Transportation

Car Review: 2015 Dodge Charger

Published

10 years ago

February 17, 2015

By Frank S. Washington
NNPA Columnist

WASHINGTON, D.C., – Dodge is billing the 2015 Charger as the world’s only four-door muscle car. The brand says the restyled Charger is the quickest, fastest and most powerful sedan on the planet. What’s more, Dodge does have the right stuff under the Charger’s hood to back up the claim.

At the top of the power perch is the 2015 Dodge SRT Hellcat with a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 that makes 707 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. Mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission, this four-door rocket has a top speed of 204 mph. That makes it faster than its corporate cousin, the Dodge Challenger Hellcat, with a top speed of 199 mph.

Next up was the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT 392. It was powered by a 6.4-liter normally aspirated HEMI V8 that made 485 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque. An eight-speed automatic gear box is standard to all trim lines of the new Charger.

Third on the Charger muscle scale is the 5.7-liter HEMI V8 that makes 370 horsepower. This model has cylinder deactivation that will shut off half of its cylinders when not needed. That’s most of the time.

Although the new car still looked like a Charger, everything about this Dodge has changed. Only the rear doors and the roof are the same. New were fenders, front and rear fascia as well as the front doors. The new aluminum hood appeared to be a little more curved.
The radius of the Dodge Charger’s side scallops was changed and the C-pillar was pulled rearward into the deck lid. The sedan had LED running lights and LED fog lamps. There were also front and rear performance fascias and side sills for the HEMIs, a new three-piece spoiler as well as black performance spoilers and SRT body color performance spoilers.

But amid all of Dodge’s intoxicating power and appearance packages, we decided to concentrate on the 2015 Charger with the least amount of power. We had experienced all of the HEMIs when we test drove the Challenger, it shares the same engine family. Thus, we opted to test drive the 2015 Dodge Charger SE, the entry level model.

It is nowhere near as exotic as its more powerful siblings but this car along with the SXT Charger is the volume model. In other words, Dodge will sell more copies of these two models then the others combined.

Powered by a 3.6 liter V6, engine that made 292 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, that is bumped up to 300 horsepower with the Rallye Package, the SE also had an eight-speed transmission. All the forward gears help the 2015 Dodge Charger SE get 19 mpg in the city, 31 mpg on the highway and 23 mpg combined.

On a 100-mile drive to Summit Point Motorsports Park in West Virginia, we found the Dodge Charger SE to be a whole lot of car. There was a bunch of stuff our test vehicle didn’t have: no navigation system, no 8.4-inch touch screen or voice controls. But it did have the Charger chassis and styling.

The car was solid on what can only be described as a rain soaked day. Still, it was real world conditions and this Charger gave an excellent account of itself. Although the Charger can come with all-wheel-drive, we had a rear-wheel-drive version. Though the pavement was wet and looked slippery, the car’s grip on the road was sure.

It was solid, really solid. With every bump, crevice and rut we traversed in the pavement, we could feel the quality of its build. Our 2015 Dodge Charger SE was quiet as rain fell with every turn of its tires. Still, all of the weather and the congested traffic that came with it remained outside of the car. None of it was transmitted to the interior through wind or road noise.

The 2015 Dodge Charger was a sedan in function not just in its number of doors. We climbed into the back seats and had plenty of leg, head and hip room. The car could carry four adults in real comfort.

Power was there when we needed it. Yes, our 2015 Dodge Charger SE didn’t have the brute force of any of the HEMIs, but with 292 horsepower it wasn’t a snail. It had enough oomph to get out of the way, to stay out of the way, to lead when needed and to avoid texting-while-driving idiots. It handled with rifle shot accuracy.

Our test car featured Dodge’s customizable 7-inch full color information display. That is a lot words to say TFT screen. We had the five-inch touch screen and the aluminum bevel surround made them look like one unit. The new electronic T-shifter mimicked hydraulic gear selection which was a nice touch.

Our 2015 Dodge Charger had a couple of option packages: 18-inch all season performance tires, satin carbon aluminum wheels and a body colored spoiler. The second option package included satellite radio, rear park assist, remote start and a front license plate bracket for those regressive states.

