Octane TV

Seems there's another new car in Jay Leno's garage this week: a Dodge Challenger SRT8 in gleaming black paint has been spotted in Jay's parking spot at NBC.

An eagle-eyed car-spotter saw the new ride - surrounded by barricades - parked out back of The Tonight Show studio. According to sources at Chrysler, Jay picked the car up at Valley Dodge in Van Nuys only yesterday but we've no doubt he's already put the 425hp, 420 lb-ft RWD monster to good use.

Of course, the real owner is actually someone totally different. We think it actually belongs to Nancy O'Dell, who parks right next to Jay, and they thought they'd play a trick on us... AutoBlog

1970 Dodge Challenger R/T vs. 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8. Enjoy.

Torque.tv has been busy putting two American muscle cars through their paces. They brought drifter extraordinaire Sam Hubinette to Willow Springs Raceway, just outside of Los Angeles, CA, and put the two beasts head-to-head.

The 2008 Dodge Viper SRT-10 sports an 8.4-liter V10 making 600 horsepower and 560 lb-ft of torque.
The 2008 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 boasts a 7.0-liter V8 putting out 505 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque.

Hubinette might race for Dodge but when it comes to going head-to-head, there's no favoritism allowed. Click Play for one hell of a horsepower party.

H2H Ep1 Viper Vs. Z06 Vette

The folks over at InsideLine have been 'working hard' again. Boy, they must really hate going to the office in the morning...

Their latest comparo puts two American muscle cars head-to-head, with plenty of smoking rubber and trails of dust left in their wake. The 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt brings a 315hp V8 to the party, producing 325 lb-ft of torque and a top speed of 151mph. The 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 boasts a Hemi V8 that outputs 425hp and 420 lb-ft of torque.

Click the link to see which car muscled its way to victory. InsideLine

Obviously it takes a bit of time to collate all the data but the numbers are in and things aren't looking good for Honda owners. Although you might think that something exotic (i.e. pricey) would top the list, thieves go for the easy target: one that can be stripped down and sold for parts.

So, when considering your next purchase, you might want to add "will it be there in the morning?" to your checklist.

The Top 10:
1) 1995 Honda Civic 2) 1991 Honda Accord 3) 1989 Toyota Camry 4) 1997 Ford F-150 Series Pickup 5) 2005 Dodge Ram Pickup 6) 1994 Chevrolet C/K 1500 Pickup 7) 1994 Nissan Sentra 8) 1994 Dodge Caravan 9) 1990 Saturn SL 10) 1990 Acura Integra

There will be celebrations tomorrow at Chrysler's Conner Avenue Assembly Plant: the 25,000th Dodge Viper is rolling off the assembly line.

The SRT10's drool-worthy stats include a 8.4-liter V10 making 600hp and 560lb-ft of torque. It'll do 0-60 in 3.9 seconds and 0-100 in just over 12. Asking price: around $87K.

Alas, it's already spoken for: Kurt Busch, the top Dodge driver in 2007, gets to drive off in the new brute.

Despite a rip-roaring 6.1 liter V8 Hemi in every 7,100 Dodge Challengers debuting in 2008, only a 5-speed automatic will be available (yawn). But things are looking up for 2009 models, with the introduction of a 6-speed manual (hurrah!)

Borrowing the Tremec 6060 tranny from the 600hp Viper should ensure it's ability to handle the 435 horses and 420ft-lb of torque on offer in the Challenger. Those numbers are good for a 0-60 of 4.9 seconds and a top speed of 170mph. For those who don't require quite so much muscle - and to keep up with those folks at the blue oval - a 3.5L V6 will debut, too, appealing to a more entry-level crowd.