Chicago show: Edge gets edgier, and a lot of trucks
— -- Other automakers have a variety of models top show, including sleek coupes and updated sedans. Dodge is unveiling the production version of the Challenger at the show.
Here's the hot stuff making its debut at the Chicago show, open to media representatives Wednesday and Thursday and to the public Friday through Feb. 17.
2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8: Not just any ol' Hemi, but a chuffing big 6.1-liter Hemi makes the midsize Challenger retro-muscle car into an SRT8 — Dodge's designation for the highest-performance models. Expect it in April, boasting 425 horsepower, 420 lbs.-ft. of torque, mated to a five-speed automatic and shamelessly asking for premium fuel, as muscle cars did when gasoline was 40 cents a gallon. Should be good for 13 mpg in town, 18 on the highway, Dodge says.
Challenger SRT8 is meant to be a limited-production item — Dodge doesn't say how many — and each gets a numbered plate on the dashboard. Starts at $37,995, including destination charge. Dodge pledges standstill to 60 mph in "the low 5-second range," and promises less than 17 seconds for the 0–100–0 mph test made famous by the Shelby Cobra's big engine and big brakes decades ago. Burn up the quarter mile in less than 14 seconds, says Dodge. The original Challenger arrived in 1969 as a '70 model, late to the high-performance party, and production halted in 1974.
2009 Chevrolet Traverse: Chevy gets a version of the hot-selling, full-size crossover SUV that GM already is marketing as the Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia and Buick Entourage. Production of the Traverse is scheduled to begin in the third quarter. Like the others, Traverse will have three rows of adult-size seats and a 3.6-liter V-6 engine (281 hp, 253 lbs.-ft with single exhaust, 286/255 with duals), coupled to front-
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