2009 Dodge Challenger

Last month's review of the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 may have seemed to some a blinding orgy of Detroit love. Having just moved from Detroit to New York City, I was homesick and was seemingly in need of a shot of Motor City muscle. Still, I offer no apology, because despite the rose-colored glasses, I managed to outline the three glaring issues with the low-volume '08 model year Challenger SRT8 — the outdated interior, the weight and most importantly, the automatic transmission. After spending a day this past week driving the new 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T, SRT8 and SE on the roads of New York City and on the Raceway Park track at Englishtown, NJ, Dodge has fixed at least one-third of the Challenger's problems. That's a good thing for Dodge, because I left the rose-colored glasses back in Detroit. More »

2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8, Part Three

Why you should buy the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8: More »

2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8, Part One

Michigan's M-1 is a state trunk road that starts at downtown Detroit's waterfront drive, Jefferson Avenue, then shoots north in a straight line for 21.4 miles, past some of the poorest and wealthiest neighborhoods of the metro region until it loops back down the other direction in the city of Pontiac. And really, nobody calls it "M-1." Everyone knows it as Woodward Avenue and it's the heart of the Midwestern metropolis dubbed the Motor City. But until this morning, I didn't realize how important this stretch of road was to me. Many of you may not know, but this past month I moved to New York. Until the start of last month, I'd lived my entire life in this corner of Michigan. But this week I'm back in Detroit for one reason, and one reason alone — an entire week of driving the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8. It's a car imbued with so much positive energy there's only thing I can think of to do it justice. I plan on running Dodge's muscular old-school revival up and down Woodward Avenue, stoplight-to-stoplight, from downtown Detroit to Pontiac until I pass out from exhaustion or the gas station declines my credit card. More »