Expect a response from Dodge when the production Ram SRT-10 is available to challenge this record.
Australia Gets the Cool Stuff, Part XXVIII[Photos 116-0312.SCUP 11A through 11D on CD.]Proving once again that GM is keeping too much of the good stuff down under, GM's Australian subsidiary Holden announced the new Crewman four-door light utility vehicle. Based on the same chassis and platform as the '04 Pontiac GTO, the Crewman is available with V-6 or, in the case of the Crewman SS, full V8 power. It's not just any V-8 either, but a lusty 5.7L LS1 making 225 kilowatts! Let's see, 225 kilowatts is (sounds of ruffling papers and tapping on a $5 solar-powered calculator) 302 hp!
While the GTO has an independent rear suspension, the Crewman, like other Aussie utes, uses a leaf-spring and solid-axle rear suspension for ruggedness and load carrying. Otherwise the four-door cockpit carries over almost directly from the four-door Holden Commodore with room for five.
OK, here's the deal. Slap some Bow Ties on this thing, call it an El Camino, and we'll buy two.
PT Dreaming[Photos 116-0312.SCUP 12A through 12B on CD.]It's now almost a tradition that at the time of the Woodward Avenue Dream Cruise, Chrysler releases a new special version of the PT Cruiser in celebration of the event. The Series 3 PT Dream Cruiser arrived just in time this past August.
Built around the 220hp turbocharged version of the '04 PT, the $28,810 Dream Cruiser features special two-tone blue and silver paint, blue-tinted glass, special chrome exterior accents, 17-inch chromed aluminum wheels with special center caps, and two-tone upholstery and heated seats inside.
The Series 3 is the seventh special-edition version of the PT Cruiser and follows the Flames, Woodie, PT Dream Cruiser Series 1, PT Turbo, Chrome, and Dream Cruiser Series 2. And we hear there's a convertible due next year.
Big Tire Is Better[Photos 116-0312.SCUP 13 on CD.]Head into Detroit from the Metro Airport and you can't miss the giant Uniroyal tire along I-94. Built originally as a Ferris wheel for the 1964 New York World's Fair, the big whitewall has stood silent sentinel at the gates of the Motor City for decades. It was about time it was spruced up.
Uniroyal will spend more than $1 million updating and renovating the 80-foot-tall tire. While it's thrilling that Uniroyal will add its Web address to the tire's sidewall, how about dumping the hubcap for a good set of Torq-Thrust II wheels, huh?
0401 H/OWagon Blaster[Photos 116-0401.SCUP 3A through 3E on disc.]Europeans won't be getting a version of Dodge's upcoming Magnum sports wagon this year. Instead they'll get a wagon version of the Chrysler 300C that should be quite similar to this concept shown at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September.
Like the Magnum (with which it obviously shares plenty of parts) and the 300C sedan, the 300C Touring is based on Chrysler's new rear-drive car platform upon which the new Dodge Intrepid and Chrysler Concorde will be based. The concept version of the 300C Touring, like the sedan shown last year, was shown with a 5.7L Hemi V-8 under the hood, though it's likely a V-6 will be standard with the Hemi as an option. Many of the suspension and chassis components (and the five-speed automatic transmission) are proven pieces from the Mercedes parts bin, but the Hemi and its heritage are pure American (if you look past the fact that the Hemi engine is made in Mexico).
The wagon version of the 300C isn't likely to be offered here, as the Dodge Magnum carries that banner in America. But in Europe, where Dodges aren't sold but Chryslers are, wagons attract as much as 40 percent of the buyers in this size car and it makes sense to offer them this 300C version
The 300C and Magnum are about as eagerly anticipated machines as have ever worn the Chrysler pentastar, heralding the return or rear-drive and V-8 power to the company's mainstream offerings. We won't cry about not getting the 300C Touring as long as the Magnum lives up to expectations.