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jalopnik reviews

2008 Dodge Charger SRT8, Part Three

Why you should buy the 2008 Dodge Charger SRT8:
You never got enough oversteer from your big wheel as a kid. Your father taught you big motors and tire smoke are guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. The first passage in your bible reads "In the beginning, God created the Hemi and the Earth." You think global warming is not only a crock of crap, but a communist plot against all that is good and pure. You run a drag strip for orphans. You own stock in ExxonMobil.

Why you shouldn't buy this car:
The rumble of a proper American V8 annoys you. The soft whoosh your Birkenstocks bring when pressed against the pedal of your hybrid makes you put down your wheatgrass smoothie and smile. You think a Japanese crossover is the most responsible automotive investment you can make. You care about depreciation. You are Ed Begley Jr.

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jalopnik reviews

2008 Dodge Charger SRT8, Part Two

Exterior Design: ****
Let's not mince words here: The 2008 Dodge Charger SRT8 is the kid that took your sister out to a party and she came back with frazzled hair, disheveled clothes, and smeared makeup. It's a badass car and it looks it. In sedate colors it blends in like a roughneck in a polo, but when properly coiffed, it gets a solid nod as the obvious troublemaker. Something is brewing behind those headlights, and we all know it starts with a capital 'T'.

Interior Design: **
Like Wert said said so eloquently in his review of the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8, "the exterior was crafted with pound upon pound of love and care; the interior feels like the ginger-headed stepchild of the design process." As Challenger goes, so goes Charger. Where the exterior is tough and purposeful, the interior is disjointed and nonsensical. A car like this should be a purpose-built missile of power and fury, not some toddler-coddling, middle-American market-research vomitorium.

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jalopnik reviews

2008 Dodge Charger SRT8, Part One

While Wert spent last week behind the wheel of the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8, I had the muscle car's big, boorish bear of a brother, the 2008 Dodge Charger SRT8. While the two cars may come off the same production lines, I'm finding myself using a different set of adjectives than the petals of flowery prose Wert scattered in front of the Challenger's tires. The Charger SRT8 is pitifully crude, boorish and obnoxious. As far as high performance goes, it's a complete piece of shit. But it's the most badass, tire-spinning, smoke-billowingly fun piece of shit we've ever driven.

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jalopnik reviews

Dodge Charger Police Edition, Part Three

Why you should buy the 2008 Dodge Charger Police Edition:
You need a big cruiser, but need muscle car speed. Your department has a bunch of money to spend after a big drug bust. You've got to reunite your band and save an orphanage.

Why you shouldn't buy this car:
You think high-speed pursuits are unnecessary and dangerous. You complain about high gas prices. You think the police shouldn't carry guns. You're a neo-Nazi from Illinois.

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jalopnik reviews

2008 Dodge Charger Police Edition, Part Two

Exterior Design: ****
The 2008 Dodge Charger Police Edition benefits from the inherently aggressive looks of the standard Charger's angry headlamps and strong rear haunches. Of course, each car's style will be affected by the livery of its jurisdiction. Our car looks badass in black with the exposed steel wheels and a spot lamp mounted in the A-pillar, but we would've liked to have a push-bar in front to make it even more intimidating.

Interior Design: ***
Function rules over form inside the Police Edition. The center console and floor shifter have disappeared, making room for a large mounting surface for police equipment, relocating the autostick to the steering column. You would think a cop car might have some sort of donut holder molded into the dashboard, but there aren't even any cup holders. But the three stars come entirely from the rubber floors, making you free to spill beverages or bodily fluids without fear of a difficult cleanup, and the red night-light.

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jalopnik reviews

2008 Dodge Charger Police Edition, Part One


If you saw Top Gear last week, you saw the boys compete to find the best sub-£900 replacement for the British standard Opel Astra police car. They shouldn't have bothered. There's already something bigger, stronger and faster in the colonies — and we've driven it. Just ignore the price tag and fuel economy. —Ed.

Barreling down the highway in the 2008 Dodge Charger Police Edition, I'm on a mission. It's 106 miles to Chicago, I've got a full tank of gas, and I'm supposed to meet Hardigree on the Southside in an hour at the 95th Street drawbridge. Legally, there's no way for me to make it on time, and even though this is a cop car, I've no sirens or flashing lights to assist me in pursuing above-the-law speeds. What I've got instead is a stripped-down, blacked-out cruiser that feels like the spiritual successor to the Dodge Monaco Elwood Blues picked up from the Mt. Prospect city police auction. Though that may just be the black suit, sunglasses, and fedora talking.

