Dodge Demon Named One of the Greatest Cars Sans Manual Transmission
Challenger Demon is ranked 13, behind some very unimpressive vehicles and some impressive ones.
The 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon was built for drag strip dominance, so it was only offered with a quick-shifting 8-speed automatic transmission. Self-shifting transmissions are the preferred choice of most drag racers for a variety of reasons. They are more consistent than manual transmissions while also being considerably easier to launch with big power. In the case of the 2018 Demon, there were some automatic transmission-specific features, such as a transbrake, helping the 840-horsepower Mopar muscle car to run in the 9-second range.
However, there are some automotive enthusiasts who insist that any proper performance vehicle has a manual transmission. Even though there have been many incredible performance machines that were never offered with a clutch pedal, these folks discredit any vehicle that is only offered with an automatic transmission. Fortunately, the folks at the Donut Media YouTube channel are not in that group, as in their recent video, they look at 13 great performance cars that were never offered with a manual transmission.
The mighty Demon sits in the #13 spot on that list, although we think that it should be a whole lot higher.
Dodge Demon
Once we get passed the in-video commercial, host James Pumphery begins the list with the Dodge Demon. In fine Donut Media fashion, there is a little profanity combined with shouting and facts about the vehicle, some of which aren’t right.
Most people know that the Demon was a 2018 model year car, but the host says 2017. Maybe he meant that was when Dodge first started talking about the car, but most Dodge fans will wonder about that date. He then rants and raves about how the Demon will sprint to 60 in just 2.3 seconds thanks to 840 horsepower. That is more horses than Olympic dressage, but there were less than 60 horses entered into the dressage competition at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games, so every modern American car has more ponies than an Olympic dressage competition.
Pumphery then goes on about how the Challenger Demon only had an automatic transmission because that is what is best for drag racing. He explains that thanks to science, the automatic transmission can shift faster than any human. He says that it is “an insane vehicle that more than makes up for the lack of a third pedal.” At least he got that right.
Rest of the List
After host James Pumphery says his piece about the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, he continues on with the rest of the list. None of them are Dodge products, some of them are odd choices and none of them will come close to competing with the Demon on the street or the drag strip. Below is a list of the cars ranked 12 through 1.
12 – Ford Crown Victoria
11 – Nissan GT-R R35
10 – 3rd Gen Camaro with the 350
9 – BMW 540iT Wagon
8 – Toyota Supra A90
7 – Buick Grand National / GNX
6 – Subaru SVX
5 – GMC Syclone/ Typhoon
4 – C8 Corvette
3 – Literally Any Mercedes Basically
2 – Lexus LS 400 / SC 400
1 – Ford F-150 SVT Lightning
While it is hard to argue with models like the Nissan GT-R, the Buick Grand National, the GMC Syclone and Typhoon, the Corvette and the Lightning, some of the others are hardly comparable to the rest. Third generation Camaros were turds with any transmission. The Ford Crown Vic is a police car and taxi cab. The Lexus models listed are hardly performance models and the same can be said for the fact that they listed “literally any Mercedes basically”.
Realistically, they should have made the Demon the No. 1 spot, as it is the most powerful and quickest car on the list. While we question the order and some of the vehicles on the list, it is still an interesting list of automatic-only performance machines.
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