Looking Back at the Dodge 100th Birthday Celebration Media Drive

1 year ago Showcase

Back in 2014, the Dodge brand was celebrating its 100th birthday and led by Tim Kuniskis, the brand wanted to put together something really unique for the media. Their idea was to have a drive event based at the Dodge Brothers Mansion on the campus of Oakland University, but rather than have us drive new vehicles, they brought out a huge collection of classic Dodge products dating back to the early years of the brand. They literally brought out a few dozen vehicles from the Walter P. Chrysler Museum collection and let us drive them on public roads. Cars like a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T HEMI® Shaker Convertible, a 1968 Dodge Charger HEMI 4-speed, a 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A and the legendary 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona were available for test drives, but it wasn’t just street cars – we also got to drive some classic racecars on the street, including the 1966 Al Eckstrand “Lawman” Dodge Charger HEMI Super Stock Drag Car and a 1956 NASCAR Coronet.

When the invitation for this unique drive event went out to select media, the details explained that we would get to see the then-new 2015 Dodge Charger along with the new 2015 Challenger lineup, which included the recently-introduced SRT® Hellcat. There was also mention of the chance to check out some older concept cars and drive some classic Dodge vehicles, but little information beyond that was provided. As a result, some people foolishly skipped the event, and in doing so, they missed one of the most unique and most enjoyable media drive events that I have ever attended. In fact, in speaking with other members of the media who attended, they all agreed that it was the most unique drive event that they had been to, and some of them have been attending drive events for decades.

Meanwhile, being a lifelong Dodge owner, racer and enthusiast, it was obviously the most exciting day of test driving of my life. I have since gotten to test every new Dodge performance car on the street and on the track, but none of those test events come close to matching the incredible experience of driving a lineup of legendary classic cars.

The Concept Cars

When we arrived at the Dodge Brothers Mansion, we were led to the front courtyard, just outside of the garage area. This courtyard was lined with 10 older concept cars, a handful of late-model Chargers and Challengers.

The concept cars on hand included the Original Viper Roadster Concept, the Original Viper GTS Concept, the Venom Concept, the Copperhead Concept, the Slingshot Concept, the 1999 Charger Concept, the 2003 Magnum Wagon Concept, the 2005 Challenger Concept, the Hornet Concept and the Demon Roadster Concept. Joining those concept cars in the courtyard area were the SRT Viper GT, the 2014 Charger R/T 100 Years Edition, the 2014 Challenger R/T 100 Years Edition, the 2014 Challenger R/T Shaker, the 2015 Challenger SXT, the 2015 Challenger R/T, the 2015 Challenger R/T Scat Pack, the 2015 Challenger SRT Hellcat and the 2015 Charger. For many attendees, it was the first time seeing the 2015 models in person and for myself, it was the first time seeing an SRT Hellcat in action. Tim Kuniskis drove it around the grounds throughout the day, revving the engine and letting us all enjoy the whine of the blower coupled with the roar of the exhaust.

Our day began with Tim Kuniskis welcoming the small group in attendance with a short presentation, followed by Chrysler Group heritage specialist Brandt Rosenbusch taking us around to each of the concept cars, explaining their significance in the history of the Dodge brand. Many of these concept cars were introduced when I was a teenager, already in love with the brand, so getting to see them in person was a cool experience.

However, seeing concept cars and the latest 2015 model year vehicles was possibly the least exciting aspect of the event. Even seeing Tim Kuniskis roll through and rev the brand-new SRT Hellcat paled in comparison to the main attraction of the day.

Entering the Garage

The garage area of the Dodge Brothers Mansion is separated from the front courtyard by a set of tall, wooden doors. After Kuniskis and Rosenbusch were done talking to us about the new display cars and the 100th anniversary, we were led over to those large doors and I was at the front of the small crowd to get a look at what was waiting for us.

The best way that I can compare the sight was the scene from the original Wizard of Oz where Dorothy steps out of her home into the Technicolor world. Lining the area in front of the Dodge Brothers garage were all of the brand’s most iconic muscle cars, along with a handful of other key non-muscle models from the modern era. This included the 1970 Challenger R/T HEMI Shaker Convertible, the 1968 Dodge Charger with a HEMI engine and a 4-speed, the 1970 Challenger T/A, the 1969 Charger Daytona and many others.

From the more modern era, there was a 1984 Daytona, a 1985 Shelby Charger, a 2003 Viper SRT10 Roadster, a 2005 Charger Daytona and a 2008 Challenger SRT8. On the non-performance end of things, Dodge also had a 1993 Intrepid and a 1995 Neon on hand, both of which played key roles in the brand’s existence through the 1990s. Starting with the newest vehicles, Rosenbusch walked us from car to car, explaining why each vehicle was so crucial to the brand.

