By AutoWeek

OK, here's a first glimpse of the redesigned SRT Viper. The full reveal of Chrysler Corp.'s new sports car is set for the New York auto show in early April.

Chrysler has been coy about the new Viper but has said that it will have stability control. Prototypes spotted last summer included a Bilstein Sport button on the center console.

The next generation Viper is expected to be run in international GT racing, and Chrysler has signed Riley Technologies to analyze the potential.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

There are plenty of sports car racing fans who denigrate the Grand-Am Rolex series for being too much like NASCAR because of the focus on driver safety and team equality. After this past weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona, though, it's hard to argue that they haven't built up an equitable series.

Despite having significantly smaller budgets than big-name teams like Target Chip Ganassi or Suntrust Racing, Michael Shank Racing used a combination of guts, driver talent and luck to win the 24 hour race on its eighth try. Both the winning #60 and the second-placed Starworks Racing entry were brand-new Ford-powered Riley cars that had barely turned a wheel in anger before pre-race qualifying on the Thursday before. Shank was doubly happy because his second entry, a much older Ford-Riley that at its best was two or three seconds a lap slower than the new-reg cars, remained on the lead lap after 24 hours and rounded out the overall podium.

The both big-dollar Ganassi entries - BMW-powered Rileys - had trouble with gearshifters and gearboxes, putting them too far behind to match the speed of the Ford-powered rivals. The heavily-favoured 'Corvette' prototypes had rough races as well - lots of unexpected teething problems that kept the big-guns in the garage early.

In GT, Porsche had a similar night, with the small Magnus Racing squad holding off bigger-budget squads from The Racers Group and Brumos Racing. Despite issues with front splitters affecting all 911 teams, the proven Porsches held off the relative newcomers from Ferarri, Audi and Dodge, along with proven winners from Chevrolet, Mazda and BMW. 

The GT field had over 40 cars entered, and promises to remain that competitive for the rest of the season.

For full results, click here. 

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Perhaps forgotten or ignored during last week's all-out NAIAS content avalanche was a release from the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) revealing the top-three finalists for the body's 2012 Canadian Car, Utility Vehicle and Design of the Year awards. 

For Car of the Year, Hyundai has both the Accent hatch and Elantra sedan, the latter of which was also recently named North American Car of the Year at NAIAS. The Kia Optima rounded out the contenders, making it the first all Korean category in the award's history.

For Utility Vehicle of the Year, the BMW X3, Dodge Journey and Volkswagen Touareg TDI Clean Diesel caused less of a stir, mainly because there are only three Utilility categories to pull favourites from...

Finally, Design of the Year finalists are the funky three-door Hyundai Veloster, the brutal racecar-themed Jaguar XKR-S and the futuristic Range Rover Evoque.

Bing: Learn more about the Canadian Car of the Year awards

It would be silly to be against the Elantra for COY thanks to its obvious popularity with Canadian customers, but I've been wrong plenty of times before. For Utility Vehicle, my pick would be the Journey if only for its value-for-money argument. And the Jag gets my vote for best design.

Which would you choose?

Photo courtesy Michelle Siu for Automobile Journalists Association of Canada

By Greg Migliore, AutoWeek

If it's possible to have a favorite factory for enthusiasts, the Viper plant in Detroit would definitely rank among the top five. And preparations will soon begin to ready the plant for the relaunch of the SRT Viper in late 2012.

That's right: The famous Dodge supercar will officially be badged the SRT Viper, a move that breaks from the car's 22-year heritage. The car was first seen as a concept at the 1989 Detroit auto show and was a pet project of then-Chrysler president Bob Lutz.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Fiat currently sells versions of the Dodge Journey and Chrysler 200 in Europe as Fiats and Lancias, and we've known for a while that some smaller cars and vans would be headed back in the other direction. We now have confirmation that the first product will revive the name Dart and will be an Alfa Romeo-based compact sold in Canada and the United States.

We've got a couple early teaser photos for you here that show off some real stying ties to the updated Charger, including a 'racetrack' rear light cluster. Dodge says the Dart will come with three engines, including the 1.4-litre turbocharged version of the company's MultiAir four-cylinder engine. Could we finally see a small turbodiesel there too? Might be worth it.

This also will mean the Caliber will finally bite the dust... Few are shedding tears over that call.

