Is Dodge giving Europe the middle finger?
I ask because Dodge isn’t kidding about this “Brotherhood of Muscle” stuff.
Those of you with a little grey on top might still remember the days of Ford vs Chevy vs Dodge. It was the biggest rivalry of the time…fought out on NASCAR tracks, local roads, and showrooms throughout the ‘60’s, ‘70’s and ‘80’s.
But with the popularity of SUV’s causing Ford and Chevy to virtually abandon sedans, who’s left for Dodge to beat up on?
Try Europe’s finest and fastest.
And no…while today’s Dodge has plenty of technology, Dodge isn’t trying to beat Europe with heated and cooled cup holders and 20 shades of ambient lighting, but rather, with sheer performance. It might be argued that Dodge delivers more HP per dollar than just about anything on the road. Darned good handling, too.
And our test Charger Scat Pack is a prime example.
0-60 in 4.3 seconds….and a top-end North of 180 MPH...all from a big, throaty 6.4 liter Hemi V-8 and an 8-speed automatic…and all yours for between 40 and 50K. Not bad, eh?
No, that’s not as fast as Dodge’s now-famous Hellcat…but it’s not 70 – 80K, either…raising the questions “Just how fast do you really need to go and what are you prepared to pay?”
Instead of Hellcat’s “ultimate”, Dodge’s Scat Pack gives those who really enjoy performance a big 5-passenger vehicle that’ll out-run and out-handle 999 out of every 1,000 other vehicles on the road…and do it for less than just about anything else out there…and still get 15 MPG City and 24 Hwy while embarrassing dozens of Europe’s finest.
And the Scat Pack Plus is not only about straight-line speed, either. Add six thousand to the $39,995 base and get the Widebody package…bringing 6-piston Brembo front brakes, a competition suspension, and wider 20” x 11” wheels wearing Pirelli P Zero 305/35 ZR 20 rubber. This gave the Scat Pack tremendous grip in the twisties and made it a really enjoyable all-around ride.
In short, there are a number of vehicles that can match or beat the Scat Pack’s performance…but darn few that’ll hold five people while doing it…and even far fewer ( if any ) that’ll do it for between 40 and 50 thousand.
The only question that I had about this vehicle is its name: “Scat Pack”.
“Scat” just doesn’t come close to describing the performance that this vehicle delivers, but I guess it’d be inappropriate in today’s world to call it a “Haul A**
Pack”, wouldn’t it?
Oh…and one more thing. A big thing. Dodge just tied for #1 in the JD Power initial quality survey.
That means that Dodge beat everything from Europe…and everything from Japan…and everything else from the USA in terms of the fewest problems in the first 90 days of ownership. Yes…that’s a pretty big deal.
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