The people at Motor Trend recently conducted a head to head comparison between the 2013 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and the 2013 SRT Viper GTS and while the two cars were nearly identical in every imaginable performance measure - the ZR1 was able to turn a significantly faster lap around Laguna Seca Raceway.  While things like 0-60, quarter mile times, lateral Gs on the skidpad and stopping distance were all within a digit or two of each other, the ZR1 was just over 2 seconds faster around the track where the 2012 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR set the track record a few years ago.  The 2013 ZR1 lap time of 1:33.70 not only beat the 2013 SRT Viper GTS but it also beat the old ACR's record lap time of 1:33.99.

Shortly after the news of the 2013 SRT Viper GTS being beaten by the 2013 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 hit the social media, SRT boss Ralph Gilles took to the Twitter - posting his very-honest opinion on the whole situation.  Two particular Tweets inspired a thumbs up from Mopar fans around the world as Gilles proclaimed that "There is a lot more left in the car, Randy has always struggled with the Viper," followed later by "We've tested both cars at several tracks and never seen a gap like that. Many drivers needlessly fear the Viper."

The Chrysler Group has just announced that the 2013 Dodge Charger sedans fitted with all wheel drive will benefit from a new Sport package that will be available for the SXT, SXT Plus, R/T and R/T Plus.  Chrysler has introduced this package after seeing the popularity of the Charger Blacktop package that adds a dark flare to the rear wheel drive Charger SXT.  The AWD Sport package goes a step further - offering some upgrades to the inside and outside to spice up the winter-ready 2013 Chargers.

The 2013 Dodge Charger AWD Sport package adds a unique gloss black version of the crosshair grille with matching surround, 19 inch aluminum wheels with a polished face and gloss black painted pockets, all season performance tires, steering wheel mounted shift paddles, a unique sport mode for the automatic transmission, a body colored spoiler and sport seats in either black cloth (SXT and R/T models) or two tone black and red heated Nappa leather (SXT plus and R/T plus models).  Finally, the AWD Sport package adds the studio quality Beats By Dre audio system that includes five 3.5" speakers, four 6x9" speakers, an 8 inch speaker and an 8 inch dual voice coil subwoofer.  As factory systems go, the Beats system is cutting edge technology that will shake the car like few others in the US market.

The people at Ward's Auto have issued their list of the 10 Best Engines for 2013 and for the 3rd straight year, the Chrysler 3.6L Pentastar V6 is honored as one of the best engines available in the US market.  This is great news for the Chrysler Group, considering that nearly every model under in the company lineup is available with this powerful, efficient V6 engine. 

Within the Dodge brand, the 3.6L Pentastar V6 is the standard base model engine in the Challenger, Charger and Durango while serving as the premium engine in the Avenger, Journey and Caravan.  The Dodge Dart is the only current Dodge model not to come with the Pentastar V6.  Over in the Ram brand, the Pentastar V6 has become the base engine for the 2013 Ram 1500 with over 300 horsepower and 25 miles per gallon on the highway - making the Ram 1500 the most efficient half ton truck available in the US market.  This award winning 3.6L V6 is also the only engine option in the Ram C/V, a work themed minivan based on the Dodge Caravan.  The Pentastar is used in all three of the current Chrysler brand models while serving as the base engine for the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the only engine for the 2013 Jeep Wrangler.

While my opinion may or may not be shared by the majority of Dodge loving NASCAR fans who read this - I want to extend a hearty "Screw You" to the folks at Penske Racing.  Mind you, I am not directing that at the guys who build the Penske cars or the guys on the Penske pit crews who work on the cars during the races or the drivers Brad Keselowski, Sam Hornish Jr and even AJ Allmendinger or Ford...I'm directing that at Roger Penske, his management team and the bean counters that made the call to switch to Ford for the 2013 season - effectively killing the Dodge NASCAR program.

As if Penske's decision to jump to Ford in a championship winning season wasn't bad enough - but Penske offered up pictures of Brad Keselowski's #2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion just a few weeks after his Dodge Charger claimed the title.  If nothing else, my "Screw you" is a reply to that picture, which served as a slap in the face to NASCAR Dodge fans who were still celebrating the NASCAR championship.  The image in question is shown above.

November 2012 was a good month for the Chrysler Group with four of the five brands showing positive year over year growth compared to the same month last year.  Chrysler, Fiat, Dodge and Ram all showed growth while the Jeep brand stumbled a bit with a decline of just 3%.  However, for Dodge and Ram Trucks, November was a very good month with the Dodge cars, vans and SUVs growing by 32% while the Ram Truck brand improved by 23% compared to last November.

As is generally the case, the Ram Truck brand was pretty much completely reliant on the sales of the popular Ram pickup family and in November 2012, Chrysler sold 24,337 new Ram trucks accounting for a 23% increase over November 2011.  The only other vehicle in the lineup right now is the Ram C/V - a work rated minivan based on the Dodge Grand Caravan - and 737 copies of the C/V were sold last month for an increase of 226% over last year but due to the relatively low sales volume, the C/V has little impact on the overall brand's sales growth.  We can only expect things to continue to improve for the Ram Truck brand as the 2013 Ram 1500 (the 2013 Motor Trend Truck of the Year) hits dealerships in full force across the country.