I feel like Chrysler is still way behind the 8 ball relative to where GM, Toyota et al. sit in regards to engine and hybrid technologies.

If the Phoenix is good enough for their trucks, what’s the point of a Hemi?

So what will power the Ram then? Phoenix will be no good for towing use. They better come up with a diesel for the 1500 for an affordable price.

Couldn’t they tune these Hemi’s with an eye towards more fuel economy rather than horsepower? Like what if it was designed to run very lean, and produce only say 250hp instead of 380? Wouldn’t it get much better MPG?

Dodge had to gun for Tundra’s “muscle truck” spot. They do offer a more efficient V8 that’s competitive with the 5.3L GM V8. I believe the issue with the hemi is that unlike the chevy small block, the design isnt’ adaptable to fuel saving tech. GM will likely be the last American manufacturer to still offer gasoline V8s.

Yeah I don’t know about Dodge. I thought it was kinda stupid when they brought the Hemi’s back. They were good engines… in the 60’s and ealry 70’s.

What I do like that only dodge has and I’m not a fan of diesel unless it’s in a truck, is the Cummins diesel. My friend’s step dad has a Ram 1500 with the Cummins engine and he has it programmed with a Bully Dog chip or whatever you call it and it’s pumping out some insane torque #’s. Probably the quickest pick up truck I’ve been in too.

why cant they make a smaller hemi

if they can supercharge it and get a smiler level of power thens it’ll do for towing v8’s are neccessary unless the introduce a diesel

Diesel for Ram will be here in ‘10 at latest.
Large V8 will never be as efficient as smaller displacement engine, all else equal the larger engine has more friction and parasitic loss. Large V8s will eventually be replaced by smaller diesels in all but premium luxury and performance cars that sell in low volumes. CAFE put the last nail in the coffen, hey thats progress.

Displacement has little to do with fuel economy. Power and RPMs however do. Take GMs V8s as an example. They’re far more efficient that the competition despite large displacements.

The Hemi will be back when the technology and interest intersect. The engines will of, course, be a bit different bit the idea of an engine that behaves as if it were much larger than it is will never die.

I would not be surprised if the poster car for the HEMI, The DODGE VIPER, gets saddled with a smaller, more sophisticated, but no less powerful engine the next time around. Chrysler would be wise to use the VIPER to help them redevelop Hemi power, since the car is produced and sold in such numbers as to not have a big impact on their CAFE. In fact I’m actually frequently amazed such an enormous and powerful engine gets such good mileage as is. You’d think the VIPER would be pulled Lamborghini F/econ numbers but is pretty close to the CORVETTE’s “miracle” F/econ

This is just another lull in the action. Do not despair.

Meanwhile, I hope Chrysler’s Hybrid efforts bear fruit and they prosper by it. It would be interesting if they developed a Hybrid vehicle of the same concept as the VIPER, Stupid power, raw character and performance, yet so quick and responsive you have to be a robot to take to the edge safely.

Chrysler, Ford and GM all need a diesel in the 4 litre displacement range for their half ton pickups. For the majority of what Joe 6 pack owner is likely to carry or tow, this would provide ample torque and better economy than even a modern gas 6 cylinder of similar displacement.

Maybe Chrysler should outsource its engines from Toyota. Ford>Chrysler….nah ef that…TATA>Chrysler. What a disgrace it’s become.

I KNOW THE ANSWER TO ALL OF CHRYSLERS PROBLEMS!!!!!! They should Hemi the Tata Nano!!!! can you imagine what a powerful sports thingie that would be? oh ive gotta stop smoking this stuff… lol.

Fairlight: yup. Just like you were the only one who thought the Seahawks were going to Arizona! Sorry, that was cheap. I’m up here in the Pacific Northwest so they’re kind of my home team as well.

…but back to the diesel thing. Diesel tech is advancing far more quickly than gas engine right now. And, yes, pull up next to an F350 with your window down and so much for even hearing a conversation in your head. The smaller ones aren’t too bad. You’ll get used to it. I think we’d all better get used to it.

I sick of the damn CAFE regulations already.

‘Fairlight’, diesel has its negatives … higher NOx and particulate emissions, not to mention the odour, but lower GHG emissions. The exhaust has been found to be more toxic to humans through studies that have been done. Diesel use lowers fuel consumption which why CAFE exists. It’s not the only solution but an alternative.

Do a search on diesel and you’ll find some good reading.

… which IS why …

Chrysler, Ford and GM all need a diesel in the 4 litre displacement range for their half ton pickups. For the majority of what Joe 6 pack owner is likely to carry or tow, this would provide ample torque and better economy than even a modern gas 6 cylinder of similar displacement.
Comment by johnnycanuck

As long as performance does not suffer. GM’s 4.5L diesel should generate similar performance numbers to the 5.3L V8. Anything less than those numbers is inadequate.

My wife’s stomach turns at the smell of diesel, too. But, I feel that one can get used to it. The modern autos are not bad in terms of odor, though.

I want to buy 50 Chrysler 300’s with the Hemi engine and store them for 50 years.

Then sell them to US citizens who suffered under the CAFE rules.

Just to screw the government.

does LP640 ever make a positive comment?

LP640, wake up and smell the air. Life’s good. You are what you think, so think positive!!

Wow Tony Robbins has time to dick around on LLN.

the government shouldn’t even be involved with car makers regulation.

If they weren’t maximus, then you wouldn’t know what color the sky was, drink unbottled water, know what life without a gas-mask would be like… I overstate but seriously…

Business doesn’t give and flying F*** about the rest of us and the vast majority of people and you can include yourself for you comment are too damned stupid to demand better by buying the right thing for the big screen picture, not just your one pixel.

Government is dragged kicking and screaming into the business of making sure business doesn’t rape the planet since we very well can’t pack up and go the the next star over. Originally it would have been enough that a few presidents a century or more ago said, “I like green trees and grass that grows so let’s protect it from the forces of slash and burn business.”

But today people forget that this stuff can all be gone, with the environment benefits (clean air and water to name a couple), in a few decades. All one has to do is look to the Sahara Desert and recall that that desert was originally less than half the size only 1000 or so years ago.

I recall when the world was bright and shiny,when I was young, and I know now that some very serious measure need to be taken and people need to shut their complaining and realize, the free ride was over decades ago. It’s time to clean up our acts, or we better start funding space travel again because we won’t want to live on this planet too much longer.

That was my “Green Message”. Deride me if you like but I like my clean air and water over huge engines any day.

Jim Press - is a philosopher at Chrysler. It took them a while to figure out that 40 year old engine perhaps not the best engine going forward.
Chrysler has superb small truck diesel from Cummings. Few years ago I drove Ram with 5 speed manual. It had great torque and delivered almost 30 mpg on highway per owner’s testimony. Since it is truck NVH wasn’t a subject of conversation, but I did not have any less teeth after the drive.

stupidus ‘maximus’?

Blakar, you sound like Sean Penn.