Don’t look to your nearest Dodge dealer for the new SRT Viper, that is unless it has already sold a number of the supercars and other SRT vehicles in the past.

SRT Boss Ralph Gilles said yesterday in an interview with AutoBlog that there will be a dealer certification process necessary for a lot to sell the sexy new snake. It’s part of a push by the automaker to ensure that beyond selling the next great American supercar, it’s also providing the level of service customers expect when making a six-figure purchase.

That means dealer staff will need to undergo additional training to service and sell the upcoming SRT Viper.

“It’s going to be a qualified dealer situation… The ones who do the dealer training in terms of the tech. I want a tech. I want a display car. I want all these things. There’s going to be a list. It’s not going to be impossible, it’s just that someone has to put in the extra effort and say ‘I’m an SRT dealer,’” Gilles said.

Despite not having official pricing, buyers are apparently already starting to line up for a shot at owning the restyled supercar. Given the new restrictions associated with selling one, Chrysler is already approaching dealerships with sales records suggesting they might be good candidates for certification.

That all boils down to one thing: getting your hands on the new Viper might be harder than making it to the local Chrysler dealer first with a suitcase of unmarked bills.

[Source: AutoBlog]

Today’s cars all seem to be focused on delivering fun driving experience that’s still friendly on gas. Those two elements are often an important factor in a car purchase, but sometimes you just want to feral thrill of a big, loud engine.

Lets take a look at our top ten list of the most affordable cars with big V8s. Just about all of these cars have at least 300 horses under the hood, and have the personality of old-time muscle cars. The range here includes sports cars, sedans and luxury vehicles, so you might see something out of place while looking through this top 10. The price range also starts off pretty steep, but ventures into real bargain-bin prices near the top three.

At the end of our list is the new Chevrolet Camaro.  ZL1At $54,095 The Camaro ZL1 might not sound like value. That is, until you consider that it has 580-hp and makes a whopping 556 lb·ft of torque. The supercharged 6.2-liter V8 helps you get to 60 mph in under four seconds, and this hopped-up Camaro is also capable of lapping the famous Nurburgring in 7:41.27. The ZL1 accomplishes this thanks to its high-tech Magnetic Ride Control, which you’ll find in some high-class exotics like the Ferrari 458 Italia.

One of the most wonderful sensations come when you command a whole handful of power just with the flexing of your right foot. Horsepower is an intoxicating element when it comes to driving, but that doesn’t mean that it’s saved for the most expensive vehicles out there.

Check out the list of the top ten most affordable vehicles with 300 (or more) horsepower. You might be surprised at the deals here, with our leader having a price-to-pony ratio of $73-per-horsepower.  Most of the vehicles here are coupes, but a trio of sedans squeezed in, proving fun can come in four-doors.

First on our list is the rally-tested Subaru WRX STI. The performance-oriented vehicle is the first of three sedans that made the top 10, and features Subaru’s symmetrical all-wheel drive and a turbocharged 2.5-liter Boxer engine, which pumps out 305-hp. The cheapest WRX STI is the four-door model, which also has the STI’s instantly recognizable rear spoiler. With a top speed of 160 mph,  the four-door also has a slightly higher top-speed than its five-door counterpart. The WRX STI can get to 60 mph from a standing start in under 5 seconds, and it’s all-wheel drive helps it gobble up the road as fast as anything else on this list. It starts at $34,095.

At the purest level, being a passionate car guy is a selfish game. Somewhere along the line a bug with gas in its veins and a love for all things mechanical wriggles underneath the skin and settles in for a lifetime of gear-head glory. That’s something Halvor Sorhus and his Chevrolet S10 build know very well. 

As you’ve probably already noticed, there’s very little left of the original truck, which underwent a heart transplant that left it the shocking V10 engine from a donor Dodge Viper.

Sorhus, who lives in Norway, didn’t set out to build the crazy frankencar you see above, but after somebody offered to trade the powerplant to him for his Cutlass Cruiser, he said the decision was easy.

“Having a dad who is really into cars, and especially American cars, this sort of hobby came naturally to me,” he said. “I have been tinkering with cars and bikes all my life, and my motto has [always] been: ‘if it doesn’t scrape, its not low enough.’ This build, however, is a bit of a first for me. Its a bit more radical than what I imagined I could pull off, but here we are, on the homestretch of the build, and it fits together really nicely.”