Seeing all of these cars in showroom condition in one place would be cool, but these cars weren’t just on display. They were there for us to drive, and not just a low-speed lead-and-follow on a private track or something like that. They gave us the keys and sent us out onto the road with some of the most legendary Dodge vehicles ever. Mind you, they had a predetermined drive route with relatively low speed limits – there was no highway driving or anything like that – but there were enough stops and starts to allow us to experience the acceleration feel of all of these incredible machines.

Time to Drive

Once Mr. Rosenbusch had finished his tour of the vehicles, we were invited to pick the first car that we wanted to drive. Some of the journalists on hand continued to talk, but I quickly rushed to the Plum Crazy Purple 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T HEMI Shaker Convertible. While there were plenty of legendary vehicles in the small courtyard, the droptop HEMI Shaker Challenger was, in my opinion, the greatest of the Mopar® muscle cars on hand.

I carefully climbed into the stunning purple machine, nestling down into the black leather driver’s seat as I ran my hands over the steering wheel and inner door panel. After familiarizing myself with the layout of the cabin, I took ahold of the key hanging from the ignition, I gave the gas pedal two solid pumps to the floor and I turned the key. The 426-cubic-inch HEMI engine immediately roared to life and settled to a lovely, lumpy idle. There were mechanics on hand who constantly checked over every vehicle after each short trip, and those mechanics also looked the vehicles over prior to the media arriving. In checking to make sure that they were all in proper running order, the vehicles had all been warmed up, so the HEMI Challenger I picked to drive first started easily and settled to a normal idle speed right away. For maybe 30 seconds, I just sat there with my hands on the steering wheel, feeling the rumble of the HEMI engine through the floor of the car and listening to the sweet, raspy exhaust note of the greatest muscle car engine of all time.

Once a handful of us were buckled into vehicles, we were guided to the gates that led us out onto the open road. We began our drive through the rolling green hills of the Oakland University campus, carefully making our way along the narrow roads that took us to more open, public roads. I didn’t do any burnouts or hard launches, as I didn’t want to risk damaging this million-dollar classic, but simply easing away from a stop and giving the throttle a quick hit made it clear how quickly the 426 HEMI engine put big torque to the ground. At one point, I found myself sitting at a pedestrian crossing where a couple was standing with two kids. One of them called for me to rev the engine and I was happy to oblige, with the kids showing a great deal of pleasure at the roar of the HEMI engine. At the same time, I continued to soak in the experience of driving a Challenger R/T HEMI Shaker convertible, watching the scoop move when I revved the engine and feeling the rumble of the mighty 426 under me. It sounded so great that I made a short walk-around video of the car at idle.

The experience of driving that 1970 Challenger R/T HEMI Shaker convertible alone would have made it a great day, but it was just the beginning. Upon returning to the garage area of the Dodge Brothers Mansion, the time came to pick my next vehicle. It just so happened that I parked the Challenger next to a black 1968 Dodge Charger R/T, also with the 426-cubic-inch HEMI engine. With the black steelies fitted with “dog dish” hubcaps, redline tires and the red stripe around the rear end, this Charger is arguably one of the most iconic American cars ever. Add in the HEMI enginemated to a 4-speed manual transmission and you have an absolute legend – and I was about to take it for a spin.

While I have driven classic Dodge products with the 4-speed manual transmission in the past, this was my first experience with a 426 HEMI engine-powered car and a clutch pedal, so I was careful to take in the feel of the clutch, the movement of the shifter from gear to gear and the incredible hit of torque that came on when the power flowed through to the back wheels. I admit that I was pretty gentle with this car, so I wasn’t banging through gears and chirping the tires on shifts, but the feeling of connection to the legendary HEMI engine through the clutch pedal and shifter created a very different experience from the HEMI engine-powered Challenger that I drove first. I did make a few solid mid-range pulls to experience the power of the 426 HEMI engine, but the short drive route was about the experience more than extracting peak performance. After all, we are talking about cars that had been living in a museum for decades prior to my driving them.

The third vehicle of my day of driving classic Dodge performance cars found me behind the steering wheel of Al Eckstrand’s “Lawman” Dodge Charger HEMI Super Stock Drag Car. That classic racecar was followed by time in a 1969 Charger Daytona 440, a 1970 Challenger T/A, a 1970 Super Bee 4-speed car and a NASCAR-prepped 1956 Coronet, along with some other classic muscle cars mixed in with these legends.

While my focus was driving legendary classics from the early era of the muscle car, Dodge also had some cool vehicles from the 1980s and 2000s. This gave me a chance to drive a 1984 Daytona, a 1985 Shelby Charger, the 2003 Viper SRT10 Roadster, the 2005 Charger Daytona and the 2008 Challenger SRT8, as well as some non-performance models like the original Neon and the Intrepid – each of which have an important place in the history of the brand.

The key goal of the Dodge brand was to show off their history through museum vehicles – and they did that wonderfully – but for the people who attended, it was a day of driving that we will never forget.

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