As Honda deals with the growing discontent among its consumer base on the aggressive mark-ups dealerships are putting on the Honda Civic Type R, Dodge is determined not to irate its consumers by instituting a unique dealership ordering process for the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. The process itself was designed to prevent the experience prospective Civic Type R customers are going through as they see the prices of the hot hatch skyrocket to almost double Honda’s own asking price.

A big part of Dodge’s allocation plan for the Challenger Demon is to place priority on dealerships willing to sell at or below the automaker’s suggested retail price. Specifically, these dealerships stand to get priority scheduling and receive lower serial-numbered cars as opposed to those who are putting mark-ups on the price of the highly sought-after muscle car. On top of that, dealerships who have sold more than one SRT Hellcat in the last 12 months are the only ones who are eligible to receive a Challenger Demon. And to make it in even more difficult for these dealers, those who meet the previous requirement will be allocated a certain number of models depending on how their sales performance for the Charger, Challenger, and SRT Hellcats are. As for those dealerships planning to sell the SRT Demon above the automaker’s MSRP, they’ll get theirs “after priority production is completed.”

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Good move on Dodge’s part

When trying to satisfy the needs of multiple people, finding a common ground is usually the best way to pre-emptively settle potential disputes. Give credit to Dodge for instituting this ordering process to prevent dealerships from slapping absurd mark-ups on a car that already costs $84,995 (without taxes) to begin with.

We’re already seeing what’s been going on with Honda’s dealerships and the controversy these mark-ups have caused in buying the Civic Type R. Dodge appears to know what to do in this kind of situation (having a sought-after car), thanks to the lessons it learned when it launched the SRT Hellcat models. According to Tim Kuniskis, Head of Passenger Car Brands at FCA North America, the automaker is using all the information it gathered from selling the Hellcats and “created an allocation plan that is clear and concise, builds on Demon’s position as the Dodge SRT halo and makes it easy for our customers to understand how they can put a Demon into their garage and, ultimately, out on the drag strip.”

Some dealerships may cry foul at the allocation plan because it’s going to hinder them from capitalizing on the Challenger Demon’s popularity, but at the end of the day, Dodge appears to understand that the halo muscle car is for the consumer, and nobody else. It may not be in the best interests of these dealerships, but as Kuniskis added, Dodge’s point of view in instituting this plan is to provide dealerships with a model that they can “leverage as a halo for both the brand and their dealership, to bring customers into their showrooms and see everything we have to offer.”

Hard to argue against that sentiment, and for what it’s worth, Honda should probably take a few things from what Dodge is doing to help create a similar environment where dealerships and customers stand to benefit with the Civic Type R. I understand that it’s easier said than done for some dealerships, but at the end of the day, they’re not just selling Challenger Demons, either. They have a full menu of Dodge models they need to sell, too. Having a Challenger Demon in the dealership is a good way to get more people inside those dealership doors. After all, there are only so many Challenger SRT Demons to go around for all these dealerships as the company only plans to build 3,000 units in the U.S. and another 300 in Canada. Having one in your dealership is incentive enough.

Dodge Demon Drivetrain Specifications

ENGINE

SUPERCHARGED 6.2-LITER HEMI DEMON V-8

Availability

Standard on Challenger SRT Demon

Type and Description

90-degree V-type, liquid-cooled

Displacement

370 cu. in. (6,166 cu.cm)

Bore x Stroke

4.09 x 3.58 (103.9 x 90.9)

Valve System

Pushrod-operated overhead valve, 16 valves with sodium-filled exhausts and hollow stem intakes, 16 hydraulic roller lifters

Fuel Injection

Sequential, multiport, electronic, returnless

Construction

Deep-skirt cast-iron block with cross-bolted main bearing caps, aluminum alloy heads with hemispherical combustion chambers

Compression Ratio

9.5:1

Power (estimated SAE net)

840 HP @ 6,300 RPM (Direct Connection Performance Engine Controller and high-octane unleaded fuel)
808 HP @ 6,300 RPM

Torque (estimated SAE net)

770 LB-FT @ 4,500 RPM (Direct Connection Performance Engine Controller and high-octane unleaded fuel)
717 LB-FT @ 4,500 RPM

Max. Engine Speed

6,500 RPM

TRANSMISSION

TORQUEFLITE 8HP90 EIGHT-SPEED AUTOMATIC

Availability

Standard

Availability

Adaptive electronic control with full manual control via gear selector or paddle shifters, with three SRT-unique selectable modes: Street, Sport and Drag (features TransBrake™, rev-matching, performance shifting and gear holding feature)

Description

151k

Torque converter

2.3 seconds

0 to 60 mph

9.65 seconds @ 140 mph


Read our full review on the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon here.