I've been lurking around here for a bit and finally pulled the trigger on ordering a car from @#HellcatJesus at Dan Cummins. The car finally arrived and I hopped on a plane to pick it up, I'm extremely happy with the deal and wouldn't order from anyone else. Period. He honored the deal we originally agreed on, there were no tricks, upselling, or shell games. He is a top notch guy helping enthusiasts make poor financial choices, and for that I thank him, because this thing is a ton of fun!
After picking the car up, the fiancé and I made a hellacious road trip. The car has been in 7 states, visited a half dozen distilleries, been through the tail of the dragon, and stretched its' legs across endless highways. It's back home now with a little over 2600 miles on it.
Comfort? For a car that can do 200mph, it is surprisingly practical. We had tons of room for our luggage, including a cooler packed full of..."essentials". Storage space is about average in the cabin, but I feel there is a lot of wasted space in the door panels that could have been utilized for more storage. We even took the family for a ride - the back seat fits grown adults! I figured the seats would be the first to get to me on a long trip, but there was not a single drive that became uncomfortable. To be honest, I can't think of another vehicle I have been in that had seats that fit that well, or were that comfortable. Heated, cooled, plush, but firm enough to keep your ass in the seat when it matters. If there are better seats out there, I'd like to see the price tag on them. Uconnect was solid the entire time and does just about anything you could think of including ordering food, or providing WiFi internet for your devices. My sole complaint here is that there are no redundant physical buttons for the heated or cooled seats. A broken Uconnect would leave a lot of features inaccessible.
Fuel mileage? I was anxious about the bill, because I'd be driving this thing across so many states, instead of having it shipped or trailering it back. I wagered I'd need a small mortgage to get back home in it, and judging by the complaints on lousy fuel mileage, I knew I was in for an ugly surprise. But the surprise never came - lifetime average across 2500 miles sits right at 19.8mpg. I routinely saw 22-23mpg on the highway, and 380-440 miles per tank. Yes, I checked to make sure the supercharger was still working, and most folks we ran across thoroughly enjoyed that. Not bad for having 800hp on tap.
Handling? It's heavy, yes, and you can feel the heft in turns. But the feedback and communication to the driver is great. It does exactly what you want and let's you know when you've gone too far in a way that doesn't leave you wrapped around a tree. Steering is tight and the brakes will bleed off speed in a hurry, though at high speeds the stock pads do tend to fade quickly trying to stop the 4500lb beast. You can quickly find the limit of adhesion just as easily, even on the wide 305s, but it isn't going to make you pay for it. You really have to abuse this car, and ignore every signal it gives you in order to wind up in trouble. There is potential there that few of us will likely ever exceed, realistically. My key takeaway: The car is nowhere near as scary as people make it out to be. Maybe a pulley and tune will fix that later on.
Build quality, yes, it's expensive for a Dodge. I love the paint color and how dynamic it is in the light, Octane red was definitely the right choice. The car was delivered to the dealer damage free and does not show any crazy panels gaps or glaring issues that I've seen on some of them. There is a bit of "waviness" in the panels that will catch your eye at certain angles, but that seems to be pretty typical of mass produced stamped panels. The body lines are sharp and you just can't beat the look of that classic shape. The interior feels solid and doesn't come off too cheap with the Alcantara door panels, seats, and turned dash. Still, it's the same generic parts bin plastics you'll find throughout the Dodge line up. I'd like to have seen some special door sill plates at least. In the end, you really are paying for a dressed up rental car with a killer $50k engine and trans combo though, so you have to keep realistic expectations there.
Could the car be lighter? Certainly. Could the backup camera have a bit more resolution so it doesn't look so terrible on an 8.4" screen? Sure. Would it be nice to have a HUD, auto highbeam/wiper by default at this price point? Absolutely.
Are you going to find a better thrill to dollar ratio in a car that can also do just about everything else you ask of it? Absolutely not.
It's no wonder Dodge is kicking ass with one of the oldest platforms in current production.
