Generating excitement

At LotPro.com we realize that it isn’t hasn’t been that often, lately, that we get to report on any positive news coming from the Pentastar down the street. Aside from the Dodge Challenger and its iconic Jeep brand – including the new Grand Cherokee, scheduled to go on sale next year, most of Chrysler’s fleet is showing its age. Add to that the fact that the new offerings from its latest owner Fiat are nearly a year away and you have the specter of a company that is currently, for all intents and purposes, treading water.

But if the latest news from Auburn Hills is any indication, Chrysler is determined to make the most of what it currently has and this includes the vehicles it plans on displaying at this year’s SEMA show, scheduled to run from November 3rd until the 6th in Sin (what happens in, stays in) City, Nevada.

Here are the rides Chrysler will display:

Mopar Dodge Challenger 1320 Image Vehicle

Chrysler calls this particular exercise “exploring a street-legal Drag Pak Challenger.” Sounds fun to us.

Named for the 1,320 feet on a quarter-mile drag strip, this one-off Challenger features a 426 Hemi® V-8 that generates 556 horsepower and 540 lb-ft. of torque. Equipped with long-tube headers and a free-breathing exhaust system, electric outlets allow exhaust gasses to bypass the muffler system. Power to the pavement is supplied by a six-speed manual transmission via a Dana 60 differential with a selectable ARB locking mechanism.

Mopar police wheels (widened for the rears) are clad with Mickey Thompson street-legal drag radials, with all this power kept in place by four-corner Mopar adjustable coil-over kit. To ensure this Challenger is no shrinking violet, the 1320 is adorned with Acidic Hue, a non-metallic yellow paint and trimmed in matte black graphics.

Performance is enhanced by lightening the body with the following carbon-fiber components: bulged hood with Hemi scoop, front spoiler, and grille panel/headlight surround. And while the interior has been stripped of the rear seat, center console and radio, it also sports Dodge Viper seats, sports steering wheel and Hurst shifter.

Dodge Ram Bianco

The color may be vanilla, but the Ram Bianco is anything but. The extensive modifications to what was once a Ram 1500 Sport include a body kit, specially modified fender flares, hard tonneau and lowering kit, with everything, including the Mopar 22” wheels, painted using several coats of Arctic Ice pearl.

A cold air intake and dual exhausts add to the 5.7-liter Hemi’s performance, while the interior receives white and black Katzkin seats with matching door trim, Piano Black and Arctic Ice accents as well as a Kicker audio system.

Jeep Wrangler Overland

The Overland is Chrysler’s vision of the ultimate moveable campsite. One can almost hear the driver shouting as it flies across the desert, “RV! We don’t need no stinking RV!”

Cargo capacity for the Overland is increased by eighty-sixing the rear seats in favor of a large, flat, rubberized utility floor, while the cargo rack has been augmented with the addition of a two-person ARB Simpson II roof-mounted tent plus touring awning.

Clearing the occasional pesky boulder has been accomplished through the addition of an AEV Nth Degree 3-inch lift package and Full Traction rear sway bar. This customization makes the necessary room for aggressive 35-inch tires mounted to 17-inch Mopar off-road wheels.

With desert duty in mind, an AEV heat-reduction hood has been added and, to make those occasional river crossings safer, an AEV snorkel kit is also part of the package.

Jeep Lower Forty

Last, but certainly not least, the Jeep Lower Forty looks akin to something out of a Mad Max movie. With the goal of achieving additional ground clearance without altering the center of gravity of a production Wrangler Rubicon and sans a lift kit, the design team resorted to removing a great deal of the original vehicle’s sheet metal in order to augment the standard wheel/tire combo with 20” forged aluminum alloys and 40-inch x 13.5 inch tires.

Three inches were chopped from the windshield frame and a 10 degree rake was added. The front and rear fender flares are both 1” wider and located 4” wider than the stock body. A new carbon-fiber hood with power dome and drop-down “Jeep”-logoed tailgate top it all off.

On the inside, a new custom roll cage was tied directly to the frame rails and the spare tire relocated to the cargo floor. The console and instrument panel were color-matched to the Red Eye No. 3 exterior paint, while the seats received Katzkin leather skins while the carpeting was removed and replaced by spray-in truck-bed liner.

