By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

This 2004 Ram was on eBay last month. It didn't meet the reserve. In fact, no one even bid on it (perhaps people were daunted by the fact that the starting bid was set at $50k). But it's pretty hilarious so I thought you guys would like it. So how tall do you think this woman is? It's hard to tell. More pics after the jump.

By Rob

Editor-in-Chief

Given the fact that the next-generation Titan will be built by Chrysler, I thought this would be a humorous match up. The Ram defeated the F-150 in the last full-size pickup showroom showdown, but I know there are a lot of Nissan fans on CarDomain, too. So, which would you choose, the 2008 Nissan Titan or the 2008 Dodge Ram?

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Guess what the cat dragged in? Here at the Tire Rack headquarters in South Bend, the start-finish line for One Lap of America, the Dodge Challenger SRT that wrecked back at Road America rolled up to join the road-weary One Lap cars. Having made the drive from Wisconsin to Indiana under its own power, and despite having been disqualified it from competing officially, the mangled Mopar had its own victory to celebrate. Not only it participate in the final skid-pad event—it delivered, with Erich at the wheel, the burliest burnout of all the cars that scorched their tires in victory circle. It turns out the crash damage was almost entirely cosmetic: the only mechanical difficulties resulting from the wreck were a burned-up fan motor (it was smoking after being pinched against the engine when the radiator got mashed back a couple of inches) and some torn-up ABS wiring. Erich will be driving it home to Detroit, and fellow Chrysler engineer Ralph Giles will be rebuilding the race car to run in the Targa Newfoundland. Stay tuned, as CarDomain will be following this project closely. And check below the jump for more pics of the Challenger's hilarious One Lap encore!

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Edmunds just the put the new Challenger up against the Mustang Bullitt. The Bullitt comes with a manual tranny, weighs 600 pounds less and is $5,400 cheaper. But the Challenger smoked it in the quarter, edged it out in the slalom, has a higher quality interior and a usable back seat. Hmmm....

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Last weekend a bunch of cool old Mopar cop cars turned out at the National Police Parade in Newport, Rhode Island. Examples include a NYPD '88 Diplomat and a RISP '79 Newport owned by Phil Masso, a CTSP '74 Fury owned by Tom Weglarz, and a CHP '73 Polara owned by Tracy Claus. There was also a CHP '91 Crown Vic owned Steve Spaulding and Tracy Claus, and even a super cool 5.0 Mustang (I'd love to have one of those). You can see all of these cool cruisers after the jump. Thanks to Steve Spaulding for the pics!

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I knew that Chrysler design engineers Ralph Giles and Erich Heuschele were nice guys, but I can't believe they were crazy enough to let Suzy Bruisy take their 2009 SRT Challenger out on the track for some laps! Riding shotgun was Steven Rankins' wife Jane, a former autocrosser, who coached me through the turns. The Challenger had a big-car feel like the AMC I'm used to, but it stuck to the track like it was on rails. Though I was a little apprehensive after what happened to the last one, the new Challenger wouldn't break loose even when I pushed it. There was one back straightaway on the CMS road course where I was able to punch it to just over 90 mph with the hammer down on the 6.1 L Hemi, not realizing that they want you to keep the speed down around 50 mph during "touring laps." While I might've used up a little too much of Ralph and Erich's race gas, they were stoked to find that I'd worn off the tire chaff so they'd be better prepped for their "real" run shortly later. Hope I helped get you some extra tenths, guys! More pics after the jump.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

In April, Chrysler and Nissan announced that the next version of the Nissan Titan pickup will be based on the Ram 1500 and built in Chrysler's plant in Saltillo, Mexico. Since then, more details have emerged, including the fact that this new Chrysler-built Titan will most likely be available with Hemi power. That's right, a Mexican-built Hemi-powered Japanese full-sized pickup. More at pickuptrucks.com.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

After putting the first Challenger in the fence yesterday, co-drivers Erich and Ralph, design engineers for Chrysler, have returned to the circuit with a whole 'nother car. One Lap of America will be an exhibition run for them now, since you can't officially run for points once you've replaced your car—so now they're just in it for kicks. The orange SRT rolled into the paddock this morning at Mid America Motorplex in Pacific Junction, Iowa, and completed a perfectly respectable and wreck-free run out on the track.

