The Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 looks damn impressive, but it's a handful to drive

The Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 looks damn impressive, but it's a handful to drive:

Piloting the 2013 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 special edition in heavy traffic on a damp road, I began to list all the other cars I would rather be driving at that moment. The Challenger looks good and justifies its retro-muscle-car status with a massive engine, but wouldn't be my first choice for making a quick trip out to the grocery store.
The 392 badges on the fenders make a historical reference to an earlier version of Dodge's Hemi engine and recall a time when we used cubic inches instead of metric liters to measure engine displacement. However, those badges are accurate for the Challenger, as its 6.4-liter V-8 equals 392 cubic inches in the cylinders.
The Challenger is also a bit retro in its cabin electronics, but not in a good way. Although equipped with navigation, a hands-free phone system, and digital audio sources, the head unit's quirks don't have the nostalgic connotations of the Challenger's 1970s profile.
Among the retro muscle cars, I've always preferred the design of the Challenger over the Camaro and the Mustang. The Camaro design looks like a parody of itself, and Mustangs are as common as Camrys. In SRT8 392 form, the Challenger gets the aforementioned badges on the front fenders and wide racing stripes down the middle. S... [Read more]