Leno: Climb a Mountain or Buy a Dodge?
This article first appeared in Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Click here to subscribe and join the club.
I was watching television the other day, and an ad came on in which this guy is climbing Machu Picchu, the famous ancient mountain city down in Peru. It looks beautiful and he’s clearly having a moment, and the voiceover comes on and says something like, “At the end of your life, what are you going to think about: What you could have bought or where you could have gone?” And I started thinking about what I could have bought—like this Hispano-Suiza I once stupidly passed on—while the ad smugly answered itself: “It’s where you could have gone.”
“What? No!” I yelled at the TV. “I’ve completely forgotten where I’ve gone!” That’s when I realized that the ad was definitely not aimed at me. Maybe I’m completely missing out on the point of life, but I’d rather have a nice watch than go somewhere. I don’t particularly like to travel, so I need to have a reason for it. Such as work. Or, better yet, to look at a car. Then I have a reason, a mission. Obviously, I’ve saved a lot of money on vacations over the years, and there are probably a few extra cars around here because of it.
One example might be the Dodge Demon 170 I just bought. I couldn’t resist it. This is the last car of its kind that will ever be made. It’s got 1025 horsepower, and it’s kind of like your sister’s big, dumb boyfriend. It’s a big linebacker that will kick anybody’s ass, do 0–60 in about 2 seconds, and rip an 8-second quarter-mile. It does wheelstands from the factory and comes with an optional parachute kit, and it makes me laugh.
More important, I love the egalitarianism of it, the idea that everything in America should be attainable if you work hard enough. To get this kind of horsepower somewhere else, you have to go to Ferrari or McLaren and pay hundreds of thousands of dollars, whereas this car was built in a union shop (I spent my whole career at NBC working in a union shop and I’m a union guy) and it stickers for less than $100,000. OK, the Demons are not so easy to get, and good luck finding one at sticker. But if you can live with only 717 horsepower, or even just a mere 375, there are Hellcats and R/Ts aplenty. And they’ve been building the car since 2008, making it better every year, with modern electronics, tighter door seals, and improved handling. (You can read all about the Challenger’s replacement, the new Charger coupe, here.)
As far as I’m concerned, Tim Kuniskis, who ran Dodge until he was promoted last year to the truck division, is a genius. He figured out exactly what the buyers of these cars wanted—a lot of horsepower and noise and comfort at an affordable price—and packaged it up in that great Brotherhood of Muscle campaign. The sales have just gone up and up.
I’ve got a 1970 Challenger with the 426 Hemi, and though I love the looks and the nostalgia of it, the car is awful. It squeaks, it rattles, it doesn’t do anything well. It has two sheetmetal screws holding the transmission tunnel in; you can shake it and the whole thing might come off in your hands. I remember my dad’s ’66 Ford Galaxie; by 1968, there were already rust bubbles on the fenders. But hey, that’s the way cars were made back then: a lot of style and noise but not much substance. We still have fun with them and accept their quirks as part of their charm. But the Hellcat looks great, has proper brakes and a proper suspension, and for anything you do on the street, it makes driving at seven-tenths pretty much perfect. Does that make it boring? I don’t think so.
Ed Welburn, the former head of GM design, told me a few years ago that because SUVs are so popular, the seat height, or the height of the seat above the ground, of the average new vehicle today is the same as GM cars from 1938. So I wouldn’t say that everything about today’s cars is better. To me, the Challenger is really the last great American road car. I’ve already got a Hellcat here in the garage with a six-speed. The seats are big, the car is comfortable, and it’s got a lot of what Detroit marketers used to call “road-hugging weight.” Which sounds ridiculous, but the car plants itself and you aim it at Vegas and it goes there, getting over 20 miles per gallon with 707 horsepower. I love driving it because there isn’t one time when I’ve taken it out and done a downshift and it didn’t make me laugh.
Which is a lot more than I can say about the thought of climbing Machu Picchu.
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Dodge did well in marketing their overweight and out dated platforms. That is not a slight as that is just what they were. Based on old Benz bones and then going though several owners and still making memorable cars.
The sad part is other than Ram and Jeep the rest of Fiat Chrysler died. Now in the hands of the new owners I really do not see much future for Chrysler and the new Charger is not going to do what the Hemi did.
Ram and Jeep are fighting major quality issues now under new ownership and what about Chrysler. Are they going to survive?
I am not a Mopar fan but I’m a American car fan and do not want to even foreign owned American brands fail.
I am glad they did this car and you do get credit for climbing the summit even if you do not make it back down. If you are going to struggle you may as well go having fun.
