billgiacheri wrote:Not only does it not do anything else, it runs 11's on DR with a passenger seat and floor mats... But if you take the rug out of the trunk, there is a full moon, you turn the clock/timer off, remove the passenger seat, it is exactly 40 degrees out, you might hit a high nine...
FInally read the article. I am thrilled because this car finally points out things I've been saying for years: conditions matter and there are a lot of different ways a car can deliver "performance." If the marketing people were successul, they made it seem like you plunked down $90k, got in a Demon, put your foot down, and ran mid 9s. It's not that simple. As this article clearly points out (in a big way - they were well over a second off, even on a track).
Through August of this year, the Challenger has also outsold the Chevrolet Camaro, something it hadn't done at this time last year. In the month of August, the Challenger also beat both the Mustang and the Camaro, selling 6,253 units to the Mustang's 5,535 and the Camaro's 5,017.From the looks of it, what Kuniskis called a "trickle-down effect" is working.
Sure. I mean that's good. Was it worth the delta in sales, from a dollars and cents perspective? I guess it is hard to know without inside info on R&D costs, marketing costs, production costs, and the delta profit from the extra Challenger sales...
Allpar reports that recently, Dodge dealers have been spreading the rumor that Demon production will continue through 2019. Especially considering that strong demand caused Ford to double production of the new GT, it’s easy to see why people would believe Dodge plans to do the same thing. But Dodge has said from the beginning that it only intended to build the Demon for a single year regardless of demand.
In fact, when Allpar interviewed Tim Kuniskis, Dodge’s top guy at the time, he finished the conversation by saying the Demon would be “2018 only, one-and-done. The people who sit back and wait for next year are going to miss out.” It really doesn’t get more clear than that. Allpar also points out that every Demon buyer receives a letter that includes the line, “congratulations on being one of only 3,300 passionate performance enthusiasts to own a piece of automotive history.” If Dodge had plans to continue Demon production after 2018, it wouldn’t make sense to word the letter that way.
Once again proving that the goal isn't always to sell the most cars or deliver the highest performance to the greatest number of people.
Right, but this is a halo car, not the Chevy SS. How many chevy purchases did the Chevy SS inspire (none)? This is like the Viper. Not designed to be a high seller, but bringing the perception of high performance legitimacy to the brand. I have a hard time believing car companies want to spend time and money to engineer something for little to no return. That sounds like a bad business model. Dodge believes they are getting a return on the Demon.
Were you excited because of how it would help FCA sell more regular cars? Or were you excited because of the performance?
I thought it was the latter. And if it is a one year special, then it was a marketing exercise and unless you own FCA stock, I don't see any reason to be excited by it.
The SS was the opposite of a marketing exercise. And it was affordable in a way that the Demon is not (like 1/2 to 1/3rd the price). So to be clear I was always excited about the SS because I wanted to drive and own one and it was possible to do so, even if it was unmarketed. It's STILL possible to do so, used.
Were you excited because of how it would help FCA sell more regular cars? Or were you excited because of the performance?
Both. I like Halo cars because the crazy expense of the Halo allows for development of capability to trickle down. Since the Demon, the Widebody Hellcat has been introduced, which takes advantage of the Demons wider tires etc. for better power to the ground. Same thing GM does with Cadillac and Corvette. It is also cool for brand pride: to be the first company to produce a car available to the public that can do wheelies stock. Their marketing is genius and the attitude in the marketing is attracting buyers. The Demon is a factory drag car that is banned by the NHRA because it is too fast.
But that wasn't because of some technological leap. They didn't crack some code - everyone is making big power engines. I guess I don't care if FCA has a marketing win. I probably will never buy one of those cars, new or used.
I guess now you'll say that I still should care because it will just spur better cars that I might actually want.