We pull out of Detroit’s Metropolitan
airport in a Dodge Charger SRT8 so shiny-apple red that it
glistens. The $49,000 sedan has a full tank of gas, 470
horsepower and a trunk big enough for our entire luggage.
My traveling companion and I are heading four hours
northeast, to the shores of Lake Huron. After all, what better
place to shake down Dodge’s four-door sports machine than the
roads of Michigan?
Consider it a road trip to celebrate that America’s car
companies still make stuff. Good stuff, too.
It wasn’t so long ago that the Chrysler Group LLC’s
products interested me little. The Dodge Avenger and Chrysler
Sebring were embarrassments. Yet since emerging from bankruptcy
and forming an alliance with Fiat (FI), the company has seen a
turnaround.
May 2012 U.S. sales were up 30 percent, according to the
company, the result of refreshed and re-energized lineups like
the Chrysler 300 and Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Yes, and the Charger. When it was first released in 2005,
the rear-wheel-drive sedan delivered equal amounts of bad
attitude and cheap plastic.
Tough Guy
It was tough enough to serve as the go-to ride of Michael Chiklis’s bad-guy detective in The Shield. But as a car you’d
take a road trip with? Not comfortable or luxurious enough by a
long shot.
The shape was unlike anything else on the road, with that
stubbed nose and bull’s-eye grill, curving roof and squat
stance. As identifiable as a bull dog, you only needed to see
the car in silhouette. (That’s helpful, as heaps of Chargers are
driven as police cruisers, a fact I’ll be reminded of frequently
on Michigan roads.)
The Charger has seen big changes in the last few years,
with a tweaked exterior, far better interior and refined driving
behavior. The $26,300 base model has 292 horsepower and gets 27
miles per gallon on the highway.
The top-line version I’m driving, the SRT8, starts at about
$48,000 with a 6.4-liter, Hemi V-8 with 470 pound feet of
torque, and a reverberating, bad-boy rumble that comes with it.
Road Works
Except when it doesn’t. Minutes into our drive we’ve
already hit road construction. I roll up the windows and the
Hemi’s roar and the road-work jack-hammering disappear. The car
is remarkably quiet.
Detouring around Detroit, we wend our way around pickups
hauling bass boats and aging American brands which no longer
exist: Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Mercury.
The Dodge brothers got their start in Detroit in the early
1900s, and the company was bought by Chrysler in the late 1920s.
(My test car’s window sticker notes the engine is made in
Mexico, the transmission in Germany and that it was assembled in
Ontario, Canada. So much for Chrysler’s ad campaign, “Imported
from Detroit.”)
When cruising on the highway, the Dodge deactivates engine
cylinders to help minimize gas consumption. Even so, miles per
gallon on the SRT8 is only 14 in the city, 23 on the highway,
poor enough that the car gets slapped with a $1,000 gas guzzler
tax.
Those who love a great tide of torque, especially from 35
to 65 miles per hour, will find the bug Hemi engine worthwhile.
Tap on the gas pedal and the engine comes to full alert.
Rust Belt
We pass through the outskirts of Flint, the town which gave
birth to General Motors (GM) and once employed some 80,000 auto
workers. Not anymore. Depressing thoughts of dilapidated
factories fade as Michigan’s horizon opens up.
We’re headed for the so-called Sunrise Coast, where the Au
Sable River pours into Lake Huron. The region has beaches,
hiking trails, boating and fishing. After stopping for snacks,
including local deer jerky, we leave the main road for secondary
routes.
I’d prefer a six-speed manual to the Charger’s clunky five-
speed automatic. Otherwise the extent of the car’s available
technology impresses. The navigation system, adaptive suspension
and back-up camera come standard. Options include moisture-
sensing windshield wipers, high beams that switch to low when
another car passes and adaptive cruise control.
Unfortunately, functions like heated and cooled seats and,
more pertinently, the sport button are operated by the touch-
screen. They’d be better served by physical controls on the
center console.
Muscle Car
The bucket seats are firm but comfortable and, as a full-
size sedan, the car boasts ample room in the back. It serves far
better on long trips than its muscle car roots would suggest.
There’s civility in this beast.
Finally we reach Lake Huron providing an infinite vista of
water, resembling a calm sea. We glide past LuLu’s Sunnyside
Cabins with a neon sign glowing in the dusk, and a parade of
cars for sale, by owner, at the side of the road. (A 1970s Trans
Am appealed.)
Checking into our hotel in Oscoda, the receptionist tells
us how the closure of the local Air Force base and recent
recession had hurt the town. “But tourism is starting to come
back,” she said, brightly.
