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Dodge Chargum – A Charger Magnum Faux Paddy Wagon

Beatnik Brotherhood Originals 1 Response »

Oct 122012

You look in the rear-view mirror. What is that? A Charger? With a push bar? In black and white? Sweat beading on your brow, you glance down at your speedometer. Numbers; so many numbers! You can’t hit the brakes, they’ll see that. You downshift as coyly as you can. The Charger is gaining ground, and any moment now those lights could flash. It pulls up beside you, and…

The driver give a little smile, a little nod, and keeps on cruisin’. You’ve just been passed by a Dodge Chargum. A rarity in the vehicular world, so rare that none ever came off the assembly line. This is not parts-matching, my friends.

When the Dodge Magnum was released, it looked surprised to see us. Wide-eyed and eager, the first-gen Magnum tried a little too hard. Realizing their mistake, they gave it a facelift. Rather than eager, the Magnum now looked bored.

So, what’s the answer? The second-hand market have figured it out. When the Big Three make vehicles, they try to get their money’s worth out of their engineering team. Often, cars that leave the factory under different model names, and even brand names, share the same platform. Those of you out there with VW Golfs can be comforted by the fact your cars are about 90% Audi A3. The same is true over at Dodge, where the Magnum and the Charger share much of their under-body They are so similar, in fact, that you can switch out a Magnum front clip with a Charger’s, and the most modification that is required is a little welding of the fenders so the door lines line up.

It’s the look that Dodge should have gave the wagon in the first place. It’s aggressive, stout, and mean. Those of us who are suckers for wagons (guilty) would be proud to own one. If you’re good with a welder, though, it’s entirely possible. In the Beatnik Brotherhood’s version, we’d give a nod to the state troopers, and give it a black-and-white two-tone, with some ghost flames running down the side. There’s really no need to start with an SRT-8, any magnificent V-8 in the Dodge line would do. Add a push bar, the SRT-8 Charger hood, drop it down on some white-walls, and add side pipes.

Looks like a copper in the rear-view, looks like a kool kat passing you.

Bonneville for Bonneville – A Pontiac That Lives Up To Its Name

Beatnik Brotherhood Originals 1 Response »

Mar 182012

The Pontiac Bonneville isn’t aptly named. Far from it. When it was introduced in 1957, it was a powerful car (for the time), but the bloated convertible hardly lived up to the famous salt lake racing scene it was named after. Over time, things degraded further. In the late nineties, it was a bloated four-door who’s only semblance to spirited performance was the SSEi version, with 240 horsepower.

It’s about time the brand was legitimized. Not that fast Pontiac Bonneville’s have never been made. With an iron-block 3800cc supercharged V6, it has a little bit of power potential left in it. With a bit of mods, 400 HP isn’t impossible. As far as non-engine mods go, some carbon-fiber air inlets, some paint, dished wheels, shaved doorhandles – it’s really a pretty low-buck transformation. Well, except for those custom carbon fiber pieces. That may cost more than the whole donor car, to be honest.

So while it probably wouldn’t break any records, at least the Bonneville wouldn’t look completely out of place on the salt. I think the Bonneville franchise deserves it.

Fiat 500 Abarth Dragster – 500cc No More

Beatnik Brotherhood Originals 1 Response »

Mar 062012

The Fiat 500 was originally denoted as such because of it’s 500cc engine. A bit optimistically, as it only had 479cc. It was ten feet long and featured exactly no airbags. Of course, no car had airbags in 1957. A lot has changed in 50 years. The new Fiat 500, the one that is now becoming somewhat of a sales flop in the U.S., has a 1400cc “Multiair” engine that produces 101 horsepower. It also has 7 airbags standard. Where they are fitted, we don’t know; this is still a very small car.

The point is, it’s no Ferrari. It’s “peppy,” “perky,” and perhaps “spirited.” However, if you like the 500 body but want a little more oomph in your life, there is another option. The Abarth. Taking the same 1400cc engine, it adds a turbo and cranks it up to 160 HP. That’s more like it.

But is that enough to boost lagging sales? Well, you know the old saying: race on Sunday, sell on Monday. They need to do something to get people to notice. Why not enter in some good ol’ fashioned drag races? With a supercharged V-8 engine with Multi-Air technology? If they can make 160 HP reliably from 1.4 liters, imagine what they could do with 8.4 liters.

Sure, it’d look funny, and it wouldn’t be so aerodynamic. Perhaps they could only use it as a specialty in-between-heats car. No doubt, it’d get Fiat some exposure…some desperately needed exposure.

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