I might just have to make the trip again when the Bourbon runs dry.
![Tire Wheel Car Vehicle Land vehicle]()
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![Tire Wheel Car Vehicle Automotive tire]()
![Tire Wheel Vehicle Land vehicle Car]()
![Tire Wheel Sky Vehicle Car]()
![Tire Wheel Land vehicle Car Vehicle]()
![Tire Sky Car Vehicle Plant]()
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After picking the car up, the fiancé and I made a hellacious road trip. The car has been in 7 states, visited a half dozen distilleries, been through the tail of the dragon, and stretched its' legs across endless highways. It's back home now with a little over 2600 miles on it.
Comfort? For a car that can do 200mph, it is surprisingly practical. We had tons of room for our luggage, including a cooler packed full of..."essentials". Storage space is about average in the cabin, but I feel there is a lot of wasted space in the door panels that could have been utilized for more storage. We even took the family for a ride - the back seat fits grown adults! I figured the seats would be the first to get to me on a long trip, but there was not a single drive that became uncomfortable. To be honest, I can't think of another vehicle I have been in that had seats that fit that well, or were that comfortable. Heated, cooled, plush, but firm enough to keep your ass in the seat when it matters. If there are better seats out there, I'd like to see the price tag on them. Uconnect was solid the entire time and does just about anything you could think of including ordering food, or providing WiFi internet for your devices. My sole complaint here is that there are no redundant physical buttons for the heated or cooled seats. A broken Uconnect would leave a lot of features inaccessible.
Fuel mileage? I was anxious about the bill, because I'd be driving this thing across so many states, instead of having it shipped or trailering it back. I wagered I'd need a small mortgage to get back home in it, and judging by the complaints on lousy fuel mileage, I knew I was in for an ugly surprise. But the surprise never came - lifetime average across 2500 miles sits right at 19.8mpg. I routinely saw 22-23mpg on the highway, and 380-440 miles per tank. Yes, I checked to make sure the supercharger was still working, and most folks we ran across thoroughly enjoyed that. Not bad for having 800hp on tap.
Handling? It's heavy, yes, and you can feel the heft in turns. But the feedback and communication to the driver is great. It does exactly what you want and let's you know when you've gone too far in a way that doesn't leave you wrapped around a tree. Steering is tight and the brakes will bleed off speed in a hurry, though at high speeds the stock pads do tend to fade quickly trying to stop the 4500lb beast. You can quickly find the limit of adhesion just as easily, even on the wide 305s, but it isn't going to make you pay for it. You really have to abuse this car, and ignore every signal it gives you in order to wind up in trouble. There is potential there that few of us will likely ever exceed, realistically. My key takeaway: The car is nowhere near as scary as people make it out to be. Maybe a pulley and tune will fix that later on.
Build quality, yes, it's expensive for a Dodge. I love the paint color and how dynamic it is in the light, Octane red was definitely the right choice. The car was delivered to the dealer damage free and does not show any crazy panels gaps or glaring issues that I've seen on some of them. There is a bit of "waviness" in the panels that will catch your eye at certain angles, but that seems to be pretty typical of mass produced stamped panels. The body lines are sharp and you just can't beat the look of that classic shape. The interior feels solid and doesn't come off too cheap with the Alcantara door panels, seats, and turned dash. Still, it's the same generic parts bin plastics you'll find throughout the Dodge line up. I'd like to have seen some special door sill plates at least. In the end, you really are paying for a dressed up rental car with a killer $50k engine and trans combo though, so you have to keep realistic expectations there.
Could the car be lighter? Certainly. Could the backup camera have a bit more resolution so it doesn't look so terrible on an 8.4" screen? Sure. Would it be nice to have a HUD, auto highbeam/wiper by default at this price point? Absolutely.
Are you going to find a better thrill to dollar ratio in a car that can also do just about everything else you ask of it? Absolutely not.
It's no wonder Dodge is kicking ass with one of the oldest platforms in current production.
I might just have to make the trip again when the Bourbon runs dry.
