Is this the End of Dodge Ram?

The Dodge logo is coming off!

The shakeup of the world’s auto brands continues!

GM has dumped or is dumping Opel, Hummer, Saturn and Pontiac. Volkswagen has added Porsche and is considering buying part of Suzuki. Now comes this news:

Chrysler appears ready to turn the Ram nameplate into its own brand.

According to the well-informed folks over at Edmunds, Ram will be developed into a brand that sells pickup trucks, vans, SUVs and commercial vehicles. That in turn would leave Dodge open to evolve into an affordable performance brand.

A year ago I might have scoffed at such an idea. Now though it kind of makes sense, for these reasons: Chrysler is owned by Fiat. Fiat owns Alfa Romeo. Alfa Romeo makes great cars. And Alfa Romeos could become Dodges, thanks to the Italian ownership of Chrysler.

Separating the line of trucks from the line of sports cars seems like a good move, and Ram is a name that’s been around long enough to be able to stand on its own.

If this is a glimpse into the future of what Chrysler will become, I’m excited about it. How long have us Americans been asking for some European flair in our cars? A long time. And now it’s coming in the form of Fiat and Alfa Romeo.

I’m not a Dodge guy, and never have been, but put the Dodge logo on an Alfa MiTo, 159, Brera or 8C Spider and I’m all over it like hot butter on a dinner roll.

Is making Ram its own brand a good idea?

-tgriffith

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Baby Rolls: A Rolls-Royce for the masses?

2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost: coming soon to your neighbor's garage?

Sometimes people like to point out to me that Rolls-Royce doesn’t advertise.

While it may be true that they don’t buy space in Cosmo, Rolls certainly does advertise, even though it’s normally through their PR department.

RR has been teasing auto fans for quite some time now with the prospect of a lower-priced “Baby Rolls.” Their flacks have generated all kinds of buzz… could it be true that our friends and neighbors might afford to park a legendary symbol of luxury and status in their garages?  

Not so fast. The company has officially unveiled their new baby, the Rolls-Royce Ghost, at the Shanghai Auto Show in China. Based on the BMW 7 Series platform, this “entry level” Rolls still measures 212 inches long and will have a 6.6-liter turbocharged V12 under the hood. 

With the introduction of the Ghost, Rolls-Royce expects to increase their annual production output to 1,600 cars per year. With numbers like that, you can bet the term “entry level” still won’t translate to an affordable price. Estimates have ranged anywhere from the low-$200,000 to the low-$300,000 range. 

I don’t think any amount of advertising will sell more cars at that price!

If you had the money, would you buy a Rolls-Royce or “step down” to something like the BMW 7 Series?

-tgriffith

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World’s Fastest Production Car: Now in Electric?

I guess it’s not enough to build the fastest production car in the world.

Shelby SuperCars makes the 1,183-horsepower Ultimate Aero, the car that currently holds the title of World’s Fastest Production Car. How fast does it go? Well the speedometer on the 2008 model goes up to “only” 260, while the 2009 model should be capable of burying the needle at 270 mph. Holy smokes - sounds like it’s time to install a 300-mph speedometer!

To put this car in a little bit of perspective, the Ultimate Aero outperforms the Bugatti Veyron and every Ferrari and Lamborghini ever made. One would assume that SSC, a small company located in the small eastern Washington town of Richland, would be content with their record. But no, they want another record: World’s Fastest Production Electric Car.

Enter the Ultimate Aero EV, which is being built to showcase SSC’s new green powertrain. That’s exciting in itself, but here’s what really gets my blood boiling: The Ultimate Aero EV produces 1,000 horsepower, has 100% torque available at 0 RPM, rockets to 60 in an astonishing 2.5 seconds, and has a top speed of 208 mph.

SSC also claims 150-200 miles on a single charge, with a 10-minute recharge on a 110-volt outlet. That means you could plug your supercar into the same outlet that powers your toaster.

Now that the jaw-dropping specs are out of the way, I can get into the other cool part: The same powertrain that propels the Aero EV can be customized for different applications - a 200-hp version for a family sedan, a 500-hp version for an SUV, or up to 1,200 hp for commercial vehicle applications.

If the Ultimate Aero EV performs as advertised, the implications are huge. SSC could feasibly be producing electric vehicles that regular people might actually need. Affording them might be a different story, though, as the gas-powered Ultimate Aero can easily reach $650K.

According to SSC, deliveries of the Ultimate Aero EV should begin as early as the 4th quarter of this year, with automotive journalists set to witness its glory in the 2nd quarter. 

We’ll keep you posted!

Do you think it makes sense to build electric supercars? More importantly, would you want one?

-tgriffith

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