2023 Mustang GT weigh almost the same
And the ZL1 Camaro almost the same
Marketing mistake to not put the gas version of the new car out first. Also EV is 6800 GVW! You can find a $23K new 6 cyl RWD Challenger right now. Marking up the last versions to the sky does not seem to be working out so well either. I’d get the four door out first in gas if it was up to me…
5800 lbs not 6800 lbs. Still heavy but no worse than extended cab 4×4 trucks that never go off road only to malls and grocery stores.
The Hellcats weigh 4400 lbs
Do some research
Mustang Shelby and ZL1 Camaro weigh almost the same
Jay, you’re my hero. You know what American made muscle cars are all about! Loved the article, and it “made me laugh.”
Great Article
Jay, The word “ proxy” is used a lot these days…. Usually referring in association with terrible things going on in the world. Not in this case.
I use the word referring to you as a modest car guys “proxy” to enjoy the great cars of the world.
Thanks for sharing Jay.
I used to be a “buy it” guy. As I have aged, though, I realize that life’s experiences are not just about cars and motorcycles. For example: travel is great, nature is wonderful to experience, and concerts and live theatre can be very enjoyable. In other words, I now like a mix of buying/owning, and experiencing. To each his/her own, though. (And if I had Jay’s money, I likely would have bought a Hellcat, too!)
I’m a hard guy to buy gifts for. I’ve got in the habit of telling my loved ones “gift me experiences, not stuff”. But if a new Dodge Demon was to show up in the driveway with a bow on it, I wouldn’t complain! The problem is that none of my loved ones (nor I myself) can afford that. So I’m satisfied with driving my Sweetie to the Harbin Hot Springs weekend she arranged for us in the old Westfalia.
Cars like this will be missed. you don’t have to own one to know it’s special. Too bad I could never think of buying one.
I will never own any car no matter how fast or stupid it is when I have to pay $50,000 over sticker price. Those are only for rich guys who can waste their money.
Jay, I don’t know if you will see this comment, but you made a reference to a Hispano Suiza that you passed on. It brought back memories of a Rick Cole auction in Monterey years ago. I was standing next to you when a Hispano Suiza came up for sale and you turned to me and asked if I thought you should buy it. I said, if I had your money, I’d buy it. I don’t remember if you bought it or not, but I’m curious if this was the Hispano you commented on.
Great story !! A few years back I was @ a car show, walked by 2 older gentlemen (80s plus) wearing hellcat hats, I asked ” you have a Hellcat or just wearing the hat”? “Hell yeah we have Hellcats, why would you want this old junk? It goes, stops, has all the features, AND it’s under warranty”. I forgot that story when I did buy “some old junk”, lesson learned, It’s gone @ a small profit and now I own a Challenger RT, with everything I need and a few extra $$$. Smart men who gave me an education. This Jay Leno op-ed confirmed it.
I know people that look down on people that buy ” things” instead of ” experiences”. I can’t tell you how many awesome memories (experiences) I have had from the toys I’ve bought over the years.boats, wave runners,dirt bikes,road bikes, snowmobiles,sxs etc.and…you spend 10 grand on a trip,it’s done in 2 weeks. The toys you can enjoy for years and years!
I get your thought process Jay. I’d probably kill myself with 1025 HP. But I started racing at 59 years old. 64 now and have a Pontiac Solstice “Mallet” (LS2 V8) and a Golf R. Both have hitches because my road bicycle goes where I go. Life is the journey, whether it’s a mountain climb, a road trip, a bike trip, or whatever turns your adventure crank. I love the spirit of Dodge. I think we are living in a time of peak performance for internal combustion & it’s a total rush.
When I was young and crazy I had a lot of fast cars-L-89 Covette, RamAir GTO, 455HO T/A, LT-1 Corvette, 23 T Bucket and 32 Five Window to name a few.
Now I’m old and crazy and wanting to put a LS3 in my 66 Mustang GT that I call MYPOS because I bought it off eBay 12 years ago and have yet to drive it!
So, I second the comment made by “Whiplash”!
I love Jay – he is almost always right – but I will disagreed on “the Challenger is really the last great American road car.” Choices are all subjective, by Jay – what about the Cadillac CT5 V Blackwing, with a manual transmission???
Good article and insight. At 67yo, I own a 2020 Chrysler 300S 5.7L Black on Black with the Alloy Group Appearance Package. Traded up from an immaculate, low mileage 2004 Mercury Marauder. Both are keepers but the Chrysler is far more modern. I don’t see electric vehicles doing well anytime soon. Just like a century+ earlier, their time has yet to come. It will be interesting to see how Mopar/Stellantis management deal with the service challenges of the new Hurricane 6.