Mechanicals for the Lower Forty include a 5.7-liter Hemi mated to a Getrag 238 six-speed manual along with a Dana 44 front and Dana 60 rear axles.

The four hours and forty-eight minutes of Le Mans

To say conditions at this year’s Petite Le Mans at Road Atlanta were horrendous would be an understatement. And while the duel between the Audi Sport Team Joest and Team Peugeot Sport was certainly evident in qualifying, many race fans were left to wonder who might’ve come out on top if the weather had been more forgiving and the cars had been allowed to complete the entire race.

Weather for the practice laps was marked by intense heat as the thermometer topped out at 85 degrees and extremely high humidity. On Wednesday, the first day of practice, the track surface had very little grip even in the early afternoon due to heavy rains the previous day. Audi suffered two mishaps in practice on Wednesday and Thursday as both Luhr and Werner put their R15 into the weeds which necessitated a new monocoque for the number 1 car on Wednesday night.

Other than a brake problem on their number 7 car in the early going, Peugeot encountered no such issues and, in fact, was able to test both cars with a combined equivalent of close to 1,000 miles.

Qualifying

Qualifying day saw air temperatures reach 91 degrees, while the temperature of the track surface was measure at 104 degrees. At the end of the day, Peugeot had both 908 HDi FAP cars on the front row with the number 7 car on the pole ahead of the number 8 car.

Audi, meanwhile, placed both R15 TDI’s in the second row, with the number 2 car in the third spot and the number 1 car in fourth, just 28 thousands of a second behind.

Race day

Not once in 11 years has the Petite Le Mans been run in such unfavorable conditions. The warm-up session had to be delayed due to rain and the cars were forced to line up on the grid immediately after only a few warm-up laps had been completed and for Audi, it only went downhill from there.

After dominating the race in the early going (McNish and Capello led for 163 of the first 168 laps), both Peugeots were able to get by the Audi under the yellow flag when McNish spun the Audi minutes after the two hour mark. Shortly thereafter, it began to rain in earnest and race officials parked the cars in pit lane.

The rain abated and the cars returned to the track, but this time there were no position changes between Audi and Peugeot. Then the rain returned and the race was red flagged for safety reasons at the 4 hour and 48 minute mark with the cars remaining in the starting block for nearly four hours waiting for a re-start that never happened.

Final Results

Here are the final results of the 2009 Petit Le Mans:

1. (2) Stephane Sarrazin, France; Franck Montagny, Brignoles France; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (1, P1), 184.
2. (1) Pedro Lamy, Lisbon Portugal; Nicolas Minassian, England; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (2, P1), 184.
3. (3) Allan McNish, Scotland; Rinaldo Capello, Italy; Audi R15 TDI (3, P1), 184.
4. (4) Marco Werner, Germany; Lucas Luhr, Germany; Audi R15 TDI (4, P1), 182.
5. (6) Nicolas Lapierre, France; Romain Dumas, France; Olivier Panis, France; Oreca 01 AIM (5, P1), 181.
6. (26) David Brabham, Australia; Dario Franchitti, Scotland; Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; Acura ARX-02a (6, P1), 180.
7. (28) Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Lola B09 86 Mazda (7, P2*), 177.
8. (22) Jaime Melo, Brazil; Pierre Kaffer, Germany; Mika Salo, Finland; Ferrari F430 GT (1, GT2), 170.
9. (16) Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Dirk Mueller, Germany; Joerg Mueller, Germany; BMW E92 M3 (2, GT2), 169.
10. (21) Wolf Henzler, Germany; Dirk Werner, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (3, GT2), 169.
11. (15) Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Marcel Fassler, Switzerland; Corvette C6.R (4, GT2), 169.
12. (18) Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Joerg Bergmeister, Germany; Marc Lieb, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (5, GT2), 169.
13. (8) Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Lola B09 86 Mazda (1, P2), 168.
14. (19) Johnny O’Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Antonio Garcia, Spain; Corvette C6.R (6, GT2), 168.
15. (25) Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (7, GT2), 162.
16. (14) Tom Sutherland, Los Gatos, CA; Tomy Drissi, Hollywood, CA; Matt Bell, Los Altos, CA; Chevrolet Riley Corvette C6 (8, GT2), 157.
17. (7) Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Lola B06/10 AER (8, P1), 152.
18. (20) Ian James, England; Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Panoz Esperante GTLM Ford (9, GT2), 152.
19. (12) Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Tony Burgess, Canada; Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Lola B06/10 AER (9, P1), 144, Accident.
20. (13) David Murry, Cumming, GA; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Ford GT MK 7 (10, GT2), 142.
21. (11) Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Acura ARX-01B (2, P2), 139.
22. (10) Klaus Graf, Germany; Sascha Maassen, Germany; Greg Pickett, Alamo, CA; Porsche RS Spyder (3, P2), 136.
23. (23) Bryan Sellers, Centerville, OH; Dominic Cicero, Portland, OR; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (11, GT2), 136.
24. (5) Gil de Ferran, Brazil; Simon Pagenaud, France; Scott Dixon, New Zealand; Acura ARX-02a (10, P1), 136.
25. (17) Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, CA; Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; Andy Priaulx, Germany; BMW E92 M3 (12, GT2), 133.
26. (24) Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chris Hall, Daytona, FL; Dodge Viper Comp Coupe (13, GT2), 129.
27. (9) Jonny Cocker, UK; Robert Bell, UK; Paul Drayson, London, UK; Lola B09 60 Judd (11, P1), 123.
28. (27) Hideki Noda, Japan; Jose Manuel Balbiani, Argentina; Dion von Moltke, Coral Gables, FL; Radical SR9/AER (12, P1), 0.
29. (29) Adam Pecorari, Aston, PA; Gunnar Van der Steur, Chesapeake City, MD; Robbie Pecorari, Aston, PA; Radical SR9 AER (4, P2), 0.
30. (30) No drivers; Jaguar XK

