Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 and Dodge Charger named "Best Cars of the Year"

Designed for Drivers: All-new 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8® and Dodge Charger Named Two of Winding Road’s “Best Cars Of The Year”

• Winner of “Best Utility Award,” the all-new 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8® offers a unique blend of head-turning SRT performance with legendary Jeep® capability and utility, luxury and refinement, and innovative advanced technologies
• Best performing and most powerful Jeep vehicle ever: 0-60 mph in 4.8 seconds; quarter mile in mid-13 second range; top speed of 160 mph; 60-0 mph braking in 116 feet and an all-new 6.4-liter HEMI® V-8 that delivers 470 horsepower and 465 lb.-ft. of torque
• Earning the “Best Everyman Sedan Award,” the 2012 Dodge Charger delivers world-class levels of quietness and handling performance, state-of-the-art technologies and premium materials once limited to elite European sport sedans
• Segment-exclusive eight-speed automatic transmission provides Dodge Charger with refinement, improved performance and best-in-class 31 miles per gallon (mpg) highway

January 18, 2012 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - Delivering performance, technology and handling capabilities that are among the world’s best, two of Chrysler Group LLC’s latest products – the all-new 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8® and the new 2012 Dodge Charger – earned Winding Road’s “Best Car of the Year Awards,” an annual honor that recognizes the best driver’s vehicles in the market.

“SRT and Dodge are two brands that stand to make 2012 a banner year for driving enthusiasts,” said Seyth Miersma, Editor-In-Chief – Winding Road. “Taking over where the last generation left off (somewhere in the middle of a cloud of smoking tire rubber), the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 manages to be one of the most brutally fast and easy-to-live-with super-SUVs we’ve ever tested. Meanwhile, the 2012 Dodge Charger offers more in terms of style, performance, and space than most of the vanilla-flavored competition could dream of. With completely different form factors, price points, and audiences, the commonality between these two Best Cars is the way in which they can make their drivers grin.”

Selecting from hundreds of vehicles Winding Road reviews each year, its “Best Car of the Year Awards” seek out and honor the best driver’s vehicles, across every level of size, form and functionality. The highly involved selection process not only leverages the opinions of Winding Road’s seasoned staff of test drivers, but uses the Winding Road Involvement Index to quantify the always-elusive “fun to drive factor.” Because of Winding Road’s focus on the driving experience, only vehicles the publication has driven in the past 12 months are considered for a “Best Car of the Year Award” nomination.

“We are honored to earn Winding Road’s ‘Best Utility Award,’ as the driver-focused accolade recognizes the all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8’s high-performance capabilities that can get it done on the street, on the race track, in a blizzard, or when towing other fun machines behind it,” said Ralph Gilles, President and CEO — SRT Brand and Motorsports, Chrysler Group LLC. “Combining its aerodynamic performance styling with track-tested powertrain and chassis upgrades, with legendary Jeep utility and value, makes this super-SUV second to none.”

“As an enthusiast brand that combines power, innovation and world-class refinement at an unmatched value, Dodge is honored to receive such a prestigious award,” said Reid Bigland, President and CEO – Dodge. “Winding Road’s ‘Best Everyman Sedan’ award for driving enthusiasts validates how Dodge has transformed the new Charger into the class leader in driving dynamics, fuel efficiency and performance. With an unmatched combination of a 292 horsepower Pentastar V-6, class-leading 31 mpg highway and iconic muscle car styling, the 2012 Dodge Charger is in a class by itself.”

Courtesy of Chrysler Media