Ralph told me that they drove wrecked Challenger 200 miles in the shape it was in yesterday with no problems, getting 19 mpg on the highway. It's getting repaired at a friend's shop, and Ralph confirmed that it'll likely be run in the Targa Newfoundland, Canada's version of the Mille Miglia. It's a good thing that race cars never die!

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Coming into turn 1 at the end of Road America's long straightaway, the Vanishing Point Challenger got loose, went into the infield grass, and then hit the tire-pile on the outside wall hard enough to fly up right on top of it. Driver Erich Heuschele was unhurt, but the damage, as you can see, was pretty catastrophic. The team says the Challenger is out of the race, which is terrible news. But astonishingly, we saw the car shortly after our own run leaving the track under its own power—and passing us! There was some speedy-dry in the car's panels when I photographed it on the wrecker, but it didn't seem to be dumping fluids. Maybe they'll be able to patch it up and run it without the front clip, NASCAR-style. What do you think: is this it for the Challenger, or will we see it again down the road? Take a good look at the carnage after the jump and decide for yourself.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

A couple of Dodge guys are bringing a Vanishing Point themed Challenger on One Lap. Not sure I like the rallye style wheels, and I always think white looks better on old cars with lots of chrome, but it's still a cool idea. And the exhaust sounds pretty amazing. So who do you think will come in first? Jen and the Boxer4Racing STI, or the Vanishing Point Challenger?

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

Driving from LA to Denver and back will give you ample opportunity to get to know almost any car, and Dodge’s new 2008 Challenger SRT8 is no exception. What makes this adventure even more compelling is that on the second leg, from Denver to LA, we’ll be joined by a restored 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Hemi. Have we died and gone to Mopar heaven? Read after the jump to find out.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Well, Rich survived his epic journey. Full account of the last days of this awesome road trip over at Automotive Traveler. And there's a cool pic of the Challenger getting a much-needed wash after the jump. Thanks for sharing, Rich! And thanks to everyone who followed this story and turned out to see Rich and the car along the way.

By David

aka Highspeedhijinks

The Hemi Challenger resto from 2Fast 2Furious is on eBay right now—sitting at a cool 60k—and the reserve hasn't even been met. With all the hype about Fast and the Furious 4, I'm surprised this car is coming out of the shadows so soon. This isn't one of the clone shell cars either. It was intended for interior shots, it's packing the real deal—"NEW 426 HEMI WITH A NEW HEAVY DUTY 727 HURST AUTOMATIC TRANSMISION AND A NEW DANA 355 POSI HEMI REAR END"—and only has 100 miles on the clock. So what it's worth? I'm sure the fact that it's non-numbers matching hurts the value, but on the other hand, it's a movie car that's linked to the main characters and the finale of the flick. Those factors make me think this baby will fetch a price somewhere in the low 100,000's. Do I think its worth that? Well, no. But it's most likely what someone is gonna pay for it. What do you think its worth?

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Friday was another big day for Rich and the Challenger--it included a Kowalski-style photo op with a helicopter, more run-ins with the cops, covered wagons and another Las Vegas meet up. Full details on the day's adventures at Automototive Traveler, and of course more exclusive pics after the jump. Tomorrow we'll wrap this story up with a full report of Cars and Coffee in Irvine, and turning the keys back over to Chrysler.

By John Coyle

Editor

Ok, so I know that this makes two Mopars in a row—I swear, Rob didn't have anything to do with it—but Jon's Dodge Demon was just too cool to resist. While it might not be the kind of bone-stock machine a lot of Mopar purists appreciate, the supercharged 340 he dropped in probably makes this baby a lot more fun to drive than it was with the factory 318! Congrats Jon!