I have to believe that 10 years from now, Dodge won't be selling a V8 Hemi, or any V8 for that matter. Whatever they have will perform decently but will get better economy, and I have to believe it will be a turbo Hemi V6. They can satisfy folks who want a Hemi, naturally aspirated could be 325HP, then Turbo it up to 350 to 400HP+. Ford and foreign makers are already doing it, minus the Hemi heads.

So - feel free to get ahead of the curve and add a turbo!

 

Disagree. Dodge has repositioned itself within Chrysler as the performance brand. Similar to what Pontiac was for GM but without also trying to cheapen and mass produce vehicles. They're entering a specialty niche that appeals to younger buyers and performance oriented folk.

The turbo V6 and 4 cylinders of the other brands is a major reason people are choosing the Durango. Plus, you can't get the towing capability out of a turbo.

 

Though I tend to be a Mopar guy, I note that the Ford Ecoboost that's in the F150 has more torque than the Hemi Ram, and higher towing capacity. I haven't towed with either of them so I can't speak to how well they really tow, just going by specs. I realize we're talking Durango here, but the point is that a turbo/intercooled V6 can match the performance of a naturally aspirated V8. While the Hemi has been pushed to 480HP in the latest SRT, the V6 can be pushed further also. I'll pick a V8 as long as they're available, but that won't be forever.

 

I disagree completely. Yes, Dodge is considered the "performance" brand. But Dodge will always be a mass marketer of cars -- no niches involved. In modern marketing parlance, "performance" means R/T styling and little else. While they may produce a couple of cars like the Viper, and will continue supporting NASCAR and such, Dodge will continue to build very run-of-the-mill cars. Notice how in high-end sports cars you hardly ever see a V8 short of a super-car? Porsche has never offered a V8 in any of their "normal" cars (if you can call them that) and I wouldn't exactly call a 911 a non-performance car. Today most BMWs are using smaller engines with new technology to produce the power. Even the latest super cars from the likes of Ferrari and such are using combinations of electric motors and smaller engines to produce incredible power curves. BMW, Mercedes, and others are already pumping audio through the speakers to make you THINK the engines is growling like an old style V8. But with CAFE standards and other environmental concerns, the days of the V8 are numbered. Fortunately, performance cars are not. ;-)

 

Was just reading about the new Nissan GT-R Nismo, which gets 600HP out of a dual turbo inter-cooled V6. And they say that Nissan can (and certainly will) push it higher.

Most folks have no idea what a Hemi is or means, and if Dodge came out with a Hemi Turbo V6 that pumped out 400HP but got better mileage than the 5.7L V8 Hemi, not sure it would take long for the V6 Hemi to become the new norm. Dodge could easily deploy a semi-hemispherical head, call it a Hemi, and few would know the difference. Fans of the early Hemis such as the 1950's 331ci or the later 426ci probably don't consider the modern Hemi a true Hemi - yet they sell based mostly on the name nobody understands. Same could happen with a V6 Hemi - why not build on the Hemi fame, and call it the Hemi-T or Turbo Hemi?

 

Most people don't even know what the word Hemi actually stands for much less what it (used to) provides...

 

I have the same Durango and run on 91 with some upgrade not to much and naw it can go faster then a v8 5.7

 

If you are looking for performance and all that, why settle on the V6? Just saying. I drove a V6 once and was so not impressed. I waited till i could afford an R/T. Was so worth the wait. MPG is prob better or very close to the V6 on HWY. I get 22 MPG all day on hwy @70-75mph. A V8 works less then a V6 cruising at those speeds especially with cylinder shutdown. Not much gain on HWY MPG on the V6. The V6 will do better for city driving.

 

or you can just get a good 93 tune on your v6 like I did with my last 3.6 durango. Then switch to e85 tune. Which it was a flex fuel. And I was smoking the rt Durango . 0-60 was 5.3 ...... and 93tune was doing 0-60 5.9 . And save yourself all that extra money from a rt Durango. You only spend around 1k on a good tune.

 

The federal government is starting to clamp down not only on mileage but exhaust stats of M/V power plants. I also know diesel and hybrids power sources are an option for many auto manufactures. I also think think improving on an established motor is an option as well. The V6 Pentastar motor is a great workhorse with reliability and good mileage ratings. So in retrospect, I think the time has come for FCA to introduce the 3.6 SUPERCHARGED motor into their lineup. This would be a great performance motor option that can still produce good gas mileage. The current V8s offer performance but one must sacrifice mileage. The SUPERCHARGED 3.6 V6 would still fill the performance need but with much better mileage results.