Let's just hope that the Dart is a more thorough polish job than the Fiat 500.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

For about 15 years, there was a complete lack of affordable rear-wheel drive cars. Memories of tossable Nissan 240SX's, Toyota MR2's and Corollas were but a fading memory, and the pony cars offered by Ford and General Motors weren't worth the effort.

Now, the Mustang is back in a big way, offering 300 horsepower and neat handling for $21,000, while Hyundai's $25,000 Genesis Coupe will get a revised 275-horsepower turbocharged four-banger in 2012. The Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger both offer well over 300 horses for just under $27,000.

Bing: Learn about the benefits of rear-wheel drive.

But the latest pair to join the fray come from corporate cousints Toyota and Subaru: the Toyota GT 86, released today in Japan and due to hit Canadian shores as a Scion soon, and the Subaru BRZ will use direct-injection 2.0-litre boxer engines and six-speed transmissions to send 200-odd horsepower to the rear wheels. Chances are they'll be light and tossable. And hopefully relatively inexpensive given the increasing competition.

Do either of the new Japanese cars interest you? And how much would you pay for one? Would you bite if they were a Genesis-matching $25,000?

By Jake Lingeman, AutoWeek

Dodge--or more accurately, the new SRT division--is bringing updated versions of past icons to the Los Angeles auto show. On Nov. 16, the 2012 Charger SRT8 Super Bee will break cover along with its partner in crime, the Challenger SRT8 Yellow Jacket. They'll both arrive in showrooms in the first quarter of 2012.

The Super Bee was first introduced in 1968 as a member of Dodge's Scat Pack performance group. It was based on the Coronet and was offered with either a 335-hp, 383-cubic-inch V8 or the 426 Hemi. In 1969, the 440 Six-Pack was added. Later, the Super Bee package was switched to the Charger with the same engine lineup. The resulting 1971 Charger Super Bee had a 0-to-60-mph time of 5.7 seconds--downright fast for its era.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

One of my wife's Facebook friends posted a great question to the 'world' the other day, and I thought it would make for a perfect post here. Here's her question:

"Question of The Day: Do you have a car-model nemesis? You know, the model of car that is always frustrating you in traffic. You're always either stuck behind it or it's always braking for no apparent reason? Mine is a Toyota Corolla – I tell you, if there is a car on the road that is ticking me off, 99 times out of 100 I look up and of course: it's a Corolla! What is yours?"

Oh yes, I agree completely on the Corolla, especially beige ones, which somehow invariably are used as driving school cars that spend their entire lives just hanging out under the speed limit in the left lane...

Bing: Find your perfect beige Corolla.

But Corollas are almost too easy here, so I'll pick another: the Dodge/Ram 1500. Thanks to some aggressive pricing and cash discounts, it`s reallly easy to get one of the company`s big Hemi V8s underhood. The majority of these in my area, though, rarely stay 'as delivered' for long. There's invariably a five-inch lift, light bars, grey fender flares, giant off-road tires and exhaust pipes I could fit my fist into. Those drivers around me are ususally flouting the laws of physics by tailgating, passing aggressively, speeding, not signalling, and more.

Now don't get me wrong: there are plenty of Chevrolet Silverados and Ford F-150s that are treated the same way, but for whatever reason, it's the Ram that always sticks in my head.

So what's yours?

By Jake Lingeman, AutoWeek

Chrysler is taking more than 30 Mopar-modified cars to the 2011 SEMA show, all of which will be sitting in the company's 28,400-square-foot display area. More than 500 Mopar parts will be displayed.

The Mopar “image” vehicles include the Chrysler 300 SF6, the Dodge Challenger SRT8 ACR, the Dodge Durango Tow Hook, the Fiat Titanium, the Fiat Carbon and the Ram 392 Quick Silver.

Bing: What does MOPAR stand for?

By David Arnouts for AutoWeek

Dodge is crowing that it has recaptured the title of fastest lap around the Nurburgring for a production car. It released video this week running a 2010 Dodge Viper ACR lapping the 12.9-mile track in 7 minutes, 12.13 seconds with Dominik Farnbacher behind the wheel.

Now, that is one of the faster times around "the Ring." Is it a record? Well, it is certainly not the fastest for a production vehicle.