Ever since its resurgence a few years back, the Dodge Charger has been a crowning gem in this American car maker's line up. For 2012, the Charge receives an optional upgrade in performance, available to visitors at Truckmasters in Phoenix, Arizona.

The 2012 Charger will come with a "brand-new eight-speed automatic transmission, a ZF-engineered unit called 845RE."¹

This transmission is available to vehicles with the 292 horsepower Pentastar V6 engine equipped to some new models. As time goes on, the upgrade will be available to all Dodge vehicles regardless of powerplant. All cars currently set up for this new eight-speed are the rear-wheel drive sedans in the line up. That too will be expanded to front wheel drive and all wheel drive vehicles as time progresses.

But wait, there's more! Additional improvements include smoother shifting between gears and a "shift-by-wire" system. This option allows for less driver input during the shifting process - gear transition is based solely on pedal placement, helping power through tight situations including rush hour traffic.

Finally, all Chargers with the eight-speed transmission receive a sport mode option. This allows the driver to control shifting via the stick or steering-wheel mounted paddles, just like in a Lamborghini.

Source: ¹http://www.carpages.ca/blog/2011/09/15/eight-speed-auto-option-coming-to-2012-dodge-charger-and-chrysler-300/