With the project nearing completion, we asked him what the final product will look like. While he hasn’t fully decided what to do, it sounds like either the orange paint pictured above or a simple gloss black might do the trick.

The trouble is, he won’t ever get to drive what he affectionately calls the “Money Pit” out on the street. Sorhus told us the laws in Norway can be pretty restrictive to modified vehicles, so there isn’t much of a chance his truck will ever see the road. So what’s the point?

If you hadn’t guessed, he’s something of a track nut, so what amounts to a tin can with a crazy engine is probably going to see a lot of race time.

“Everyone thinks I’m crazy for putting a V10 into an S10,” he said. “But who cares what anyone thinks? I’m doing this build for myself, wanting a one-off truck.”

The project originally began in late 2008, but really took off a year ago, which is when he got the Viper engine. With something in the ballpark of around 500 hp and 525 lb-ft of torque, we can’t blame him for feeling excited to take his new baby out.

So what’s he most revved up for? Drifting. “I imagine it will haul ass as a drifter,” he said — and it’s hard to disagree.

GALLERY: Viper V10 Chevrolet S10

Thanks to data from automotive research firm Polk, we were able to compile a list of the top 10 most popular automakers for buyers aged 18 to 34 – roughly the Gen Y set.

There are quite a few surprises on the list, most notably that Scion is missing. The Toyota spin-off brand was designed to target specifically that age group but weren’t even on the top 10 that were most successful at targeting young buyers last year. Also, you may be surprised by the differences between the top cars for teens and the automakers that made it onto this list.

Starting off the top 10 is MINI, the British automaker known to make fun and compact, yet functional cars. The Cooper models has a near cult following in the automotive community and with just over 10 percent of its buyers between 18 and 34 years old, it’s obvious that the younger Gen Y embrace what MINI is all about.

The Durango has been a hit for Dodge, bringing back SUV buyers to a brand that has shed numerous products over the past few years.

While equipped with a standard (and efficient) 3.6-liter V6 engine, as a truck (and a sizable one at that), rising gas prices could send potential buyers away from the Durango and into something smaller. In order to keep pace with such changes Dodge is moving up the introduction of the 2014 model, which will see a several mile per gallon improvement thanks to a transmission with two extra gears.

According to one source the 2014 Durango will launch in May of 2013, sporting the same 8-speed automatic transmission that is already being used in the Chrysler 300 and which is expected to make its way under the hood of the Jeep Grand Cherokee soon.

In addition to that update, also look for the addition of the Chrysler brand’s larger 8.4-inch LCD screen as a part of the Uconnect system.

[Source: JeepGarage.org]

Oh the irony! After being selected as Top Safety Picks by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and earning a five-star safety rating from NHTSA, the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger sedans are being recalled for a possible malfunction of its anti-lock braking system (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC).

In total 119,700 vehicles are being recalled due to a problem with the power distribution center that could overheat causing both those valuable systems to fail on the vehicle. Without a doubt, the failure and loss of those two safety systems increases the risk of a potential car crash. Currently no accidents or injuries related to the recall have been reported.

“A plastic insert surrounding a fuse may be subject to distortion caused by thermal expansion and contraction,” Chrysler announced in a statement. “Such distortion could interrupt power to the ABS/ESC control system and temporarily suspend its function.”

Those affected by the recall can take their vehicles to a Chrysler Group dealership to have the ABS/ESC system fuse relocated for free.

Regarded round the world for its exotic supercars, Ferrari counts itself among the automotive elite — and for good reason. That’s why it came as such a compliment when Ferrari boss, presumably Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, stood speechless in front of the SRT  Viper.

Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne described Montezemolo’s reaction as exactly that during a radio interview on a Detroit station, though he never referred to the Ferrari chairman by name, only by title.

“The car is a superb machine,” Marchionne, told WJR-AM radio. “I had the chairman of Ferrari down here for the board meeting last week and he had a chance to look at the car, and he was speechless. I mean, for Ferrari to admit that the car is a unique vehicle is a hell of a compliment to the work that’s gone on here. So I’m delighted. I mean, so far, knock on wood, we’re doing well.”

