the engine was started with a crank. Car batteries became widely used, around 1920, as cars became equipped with electric starters. The sealed battery, which did not require refilling, was invented in 1971. The Hudson Motor Car Company was the first to use a standardized battery in 1918 when they started using Battery Council...
