Ram‘s new Laramie Limited luxury package pickup bowed yesterday at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show in true American fashion: with a pretty girl smiling at its’ side.

“The launch of the Ram Laramie Longhorn edition gave us a boost in the ultra-premium pickup segment and exceeded our expectations,” said Fred Diaz, President and CEO of the Ram Truck Brand. “Ram Laramie Limited offers customers an even wider selection of luxury models. We expect a lot of interest in the Laramie Limited.”

The Laramie Limited is to be one of two high-end packages available from Dodge subsidiary, Ram. It offers customers the luxury found in their Longhorn version, but without the cattle rancher theme that might scare people away who don’t wear ten gallon hats.

Style-wise,  you get a body colored front fascia, fog lamps, a chrome grill and 20-inch forged aluminum wheels. All HEMI, Cummins, and Ram badges are also replaced by small “Limited” badges. Climb into the cab and you’ll find the interior dressed in leather and lined with greystone piping. The center stack wears a piano black high gloss and gets chrome vent rings with liquid graphite side bezels.

Luxury features are also abound here, including a remote start system, backup camera, a heated steering wheel, adjustable pedals and front vented seats to keep you cool on those hot summer days at the job site. Don’t worry, we won’t tell the guys you’re using them.

GALLERY: RAM Laramie Limited

Of all the special edition vehicles Mopar has on display today at the Chicago Auto Show, the Dodge Dart is probably the most attractive.

It’s also the most radically different looking of the four vehicles we had a chance to see today thanks to the sweeping carbon fiber hood with an aggressive-looking hood scoop that looks down towards a black grille. Those colors work well against the car’s red paint, especially with the 18-inch black aluminum alloy wheels which set this special dart aflight.

Mopar also graced the car with a better air intake and exhaust and retuned engine computer to make an extra 30 horsepower, bringing this version up to 210 total.

Inside, the car gets similar treatment as the exterior. A matching color scheme and piano black trim set the Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute well apart from the stock model — if you’re into the racer boy look.

Click through our gallery and tells us your thoughts in the comments section below.

GALLERY: Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute

Dodge is jumping on the bikini band wagon, but can you blame them? There’s no denying that sex sells, especially with most of the pickup truck crowd.

That’s why Ram pairing up with Sports Illustrated and releasing a teaser ad just makes sense. The 37-second spot features a slender woman clad in diving gear and a black bikini walking out of the ocean and pulling a cloth from a Ram pickup. Nearly all the footage focuses directly on the model. The ad actually cuts out before you see more than a silhouette, but it’s got us wondering what’s up the shirt sleeves over at the Ram division.

You can watch the video after the jump.

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Since its reveal at the Detroit Auto Show, the new 2013 Dodge Dart has received a lot of positive reactions and Dodge intends to make it even better. Based on the Italian Alfa Romeo Giulietta platform, the solid European chassis will be further finessed for sport and performance under the care of Ralph Gilles and the magicians of SRT. The SRT4 is back!

While many of the components are carry-overs from Alfa Romeo, the SRT-4 will likely create an engine that produces no less than the 285-hp and 265 lb.-ft. of torque found in the forerunning Caliber SRT4. A likely powerplant would be a larger displacement, turbocharged and intercooled variant of the Dart’s Tigershark 2.0 liter engine.

Other hardware upgrades include stiffer springs and dampers, larger wheels, and stickier rubber. As for the exterior, think modern day Neon SRT4 as the Dart SRT4 will be stylized with aggressive yet functional vents, scoops, and rear spoiler.

Pricing on the SRT4 should fall near $30,000.

GALLERY: 2013 Dodge Dart

[Source: Motortrend]

Discuss this story at DartForums.com

Mopar has treated us to some automotive delights this morning by releasing Chrysler vehicles decked out with Mopar parts in celebration of the aftermarket parts companies 75th anniversary. The Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute is a race inspired package that takes the already sporty looking Dart to a new level of performance.

The exterior of the Dart GTS 210 has gained several matte black trim pieces including a lower chin spoiler, side sills, rear spoiler and rear-diffuser panel. A carbon fiber hood complete with large air scoop takes some weight off the Dart and makes it look good. The Dart GTS 210 will run on 18-inch, 10 spoke forged alloy titanium-colored wheels which look fantastic against the ruby red paint.

The interior of the Dart GTS 210 will carry on the black and red theme with red Katzkin leather seats accented by black stitching. Piano black trim is used on the shifter bezel, cup holder bezel and dash vents bezel. To top it all off the Dodge Dart GTS 210 gets a suede clad instrument panel with red accent stitching.

For performance, Mopar has added an improved air flow intake, a low back pressure exhaust system and finer tuned fuel/air mix in the cylinder to pull 210 horsepower out of the regular 180 horsepower engine.

