Dodge will lead the cars built off the next-generation Chrysler LX platform--called LY--with a new Challenger ponycar for the 2010 model year. The Challenger will be a true Mustang-fighter, with 350-horsepower Hemi V-8 and 3.5-liter, 250-horsepower V-6 versions going up against the Mustang coupe. And given Chrysler's ambitions for its performance franchise, you can expect a 6.1-liter, 425-horse SRT* version as well. Dodge has no plans for a Challenger convertible, as that business will be left to the 2007 Chrysler {{{Sebring}}} replacement, although it's possible Chrysler Group could commission a coachbuilder like ASC to do one.

The original Dodge Charger had been somewhat of a failure for Chrysler. It sold in large numbers to the public, but remained without a win in racing.

The first decade of the new century has not been kind to the Chrysler Corporation. Left bloodied and beaten first by a laughable “merger” with Daimler, then forced into bankruptcy by an abrupt and ill-played takeover by Cerberus Capital, a Federal bailout was only offered because of an eleventh hour lifeline from Italy’s Fiat. Fast forward two years and for the first time Auburn Hills is starting to show signs of life.

Chrysler’s aftermarket company, Mopar, is preparing their latest tuning project for the Dodge Charger. Following in the reins of the 2010 Mopar Challenger, the tuning company is turning its attention to the 2011 Charger to make it one of the fastest, meanest, and more powerful Chargers out on the market.

The Dodge Charger caused quite a stir when it first debuted as a 2006 model, owing mostly to its heretical four doors, but the new Charger became a popular model for Dodge. Like many Chrysler brand cars though, it has suffered from a lack of updates as the Pentastar wrestled with bankruptcy woes and a transfer in ownership to Italy's Fiat. Based on these latest spy shots, it looks as though that's finally about to change.

Let's cut to the chase. The last Dodge Avenger, introduced in 2008, was anything but a leader in the midsize sedan pack. Chrysler's four-door was mostly distinguished by its less than stellar traits: twitchy handling, eyesore cabin treatments, and a lackluster V-6. For 2011, things have changed dramatically.

For every pencil pusher and paper shuffler sitting in a cubicle is a sweat-producing, muscle-flexing worker with plenty of equipment to tote around to their various projects.

Giulietta-Based Model to Get More Power Four Cylinder

In a July 2010 comparison test, we pitted the new 5.0-liter 412-horsepower 2011 Ford Mustang GT against the more senior (and more powerful) 426-horse 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS and 425-horse 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT8. The final results were quite unexpected. The least-powerful car won, and the most powerful came in last -- a finishing order that inverted the power rankings.

Compact trucks tend to be ubiquitous, entry-level vehicles, but at the 2002 North American International Auto Show, Dodge designers set out to change all that. One of a quartet of millennial-focused 2002 Chrysler Group concepts, the Dodge M80 breathes new life into what has become a bread-and-butter class of boring vehicles, sold mostly on price and ability to make a positive contribution to truck CAFE numbers. At the same time, in their typically coy manner, DaimlerChrysler is giving the auto world what may be a sneak peak at the next-generation Dakota pickup due in 2004.