With an undeniably enthusiastic reception at last month’s New York Auto Show, there’s no question that the SRT Viper is becoming a media darling. It’s Italian-influenced design and aggressive 8.4-liter V10 with 640 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque will be more than enough to put a crick in your neck if you aren’t careful off the line. That’s nothing new for the potent road snake, but its curvaceous styling seen by many as Ferrari influenced is.

GALLERY: 2013 SRT Viper

When the Dodge Dart hits dealers later this year it will be the first Fiat-based Chrysler product to go on sale in America and will also offer competitive fuel economy.

While not quite segment leading, the new numbers are near the top of the pack, with the entry-level 160 hp 2.0-liter Tigershark 4-cylinder rated at 25 mpg city and 36 mpg highway with the six-speed manual, and 29 mpg combined.

Available after launch will be a 1.4-liter MultiAir Turbocharged 4-cylinder (shared with the Fiat 500 Abarth) also making 160 hp mated to a dual-clutch transmission making 27 mpg city and 39 mpg highway, though it will still get a 29 mpg combined rating. Dodge also plans to launch a fuel economy package “aero” version of the Dart with “at least” 41 mpg highway, which will arrive in the the Fall.

In addition, Dodge will offer a 184 hp 2.4-liter 4-cylinder model, though no fuel economy numbers have been announced for that package yet.

The 2013 Dodge Dart will go on sale in June starting from $15,995.

GALLERY: 2013 Dodge Dart

Discuss this story at DartForums.com

The pickup truck is an icon that embodies the working spirit. It’s every blue collar employee’s calling card and farmer’s best friend. Truck buyers grow especially close to their vehicles as trucks are a  key tool in earning a living, depending on them to last through days and years of service.

This man-and-machine relationship breeds intense brand loyalty, with some families staying true to a brand for years. So how does each manufacturer stack up to the others in terms of overall sales? We did the dirty work for you, so click through to see the top 10 best-selling trucks in America from 1990 through today.

Before moving forward, it’s important to note that delving directly to each truck’s sales numbers from original inception is difficult if not impossible given the degree of variation and frequently lost records.

“Where do you start counting Chevy pickups? In 1918, when the first cowl-chassis Four Ninety was sent out the door for upfitting, or in 1930, when the first Chevy with a factory bed was built,” GM’s Tom Wilkinson said during our interview. That said, we gathered the numbers from 1990 on, which offer a window into the overall trends in the truck market.

Love it or hate it, the 2013 SRT Viper is enough to turn heads, make necks crane and fire up cell phone cameras in a flash — something nobody knows better than SRT CEO Ralph Gilles.

After taking the 8.4-liter V10 road monster out for a spin and quickly becoming the star of more than a few shutter bugs attention, Gilles delivered a breakfast speech at a Detroit law firm.

“Oh my god, what a sensation driving that car on the freeway,” said Gilles. “With the modern day cell phones everyone was almost crashing into me trying to take pictures.” It isn’t hard to understand his enthusiasm, or that of anyone else for that matter, given the new Viper’s 640 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque.

SRT did a good job of keeping wraps on its halo car until the New York debut, but there are sure to be more incidents where the Viper is seen roaming and caught on camera before its official launch.

Bringing the car back to life wasn’t an easy task for Gilles or the company. When Chrysler was in serious financial trouble only a few years ago, the Viper was quickly cut from the product line in 2010 for being too expensive and difficult to sell.

Only three years later, we’ve seen Chrysler/Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne return the brand to stability and with it, the reintroduced Viper, now badged by SRT instead of Dodge.

“The history of Viper runs deep. The private equity guys tried to snuff it out, but it’s like the weed that keeps growing back,” Gilles said.

GALLERY: 2013 SRT Viper

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Given the long list of high-horsepower sports cars available today, it’s easy to forget where the Dodge Viper came from — or more importantly how it came to be. 

With the launch of Chrysler’s fifth-generation halo car, the company released a video that reminds us of the Viper’s history and how unusual a concept sports car being put into production was at the time. The vidoe features old interviews and footage — even of the original Viper’s unveiling, which is so informal it’s almost funny.

Fast forward to the current-generation Viper’s debut and much has changed. Music blasting, a fancy stage and roar after road of someone squeezing the throttle, letting the 8.4-liter V10 speak for itself.

If you find the new car to be exciting, watch the video below and revisit the history behind one of America’s most legendary supercars. Click below to watch the video.

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