All images courtesy of Audi of America

Reports not exaggerated

To paraphrase Mark Twain, it appears that reports of the imminent demise (or sale) of the Viper brand have been quashed by none other than the Newest Chrysler – reversing a decision that was made by the New (old) Chrysler last year.

As early as August of 2008, then-CEO Bob Nardelli was quoted as saying, “We have been approached by third parties who are interested in exploring future possibilities for Viper.”

An about face

On Friday of last week, however, Chrysler issued a press release announcing that production would continue for the Dodge “halo” car. In addition to the SRT 100 being saved, the latest is indeed good news for the workers at the Chrysler Conner Avenue Assembly Plant – the lone assembly point for the vehicle since 1995 – which will continue to build the fourth generation of Dodge’s iconic sports car.

“The Dodge Viper has successfully captured the hearts and imagination of performance enthusiasts around the globe,” said Mike Accavitti, President and Chief Executive Officer, Dodge Brand. “We’re extremely proud that the ultimate American-built sports car with its world-class performance will live on as the iconic image leader for the Dodge brand.”

Reversal reasoning

With Fiat running the show in Auburn Hills, it appears that the Italians must feel there is a viable market for the Viper brand both here and abroad. Looking at it another way, Dodge’s snake is the lone “halo” car in a company that desperately needs one in times like these – and with new product from parent company Fiat still at least 18 months away, Chrysler needs all the good karma it can get.

The obvious and not so obvious

Here at LotPro.com, we realize that it doesn’t take a genius to conclude that it’s going to cost you a bundle to insure a sports car like the Nissan GT-R, Dodge Viper or Audi R8. All three are very expensive, very fast, and attract traffic cops in much the same way that Brad and Angelina attract the paparazzi – you can’t miss them and they’re usually good for a money shot (using a radar with the former and a camera with the latter).

What is surprising is the inclusion of the Cobalt SS in the top 20, while Chevy’s big gun, the Corvette, is MIA (demographics may have something to do with it, since Cobalt buyers are younger and more prone to “mashing the foot feed”, as it were). BMW is well represented with the four models (M6, M5, M3 and X6), the most from any single manufacturer. Of the top 20, 14 are sports cars (we take exception to the Mercedes-Benz SL-Class being classified as a “passenger car” and have included it in this category), 4 are large SUV’s, the Cadillac Escalade EXT is the lone truck and, sans the aforementioned SL, the Audi S8 is the lone passenger car.

The results

Insure.com lists the Nissan GT-R at the top of the list, noting that “Owners of the GT-R buy it for power and speed, and their driving habits are often reflected in frequent and expensive insurance claims (insert here the Japanese word for ‘obviously’).” Not far behind is the Dodge Viper, followed by the BMW M6, Ford Shelby GT 500 and, rounding out the top 5, the Mercedes-Benz G-Class.

