Dodge has officially unveiled its 2010 Challenger NASCAR racer (at least from one angle) with an announcement that it will field a two car team in next year’s Nationwide Series, run by Penske Racing.

“As the performance brand of our new company, we are excited to expand our relationship with Penske Racing and introduce the iconic Dodge Challenger as our entry into the NASCAR Nationwide Series,” said Dodge Car Brand CEO Ralph Gilles. “Motorsports are a significant part of the Dodge brand’s legacy. Penske Racing has such a rich tradition in motorsports, and our partnership in the Nationwide Series will provide an excellent opportunity to showcase the Challenger and offer our loyal Dodge enthusiasts plenty of excitement in this very competitive series next year.”

Along with the two car effort, Dodge has also committed to supporting Penske’s three teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Initially the two Nationwide Series cars will be Chargers, with the Challenger stepping in for four races, starting with Daytona in July. Justin Allgaier will drive the No. 12 Verizon Wireless car, with Brad Keselowski in the No. 22 Discount Tire car.

Dodge expects to make the move the the Challenger for the full season by 2011.

GALLERY: NASCAR Nationwide Series Dodge Challenger

Official release after the jump:

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Chrysler has announced it will be bringing four specially-made Mopar vehicles representing each of the company’s brands to the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, including one very special 556-horsepower Challenger designed as a street-legal version of the company’s Drag Pak 1/4 mile racer. Named the Dodge Challenger 1320, after how many feet there are in a 1/4 mile, the car boasts a Mopar 426 cubic-inch, all-aluminum, HEMI V-8 crate engine with the aforementioned 556 horsepower and 540 ft-lbs of torque and uses the stripped-down, race-only chassis that Dodge sells to competitive drag racers.

Other highlights include Mopar police wheels with street-legal Mickey Thompson drag radials, an adjustable coilover kit, six-speed manual transmission with a custom Dynatrac rear housing with Mopar Dana 60 internals, an ARB locking differential and an exhaust bypass system that keeps the car emissions legal on the street but re-routes the exhaust gases past the mufflers for the drag strip.

The car is painted in a non-metallic yellow paint (called Acidic Hue) with matte black graphics. There’s also a new hood, front splitter and new grille panel and headlight surround. As for the inside, there’s all sorts of good stuff, including Dodge Viper seats, a sport steering wheel and Hurst shifter. Much of the other interior amenities, like the center console and radio have been removed to reduce weight and help the Dodge Challenger 1320 deliver maximum performance.

We’ll be sure to bring you more on the car with live coverage of the SEMA Show starting on November 3rd.

See AutoGuide’s live SEMA Coverage here!

Read more on the Dodge Challenger 1320 and the rest of Chrysler’s SEMA vehicles after the jump:

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The All-American Impala: Made in Canada

During President Obama’s press conference last week when he announced that Chrylser would file for Chapter 11, he asked Americans that if they were looking to buy a car, to look at American cars. The “buy American” philosophy drew harsh criticism from the American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA), which pointed out that buying American doesn’t necessarily mean buying a car from an American brand.

“AIADA objects to President Obama’s ‘buy American’ solution for the auto sector,” AIADA President Cody Lusk said in a statement. “In today’s globalized economy ‘buying American’ can mean anything from buying a Chevy Avalanche built by Mexican workers in Silao, Mexico to buying a Toyota Camry built by Americans in Georgetown, Kentucky.”

On that note, there is one way to tell exactly which country a car is manufactured in – the VIN number. That’s right, that odd 17-digit sequence of numbers and letters found on the dash under the windshield (and in numerous other places on a vehicle) holds the key to a vehicle’s country of origin.

Many VIN numbers, actually start with a letter. Those that start with a “J” are built in Japan and those with a “K” are from Korea. Most of the rest, however, aren’t so intuitive. VINs that start with a “W” are from Germany, while an “S” signifies England. Swedish cars get a “Y.”

The United States, Canada and Mexico all use a number system, with American-made cars using a VIN that starts with the number 1, while Canadian-made cars use a 2 and Mexican made cars use a 3.

The number of American vehicles made outside the U.S. is actually quite significant, while many “foreign” cars are built in American. In fact, one of America’s best-selling vehicles (and one that is also typically American) is actually built in Canada – the Chevy Impala.

Other made-in-Canada cars include the Buick Lacrosse, Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKX, Lincoln Town Car, Mercury Grand Marquis and the new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro.

Made-in Mexico cars include the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Chevrolet HHR. And as for the the Chevy Aveo sub-compact, it comes from Korea.

On the flip-side, there are plenty of Japanese (and even some German) vehicles built in the U.S. of A. Some of the most significant include the high volume Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, while the Honda Element and Toyota Avalon are also U.S. products. Nissan builds several models in the United States while BMW manufactures the Z4 as well as the X5 and X6 in South Carolina.

… The more you know…

[Source: La Times]

Each year Hagerty, a major insurer of classic cars, releases its “Top 10 Cars We Can’t Live Without,” aiming to point out which current vehicles will become the classics of the future. This year’s list has some big surprises.

Despite trouble in the American auto sector, the top 10 are all American machines, with the usual suspects like the Corvette and Mustang rating highly. The new Camaro and Challenger are also on the list, as is the Chrysler 300.

Some surprises include the Cadillac CTS, Saturn Sky and even Hummer vehicles. (Really?) Also included are two iconic pickup trucks, the F-150 and Dodge Ram.

As though the listing of Hummer wasn’t a clue, the list isn’t what you would call a scientific experiment. For starters, Hagerty polls its own customer base and to make the poll completely invalid the list is compiled based on voluntary responses.

[Source: Forbes]