The soft touch dash could have been a little softer but this was a base model. And we did think the plastic template on the climate controls could have been of a higher quality; not much just a notch. However, that undoubtedly would have increased the price.
For $30,580 as tested, we thought the 2015 Dodge Charger was a lot of car for comparatively few dollars.

With base prices ranging from $27,995 for the SE to $69,995 for the Hellcat, five engine choices and scads of trim lines, we think the 2015 Dodge Charger has a power and appearance package for just about every purse.

Frank S. Washington is editor of AboutThatCar.com.

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Bay Area

Former Mayor Willie L. Brown Endorses Dana Lang for BART Board District 7

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown has announced his endorsement support for Dana Lang for BART Board District 7 Seat, which includes voters from both sides of the Bay, and in San Francisco includes Bay View Hunters Point and Treasure Island. Brown acknowledged that Lang has been a behind-the-scenes force in transportation funding for many years and can help BART manage its financial challenges.

Published

2 months ago

October 22, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo courtesy of Dana Lang.

By Oakland Post Staff

Brown acknowledged that Lang has been a behind-the-scenes force in transportation funding for many years and can help BART manage its financial challenges.

“When I met with Dana Lang I asked many questions, then I asked others about her contributions. Getting to know her I realized that she truly understood transportation. At a time when BART is facing a “fiscal cliff” and an upcoming deficit of nearly $360 million per year, Dana is more than ready for this job, she is ready to meet the moment!”

Over the past 24 years Lang has been a funding and grants specialist with several municipal transportation agencies, including the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco Muni, San Francisco Police Department and San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

Lang says, “I’ve faced a number of fiscal crises in my career — such as securing $52 million in new transit security funding for SFMTA (Muni) during the 2008 Great Recession, when others thought it was not possible. I have always managed to identify new funding and ways to make transit more secure. Facing a crisis is the best time to act, through advocacy and policy setting. We’ve got to keep BART running and make it safer and more vibrant in order to meet the needs of our riders, our work force, and our community.”

Lang grew up in the low-income minority community of East Palo Alto, CA, and knew that locating grants and resources could positively impact an entire city and its surrounding region — helping to create and retain agency jobs, getting transit riders to their workplaces, and encouraging small business development near transit hubs.

With that in mind, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wellesley College, then an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. She started her municipal career as a policy advisor to Mayor Elihu Harris and helped secure grants for the City of Oakland before moving to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to serve as a transportation grants specialist.

During her 24-year career she has helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars for Bay Area transit agencies and municipalities. In addition to BART’s financial health, Lang’s priorities for BART also include safety, cleanliness, station vitality — and bringing riders back to BART. She has served on the BART Police Civilian Review Board since 2022.

Lang is also endorsed by BART Board Director Robert Raburn, former BART Board Director Carole Ward Allen, the Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church, Alameda County supervisors Keith Carson and Nate Miley, former Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris, District 4 Oakland City Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, Oakland Chinatown leader Carl Chan, and many others.

Lang is seeking the BART Board District 7 Seat, which includes San Francisco’s Bay View Hunters Point and Treasure Island, a large portion of Oakland, the cities of Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, and a small portion of Berkeley.

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Alameda County Supervisors Keith Carson and Nate Miley Endorse Dana Lang for BART Board District 7

Alameda County Supervisors Nate Miley and Keith Carson have announced their support for Dana Lang for the BART Board District 7 Seat. These supervisors say that Lang has been a behind-the-scenes force in transportation funding for many years and can help BART manage its financial challenges.

Published

3 months ago

October 1, 2024

Oakland Post

Courtesy of Dana Lang.

By Oakland Post Staff

Alameda County Supervisors Nate Miley and Keith Carson have announced their support for Dana Lang for the BART Board District 7 Seat.

These supervisors say that Lang has been a behind-the-scenes force in transportation funding for many years and can help BART manage its financial challenges.

Supervisor Nate Miley acknowledges that, “At a time when BART is facing a “fiscal cliff” and an upcoming deficit of nearly $360 million per year, Dana is the person for the job. As a transportation leader, Dana Lang is exactly ready to meet this moment.”

