‘Domestic, Not Domesticated:’ 10 Biggest Dodge & Ram Stories of 2018

5. Look Back at the Challenger Concept

During 2018, we brought you the Concept Spotlight Series, in which we looked at some of the coolest concept cars in the history of the Dodge brand. In many cases, these concepts led to amazing production vehicles, but the 2006 Dodge Challenger Concept is arguably the most-important of the modern Dodge concept cars.

6. Demons & Hellcats 

As has been the case over the past few years, the biggest news from the Dodge brand focused on big muscle. While some new Demons were delivered late in 2017, the majority of the 840-horsepower machines were delivered in 2018, but we also saw the introduction of the Hellcat Redeye followed by our first-drive review, our review of the Hellcat Widebody and the SEMA Show introduction of the 1,000-horsepower Hellephant Hemi crate engine.

7. Nitto Enthusiast Day

During the end of 2017 and the earlier portions of 2018, all of the people who ordered a 2018 Challenger SRT Demon received their muscle car. One of those people was former pro wrestler and well-known car collector Bill Goldberg, who brought his F8 Green Demon to the Nitto Auto Enthusiast Day in Southern California, where he flexed his Mopar muscles by doing some wicked burnouts.

8. Widebody Packages

After growing up a diehard Mopar lover, yours truly got to spend two weeks driving the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody around my home in Metro Detroit. This included the Woodward Dream Cruise and while I get to test a great many cars, nothing is as cool as driving an unreleased, 707-horsepower car at a massive event where muscle cars are king.

9. Hellcat Redeye

Dodge followed up the limited-production Demon with the 797-horsepower Hellcat Redeye. This Challenger is essentially powered by the same engine as the Demon, except the Redeye has a different hood system and it does not come with the race gas tune. As a result, where the Demon makes 808 horsepower on pump gas, the Redeye makes 797 horsepower.

We got to travel to Maine to test the Redeye on a large road course track, at which point we learned that the Redeye is far more than just an unlimited production Demon. The Redeye combines the daily drivability of the Hellcat with the power of the Demon, making for the baddest muscle car on the road for 2019.

10. SEMA 2018

Mopar rocked the muscle car world at the 2018 SEMA Show by introducing the Hellephant; a 1,000-horsepower version of the 6.2-liter Hellcat Hemi. The Hellephant is punched out to 426 cubic inches and topped by a 3.0-liter IHI supercharger, making this Hemi the most powerful crate engine from any American automaker. It is not legal for use in modern vehicles, but this supercharged Hemi is going to make for some very badass project cars in the coming year and to showcase this engine, Mopar built the “Super Charger” for SEMA.

Honorable Mention: Hellcat Redeye Sleigh

Finally, Dodge rolled out the “Jolly Fast Man” marketing campaign for the holiday season featuring Bill Goldberg as Santa and a heavily-modified Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye serving as his sleigh. This campaign didn’t bring about any big news, but it is a cool series with a handful of short commercials that proved to be incredibly popular on social media.

Santa Goldberg’s Redeye sleigh was on display at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show and we got a look at it from every angle.

While it is unclear what the Dodge brand has planned for 2019, we know that the New Year will bring the debut of the next generation Ram Heavy Duty models. You will find the debut of the new workhorses and all of the biggest Dodge and Ram news here on DodgeForum.com.

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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