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2010 dodge charger

The 2010 Dodge Charger Coupe That Never Was...Or Ever Will Be

There are a lot of Mopar enthusiasts out there who think the four-door Dodge Charger is a cryin' shame, an abomination and an affront to the badge it wears. Maybe. But, you can still do some seriously crazy burnouts in the Charger SRT8 so we don't know what the big deal is. In any case, artist Michael Leonhard has seen fit to re-imagine the legendary car as if it never went away, in proper two door style with vintage color schemes and horrible aerodynamics to boot. Very nicely done Michael, but although we'd be all for two muscle cars coupes in the modern Chrysler lineup, we think Chryslerberus'll think that's just patently ridiculous — despite an obvious desire to see it happen.

[Carscoop from Micheal Leonhard]

new cars

DUB Edition Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger, Please Make It Stop

Sweet quarts of Pennzoil, why must every automaker jump on bandwagons they have no business being on? Chrysler, the reason people put DUB wheels and parts on their cars is to be unique and stand out from the crowd. By partnering with DUB for the 2008 DUB Edition Chrysler 300 Touring and 2008 DUB Edition Dodge Charger SXT, you're missing the point. Now you have two underpowered cars, with largely unremarkable styling, and overblown Kicker sound systems that will be replaced anyway. Has everyone at Chryslerberus taken crazy pills?

[Inside Line]


down on the street bonus edition

The Forgotten Charger Thrives In The Mile High City

You hear a lot about the late-60s Chargers, the Malaise Era Chargers, and the current crop, but what about the forgotten '66 and '67 models? Some think they're homely (and suspiciously similar in design to the AMC Marlin), but 40+ years sit pretty well on this '66 that the unstoppable Kitt found in her Denver neighborhood. In this case, the car's proud owner was present and happy to open hood and doors to facilitate photography of his Dodge (which, sadly, lacks the optional 426 Hemi).


It is a Dodge Charger! We don't care what one of us says.

star car shootout

Bullitt Charger Or Bluesmobile Monaco?

We took a break from Star Car Shootout last week during all the Geneva coverage, but we're back today with another great matchup. The last shootout had two of Steve McQueen's silver screen rides go at it, and after two weeks of voting, the Mustang from Bullitt has beaten the Porsche 911 from Le Mans in another closely contested battle-o'-cool.

Just to keep everyone excited for this Saturday's Bullitt screening Detroit meetup, we're pitting the '68 Dodge Charger from Bullitt against the '74 Dodge Monaco Bluesmobile from the original Blues Brothers movie. Both are big black Dodges with thumping V8s. Both starred in spectacular chase scenes and performed big-air jumps. But your votes will decide which one has that certain undefinable something: Which one is cooler?
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classic ad watch

What, No Bootlegger Turns? Dukes of Hazzard Racing Sets From Ideal

You know what was missing from most slot-car racing sets? Jumps! Now, based on personal experience with slot cars, we'd say that the chance of a car making a jump and then landing back on the slot approach zero... but so what? It's Boss Hogg versus the Duke Boys!

classic ad watch

1971 Dodge Charger: Get a Landau Vinyl Roof At No Extra Charge!

A certain 60s movie and a certain 70s TV show have ensured that the 1968-70 Chargers will always overshadow all the others. But what about the '71-74 Charger? The 1973 model was the best-selling Charger, and in 1971 you could get whitewalls, hubcaps... and the landau vinyl roof- at no extra charge!

found on ebay

Now You Can Roll On Dubs Like A Senator

You might think that a California State Senator, especially the President Pro Tem of the State Senate, would drive a Prius or an Aptera or something. But that's not the case. Oakland Democrat Senator Don Perata has been tooling around in a red Dodge Charger R/T with the 5.7-liter HEMI V8. Not only that, it's been running around on a set of 22" Panther chrome rims. Stylish. And now that it's on eBay it can be all yours.

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industry news

2011 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger To Remain Rear-Wheel Drive, Get Makeover

It's no news that the 300's been a hit for Chrysler — and we here at the Jalop obviously are fans of the Dodge Charger SRT8, and the new Dodge Challenger's certainly got itself a purdy mouth. But there's potentially going to be some fuel economy issues inherent with a RWD, Hemi-powered platform given the current desire by Washington to focus toward beating up automakers and away from a more common-sensical Euro approach to increasing fuel economy. So what's the three-headed dog-owned car company going to do? According to the website for the lovers, the dreamers and me the answer is — not a whole lot. More »

crime

Dukes Of Hazzard Replica Stolen, Cooter Not Ruled Out As Suspect

In the spirit of them Duke boys, a renegade in Ronkonkoma, NY made off with a 1969 Dodge Charger General Lee replica (complete with Confederate battle flag and everything). The car was reported stolen at about 10:00 pm yesterday and was found abandoned at around 7:00 am the next day. We have a couple of theories about what happened. Either the person stole the car expecting to go for a big of a joy ride and then dump the General before getting popped, or they realized that even Rosco P. Coltrane could find a bright orange Charger in Ronkonkoma and quickly abandoned the vehicle. Either way, looks like these good ole' boys have gotten away so far. [Newsday]