Over the past 24 years, Lang has been a funding and grants specialist with several municipal transportation agencies, including the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco Muni, San Francisco Police Department and San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

Dana Lang says, “I’ve faced a number of fiscal crises in my career — such as securing $52 million in new transit security funding for SFMTA (Muni) during the 2008 Great Recession, when others thought it was not possible. I have always managed to identify new funding and ways to make transit more secure. Facing a crisis is the best time to act, through advocacy and policy setting. We’ve got to keep BART running and make it safer and more vibrant in order to meet the needs of our riders, our work force, and our community.”

Lang grew up in the low-income minority community of East Palo Alto and knew that locating grants and resources could positively impact an entire city and its surrounding region — helping to create and retain agency jobs, getting riders to their workplaces, and encouraging small business development near transit hubs. With that in mind, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wellesley College, then an MBA from Cal Berkeley Haas School of Business.

She started her municipal career as a policy advisor to Mayor Elihu Harris and helped secure grants for the City of Oakland before moving to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. During her 24-year career she has helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars for Bay Area transit agencies and municipalities. In addition to BART’s financial health, Lang’s priorities for BART also include safety, cleanliness, station vitality and bringing riders back to BART.

She has served on the BART Police Civilian Review Board since 2022.

Lang is also endorsed by BART Board Director Robert Raburn, former BART Board Director Carole Ward Allen, Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker, former Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris, former San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown, Oakland Councilperson Janani Ramachandran, Alameda Councilperson Tracy Jensen, Oakland Chinatown leader Carl Chan, and many others.

Lang is seeking the BART Board District 7 Seat, which covers most of the East Bay, including Oakland, Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, and a small portion of Berkeley. The district also includes Bay View Hunters Point and Treasure Island in San Francisco.

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Bay Area

Congresswoman Lee Celebrates Federal Green Transportation Investments for California

Published

3 months ago

September 12, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

OAKLAND, CA — Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12) today celebrated the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) announcement of two grants for California to expand clean transportation infrastructure. The DOT announced that Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) will receive over $14 million to install Level 2 EV charging ports at all BART-managed parking facilities for use by customers and community members. The DOT also announced that the California Department of Transportation will receive $102 million for the West Coast Truck Charging and Fueling Corridor Project to deploy charging and hydrogen fueling stations for zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles along 2,500 miles of key freight corridors in California, Oregon, and Washington.

The transportation sector is the largest source of U.S. carbon emissions. According to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a 50 percent reduction in carbon must be achieved by 2050—and as much as a 91 percent decrease by 2100—to stay within the globally accepted goal of limiting the planet’s warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“Today, I am excited to announce that BART has been selected to receive this critical federal funding to help expand mobility and end fossil fuel dependence,” said Congresswoman Lee. “It is especially important the first phase of the project will prioritize deployment at stations in or near disadvantaged communities. BART is an essential part of our public transit system, and these funds will improve transit for its riders in throughout the Bay Area.”

By installing chargers at BART stations that are close to multifamily housing, workplaces, medical facilities, schools, and retail, the project will support robust EV adoption across a wide range of socioeconomic groups and road users.

Furthermore, because of discriminatory policies, highways were built near and through Black and brown communities, making these communities much more vulnerable to chronic illnesses associated with disproportionate exposure to air pollution. A reduction in gas-powered cars will be especially beneficial to communities of color and low-income communities who have been disproportionately harmed by infrastructural and environmental injustices.

The West Coast Truck Charging and Fueling Corridor Project will enable the emissions-free movement of goods connecting major ports, freight centers, and agricultural regions between the U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada.

On this funding, Congresswoman Lee said: “This funding will go a long way toward not only combatting the climate crisis, but it will create good-paying jobs as well. I thank the Department of Transportation and the Biden-Harris administration for their continued commitment to a cleaner and healthier environment.”

Last year, alongside the California delegation, Congresswoman Lee sent a letter to DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg urging support for the grant application of the West Coast Truck Charging and Fueling Corridor Project through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure program.