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Dodge Challenger SRT Demon shows off what an $84,995 sticker, 840 horsepower, 770 foot-pounds of torque, and 2.3-second 0-60 times looks like. Photo credit: John Gilbert

ELKHART LAKE, WI.
Everybody who drives any car can appreciate the amazing technology at the forefront of today’s products. Electric, hybrid, turbocharging, and all manner of making power while meeting legal standards for clean air and fuel economy have their rightful places. But also, we can all be thankful for Dodge.

Amid all the scientific experiments and advanced technology being displayed in every showroom in the country, somebody has to have fun. And Dodge seems to be the company of choice for all-out fun.

The Midwest Automotive Media Association Spring Rally is, without question, more fun than the major U.S. auto-show circuit, which includes Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago and New York.

There were 100 new models at our disposal, so to speak, and a few vehicles that I hadn’t test-driven yet. But none of us among the 110 or so auto media types was prepared for the enormous surprise awaiting  us between the reception and dinner sponsored by Dodge at the Osthoff Resort. Auto manufacturers are always generous in supplying their newest vehicles for media scrutiny, and seem eager to rotate around sponsoring breakfast, lunch or dinner. For that we are appreciative enough to pay close attention to whomever that company supplies as a speaker.

Honda now has the Civic,in various forms, including the 4-door Hatchback with a 1.5 Turbo. Photo credit: John Gilbert

After the first day of driving specified cars around Road America’s 4-mile road course, I was already plotting the second day drives. With such enticing new vehicles as the Alfa Romeo Giulia, the Honda Civic Hatchback and Si coupe, the Chevrolet Equinox, the Chevrolet Bolt, the Hyundai Ioniq Electric, the Toyota C-HR, the Nissan Rogue Sport, the BMW X4M, and whatever else I might have time for. Some of these vehicles are eligible for consideration of our vote as Family Car of the Year, which requires starting price limit of $50,000, four doors, and an intention to be a family car on the street more than a high-performer. But I digress.

Chevrolet has completely revised the Eqjuinox into a stylish midsize SUV. Photo credit: John Gilbert

After the reception and before dinner, we were summoned to go outside in the grey chill of evening, and there sat a gleaming white Durango SRT, an SUV with SRT hot-rod equipment mounted and ready. As a company that captured the imagination of hot-rodders everywhere with their recent Hellcat Chargers and Challengers, and now Grand Cherokees and Durangos, we were properly impressed.

But then, off to our left, we heard an unmistakable roar, and before we could wonder why anyone would risk a disturbing-the-peace ticket for street racing in the sleepy little resort village, around the corner came a stunning blue Challenger. Only, it wasn’t “just” a Challenger, and it also wasn’t even “just” a Hellcat with its 707-horsepower supercharged Hemi V8.

No, this was the Demon, a step above and beyond the concept of the Hellcat. It had been shown in pre-production guise at the New York Auto Show, and media reaction was split between being dazzled and being somewhat bored at the very thought of such a project.

But right here in Elkhart Lake, at the MAMA Rally, Dodge was giving us all the treat of close-up and personal contact with the Demon. The 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon has a base price of $84,995, not counting another $1,095 for destination. The “bargain” is that all the options available to buyers cost $1.

What you get is a sleek 2-plus-2 Challenger coupe, and the only thing that hints at something special is the enormously wide hood scoop. Erich Heuschele, the manager of the SRT vehicle dynamics, did the talking. The Demon has a 6.2-liter Hemi V8 that has been massaged and coaxed to deliver 840 horsepower, and 770 foot-pounds of torque -- the highest-powered production car engine ever built.

It also will go 0-60 in 2.3 seconds. Breathtaking. And it will run a 9.65-second elapsed time in the quarter-mile, at 140 miles per hour, the benefit of the highest g-force acceleration of any production car at 1.8 g. Every buyer also will get one full day at the Bob Bondurant School of High-performance Driving. Maybe they’re going to do some takeoff and landing drills, because the Demon will execute front-wheel lift under hard acceleration, so it comes with special performance radial tires.

It comes with only skeletal equipment, such as a driver’s seat, and an 8-speed automatic with an exclusive “trans-brake” to lock the car at a standstill, because so much power can cause the car to creep forward no matter how good the brakes are.  The novel idea of a bunch of $1 options make a lot of sense, because you can fill up the interior with seats, make them leather if you choose, an 18-speaker Harmon-Kardon audio system, presumably for use when you have the engine shut off, although with two subwoofers and a 900-watt amplifier in the $2,495 Comfort Group, you might be able to hear it while moving, too.

The Demon is already being produced at the Brampton, Ontario, plant, aiming at 3,000 cars for the U.S. and 300 for Canada. It is covered, we are assured, by the 3-year, 36,000-mile warranty and 5-year, 60,000-mile powertrain warranty. The Challenger SRT Demon is not, needless to say, a candidate for Family Car of the Year.

The Alfa Romeo Giulia is finally out, and shows great style and performance with a starting price of $40,000. Photo credit: John Gilbert

What surprised me was that the precious Alfa Romeo Giulia, which I am still waiting to get for a road test, did qualify for that under-$50,000 award. I got the chance to drive the Quadrifoglio with its high-powered V6, and later I got to go out on residential roadways with the Giulia Ti, which has an equally high-tech 2.0-liter 4-cylinder, turbocharged and delivering 280 horsepower. This car has all the power you could want, looks identical, and has a base price of $39,995. Loaded, it was $50,035, and if you exclude a couple options, you’re under $50,000.

It was drizzly and rainy all morning, but it cleared up pretty well in the afternoon, and we were glad we had made the decision to drive cars that were limited to street duty in the morning, and save the track cars for afternoon, when the rain would be gone. The second day featured some off-road driving in trucks and SUVs, and an autocross, plus more street driving.

Toyota has a new C-HR which for now comes only with front-wheel drive but has great style. Photo credit: John Gilbert

The Kia Soul appeals to hamsters and also people, particularly with a turbo 1.6 engine. Photo credit: John Gilbert

The new Bolt, Equinox, and some all-new compact crossovers such as the C-HR (Toyota) and Niro (Kia), plus the two new Civics and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid and all-electric, all presented themselves well. I didn’t try the Soul Turbo on the track, but I had driven it from Duluth to Elkhart Lake with smooth efficiency so I knew it well.

The Civic Si had a 6-speed stick, and it made the 1.5-liter turbo engine come alive. It is a coupe, of course, and a racy one at that. The Hatchback, meanwhile, is a sporty 4-door with a hatch, andwhile its silhouette is smooth and impressive, and the front is eye-catching, the rear seems incredibly busy with fake openings and contours. I’ll take the Si, but of course that doesn’t qualify for Family Car, either. Right next to it was the Hyundai Elantra Sport, which joins the Mazda 3 as providing enormous competition for the Civic.

I will wait until I can drive some of these cars for a week and expound more thoroughly on them. Meantime, the MAMA Spring Rally is as much fun as you can have in a car, and not a bad place to satisfy your Demons.