The Mopar Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute will be on display at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show.

GALLERY: Mopar Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute

Discuss this story at DartForum.com

For Mopar’s 75th birthday they have added some style and performance to four of Chrysler’s cars.

The Jeep Compass get’s the “True North” package, adding some matte black highlights and blacked out rims. The Fiat 500 is re-badged as the Mopar Fiat Stinger, sporting a bright yellow paint job complete with black racing stripe and checkered flag designed roof. The Dodge Dart becomes the Mopar Dodge Dart GTS 210 tribute, which comes with a carbon fiber hood complete with hood scoop, a skirt to get the Dart a little closer to the ground, and red leather accented interior to make the Dart really pop. To close out the four Mopar tuned vehicles is the Chrysler 300 which is simply called the Mopar ’12. The ’12 got the blacked out treatment, except for a blue line which circles the front wheels and the runs down the side profile of the car.

All four of these beauties will be on display at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show.

Check out the pictures below and tell us what you think in the comments section.

GALLERY: Mopar Jeep Compass “True North”

GALLERY: Mopar Fiat (500) Stinger

GALLERY: Mopar Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute

GALLERY: Mopar Chrysler (300) ’12

10: Audi TT RS

Classic car insurance company Hagerty has just released its annual list of vehicles that it expects will become the collector cars of the future. The list of “affordable” collector cars is capped at $100,000 and comes on the heels of the annual Scottsdale collector car auction week.

“After more than twenty years of witnessing car-collecting trends, we have the unique ability to look at new cars through the eyes of a collector,” said McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty Insurance. “This year’s Hot List includes cars that are sure to develop a cult-like following because their characteristics resonate with driving enthusiasts.”

Starting off the list, and a favorite of ours is the Audi TT RS which retails for $56,850 and is a favorite amongst automotive enthusiasts as an affordable, fun ride without having to indulge into Porsche costs. The TT RS has plenty of global appeal which means it’ll have plenty of global demand down the road. And besides, Audi consistently finds itself at the Le Mans podium; you just can’t argue with success.

DriveSRT posted a sign on their Facebook fan page last week saying they would release a teaser of the 2013 SRT Viper if the number of “likes” they got exceeded 10,000 before February 1.

Needless to say, it did so without much difficulty. We published an article last Friday talking about the fan page. The Viper’s return is sure to be one of the more exciting things to happen this year. We’re extremely eager to see how the 8.4-liter, 600 hp V-10 we saw in 2010 has evolved. Dodge cars are seeing some serious changes, like the 2013 Dart, under new owner Fiat.

It’s been a good thing: according to the Detroit Free Press, Chrysler is expected to report its first annual net profit since 1997 at $600 million. That said, we’re curious to see how much of the raw America spirit the Viper maintains.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

GALLERY: SRT Viper Teaser

On January 31st, Chrysler’s Mopar Division (a term coined from its original title, Motor Parts), celebrates its 75th birthday. And what  could be a better way to mark the occasion than unveiling four modified production vehicles created from the current Mopar performance catalog.

The official unveiling of these four, as of yet unknown machines (the image above is of Mopar’s existing Jeep Wrangler JK-8 pickup conversion), will take place tomorrow at 9.00 Eastern Standard Time at Mopar’s Accessory and Performance Parts Lab, located at 26001 Lawrence Avenue, Center Line, Michigan.

Present at the ceremony will be Pietro Gorlier, who currently heads up Mopar division, along with legendary drag racer Don Garlits. Once the four vehicles have been revealed, they will take pride of place on the Chrysler stand at this year’s Chicago Auto Show, which runs from February 10-19.

Live streaming of the official unveiling begins at 8.30 am EST tomorrow. For more information, click on the link below:

[Source: Mopar]

If there’s really such a thing as car porn, then DriveSRT is the fluffer. They’re offering to release a teaser video of the 2013 SRT Viper if their Facebook fan page gets 10,000 hits before February 1.

Enthusiasts are aware, but in case you somehow missed it, Dodge discontinued the Viper in 2010 because of money problems to much hissing by the automotive community.

While any information on the iconic car is a titillating promise, we’re starting to feel a little teased. As of publication, their page had well over 10,000 “Likes” and that number grew larger every time we tapped the refresh button.

The 2013 Viper is one of the more exciting releases slated for this year and we’re feeling as impatient as a high school senior on prom night. The page says they are “racing towards 10,000 fans” and that they will unlock something that will hint at the lines before the official unveiling in April.

We’re not sure if they mean that this “unlocking” will happen on February 1, or if they’re just taking their sweet time on giving up the goods. Your best bet is to check the page frequently, though we’ll be doing the same and letting everyone know as soon as we get a glimpse.