The next morning, I gas up and a half a dozen patrons tell
me they love the car. In Oscoda, a Charger SRT8 is as hot as a
Ferrari.
Perhaps, though, it’s becoming too civilized. I spy a
private patch of asphalt in an abandoned parking lot. Switching
off the traction control, I jam on the gas and turn the wheel.
The car spins in mad doughnuts, deep smoke pouring from rear
wheels.
No fear of taming the beast. It’s just right.
The 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8 at a Glance
Engine: 6.4-liter, Hemi V-8 with 470 horsepower and 470
pound feet of torque.
Transmission: Five-speed automatic.
Speed: 0 to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds.
Gas mpg: 14 city, 23 highway.
Price as tested: $49,810.
Best features: Hemi roar, modern comforts.
Worst feature: Old-school five-speed automatic
transmission.
Target buyer: The driver who wants comfort and civility
with a dose of muscle-car madness.
Muse highlights include Richard Jaroslovsky on technology
and Patrick Cole on philanthropy.
(Jason H. Harper writes about autos for Muse, the arts and
leisure section of Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are
his own.)
To contact the writer of this column:
Jason H. Harper at Jason@JasonHharper.com or follow on
Twitter @JasonHarperSpin.
To contact the editor responsible for this column:
Manuela Hoelterhoff in New York at
mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.
Enlarge image
2012 Dodge Charger SRT8
Webb Bland/Chrysler Group LLC via Bloomberg
A 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8. The car starts at about $48,000 with a 6.4-liter, Hemi V-8 with 470 pound feet of torque, with a reverberating, rumble.
A 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8. The car starts at about $48,000 with a 6.4-liter, Hemi V-8 with 470 pound feet of torque, with a reverberating, rumble. Photographer: Webb Bland/Chrysler Group LLC via Bloomberg
June 7 (Bloomberg) — Bloomberg auto columnist Jason Harper talks about the Dodge Charger SRT8.
He speaks with Pimm Fox on Bloomberg Television’s “Taking Stock.” (Source: Bloomberg)
June 7 (Bloomberg) — The Dodge Charger SRT8 sport sedan is seen being driven on a test track in a promotional video from Chrysler Group LLC.
The car features a 6.4-liter, Hemi V-8 with 470 horsepower and 470 pound feet of torque. (Video courtesy of Chrysler Group. Source: Bloomberg)
Enlarge image
Rear of a 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8
Webb Bland/Chrysler Group LLC via Bloomberg
The rear of a 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8. The car’s best features are the hemi roar and modern comforts.
The rear of a 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8. The car’s best features are the hemi roar and modern comforts. Photographer: Webb Bland/Chrysler Group LLC via Bloomberg
Enlarge image
Wheel of a 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8
Webb Bland/Chrysler Group LLC via Bloomberg
The wheel of a 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8. When cruising on the highway, the Dodge deactivates engine cylinders to help minimize gas consumption.
The wheel of a 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8. When cruising on the highway, the Dodge deactivates engine cylinders to help minimize gas consumption. Photographer: Webb Bland/Chrysler Group LLC via Bloomberg
Enlarge image
Interior of a 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8
Chrysler Group LLC via Bloomberg
The interior of a 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8. The navigation system, adaptive suspension and back-up camera come standard. Options include moisture-sensing windshield wipers, high beams that switch to low when another car passes and adaptive cruise control.
The interior of a 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8. The navigation system, adaptive suspension and back-up camera come standard. Options include moisture-sensing windshield wipers, high beams that switch to low when another car passes and adaptive cruise control. Source: Chrysler Group LLC via Bloomberg
Enlarge image
Seats of a 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8
Chrysler Group LLC via Bloomberg
The seats of a 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8. Functions like heated and cooled seats are operated by the touch-screen.
The seats of a 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8. Functions like heated and cooled seats are operated by the touch-screen. Source: Chrysler Group LLC via Bloomberg
Enlarge image
Steering Wheel of a 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8
Chrysler Group LLC via Bloomberg
The steering wheel of a 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8. The car’s target buyer is the driver who wants comfort and civility, with a dose of muscle-car madness.
The steering wheel of a 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8. The car’s target buyer is the driver who wants comfort and civility, with a dose of muscle-car madness. Source: Chrysler Group LLC via Bloomberg
Enlarge image
2012 Dodge Charger SRT8
Chrysler Group LLC via Bloomberg
A 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8. Since emerging from bankruptcy and forming an alliance with Fiat, the Chrysler Group LLC has seen a turnaround.
A 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8. Since emerging from bankruptcy and forming an alliance with Fiat, the Chrysler Group LLC has seen a turnaround. Source: Chrysler Group LLC via Bloomberg
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