Acura pushes power into RL; Dodge debuts Challenger

CHICAGO -- Other automakers have a variety of models top show, including sleek coupes and updated sedans.

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.

2009 Acura RL: The remade Acura RL gets the largest engine every to grace the upscale Honda brand.

The new 3.7-liter V-6 develops 300 horsepower. It has a five-speed paddle-shifting automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. The RL also gets bigger wheels — 18-inch instead of the 17-inch rims in the current model.

It goes on sale in the spring. No price yet.

2009 Volkswagen Routan: German automaker Volkswagen's flat-nosed, rear-engine Transporter (a.k.a. VW Bus) introduced the USA to the idea of a minivan about 50 years ago, even though Chrysler's 1984 vans often get the credit.

Now, VW says, it's time to sell a van again. And this time it's ... a Chrysler minivan. With a VW-styled nose and rump, a typically classy VW interior and, VW is quick and forceful to note, a Volkswagen suspension.

Chrysler will build it for VW at Chrysler's Windsor, Ontario, minivan factory. VW says partnering with Chrysler is a way to get into the van market quickly and relatively inexpensively, and to be sure the van can be produced in large volumes if it catches on. Expect it in showrooms in the fall, starting at less than $25,000.

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 — Chrysler Vice President and Chairman Jim Press says it should sell about 6,400 this year — and each gets a numbered plate on the dashboard. Starts at $37,995, including destination charge. Dodge pledges standstill to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds, 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 13.1 seconds, says Dodge. The original Challenger arrived in 1969 as a '70 model, late to the high-performance party, and production halted in 1974.