Here is the complete list of the most expensive 20:

The bottom 20 for the rest of us

Lacking a payment and insurance budget that might equal the GDP of a small third world country, the rest of us can always aim for the top least expensive vehicles to  insure.

Again, it doesn’t take a Mensa candidate to realize that this list will be populated, for the most part, by small and mid-size passenger vehicles equipped with 4 and 6-cylinder engines. Indeed, the top 5 vehicles are all Korean, with 3 Kia models and 2 from sister company Hyundai. Most of this list is comprised of various and sundry forms of family haulers with minivans (6), passenger cars (6, but really 7 if you include the Rio5 which is a hatchback) and  SUVs (5) accounting for most of the listed vehicles. The remaining two include the Scion xB (almost a minivan) and the list’s only truck, a Mazda (we’re assuming the B-Series).

The list’s biggest surprise, in more ways than one, was the venerable Lincoln Town Car, parked at number 17.

Here is the complete list of the least expensive 20:

How to save more green

Insure.com also had a number of other tips to help you save on your car insurance bill:

•    Trade higher deductibles for lower premiums – but make sure you can afford your deductible in case you crash your car

“Nelly” Flex

Rapper Nelly got to see his customized 2009 Ford Flex for the first time on Tuesday when it was unveiled as part of Ford’s press conference. Working with Ford Designer Melvin Betancourt, they created, according to Betancourt, “a custom-color blue car with a white roof, a great sound system, 22-inch wheels, an exhaust system with a little bit of a rumble on it, and a personalized interior.”

Inside, the Flex features black Tuscany leather with Katzkin® seats and blue stitching that picks up the unique blue exterior color. In addition, Nelly’s Flex features the industry-exclusive Ford SYNC™ technology and a CIM LIIV™ wireless Internet entertainment system, which enables passengers to enjoy web surfing, online games, e-mail, downloaded movies, music and live television.

Ford F-150 SVT Raptor R

Based on Ford’s F-150 SVT Raptor, the modified “R” version was developed by Ford Racing specifically to race in the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. Using stock components of the F-150 SVT Raptor including the transmission, brakes and frame, the race version has more suspension travel, better approach and departure angles as well as racing specification seats, safety cage and harnesses.

2009 Troy Lee Mazda6

Featuring a custom paint job by Troy Lee Designs and body modifications by Funktion USA, this new Mazda6 features 18” Momo Strike wheels, Hoosier tires and deep-tinted windows. Performance mods include Eibach springs, cross-drilled 6-piston brakes by Wilwood Engineering and custom brake fabrication by JD Performance.

Dodge Challenger Blacktop

To a basic 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T, the “Mopar Underground” added custom spoilers and a black-on-black racing stripe paint scheme. Modifications include a Mopar coil-over suspension and strut tower brace. The Blacktop rolls on 22” Dodge Viper wheels from Factory Reproductions with 265/35 R22 front and 305/30 R22 rear Dunlop tires.

Performance enhancements include a cat back dual-exhaust and cold air intake while inside, the Challenger features bright red Katzkin leather seats and a Mopar Kicker audio system.

And Last but not Least…

Dodge Challenger SRT 10 Concept

Realizing that the 425 Horsepower might not be quite enough for some enthusiasts, Chrysler’s in-house performance organization, Street and Racing Technology, put together what has to be the ultimate Challenger.

Power for the SRT 10 comes from the Dodge Viper 8.4 liter V-10 engine with 600 horsepower and 560 lb. ft. of torque. The engine is mated to a Tremec TR-6060 6-speed manual transmission with Dodge Viper gear ratios. A single-piece 4” steel drive shaft connects the transmission to an aluminum differential with torque-sensing limited-slip.

Bringing all this power to a halt are silver-painted Brembo fixed calipers that feature six pistons in front and four pistons in back that clamp down on 2-piece 390mm vented rotors in front and 355mm vented rotors in the rear. Wheels are fully-forged Alcoa aluminum (20×9 front, 20×10 rear) with Pirelli P-Zero 275/35R20 tires in front and 275/40R20’s in back.

In a nod to the 1970 HEMI Cuda, the “10” also features a shaker hood – only this time, it’s constructed of carbon fiber, as is the deck lid and various aerodynamic bits fitted to the body.