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Tempted by the Demon, dealers find way to thwart Dodge, jack up prices

It's the eternal story of short supply, big demand - and car dealers eager to exploit that dynamic, especially when it involves a hot car. A few weeks ago, when Dodge announced that it devised a way to attempt to prevent price-gouging on those 840-horsepower 2018 Dodge Demons, you just knew the dealers would dream up some devilish end-run. And sure enough, despite the manufacturer's best intentions, Demon order slots are being offered with five-figure markups. Here's how things were supposed to work: With a run of just 3,000 cars, Dodge knew it had to do something to address dealer greed, so it announced an allocation system: Cars purchased at or below the $86,090 MSRP would be the first orders filled and delivered. If a dealer sells an allocated Demon for more than sticker, that car goes to the end of the line for production and delivery. Dodge also ensured dealers wouldn't stockpile or hoard Demons by limiting the number of orders a dealer can submit and allocating cars to dealers based on how many Challenger and Charger Hellcats the dealer has sold. But Automotive News reports that some dealers are using intermediaries to auction off their Demon allocations on eBay. Three sellers last week said they were representing dealers in South Carolina, Tennessee and Louisiana, and auctioning off the right to buy a car in one of the priority spots at MSRP. The minimum bid for the right to buy the car at sticker? From $10,000-25,000. And previous transactions on eBay might have run as high as $75,000. So early buyers are definitely paying an upcharge - but it's a thing apart from the bottom line on the order form, where it appears they are paying MSRP. In other words, a scheme that violates the spirit of what FCA tried to do. A source at FCA told Automotive News the automaker was monitoring the practice but could do little to stop it. And the report quoted a Hellcat owner who said his dealership was ignoring Dodge's strictures altogether and offered him a Demon at MSRP plus $60K. But take heart. Not all car dealers are cynically opportunistic - or rather, some see an opportunity for doing good, not making buck. Automotive News says Bill Marsh Chrysler in Traverse City, Mich., plans to sell its single allocated Demon for $1 under MSRP - and is auctioning off the right to buy it, with the dealership's existing customers eligible to bid. The auction's proceeds will benefit four Traverse City charities.

More than half of Mazdas sold in 2018 are CX-5s, and other interesting sales facts

Last year was a seriously good year for carmakers. Overall, more vehicles were sold than in 2017, and the total number wasn't far off of the all-time record in 2016. Digging deeper into the numbers, you'll find some pretty usual stuff including the Ford F-Series still being the bestselling pickup truck in America, and a continued trend toward crossovers. But there are also some oddball factoids tucked in these sales reports, some that defy the trends, and some that are extremes of the public's buying preferences. We've compiled several interesting tidbits from last year's sales right here for your enjoyment. More than half of Mazda's sales were of CX-5s Yes, over half of all Mazda sales were of this one model. The company sold 300,325 cars in America last year, and 150,622 of them were CX-5 crossovers, or 50.1 percent. Just for emphasis, that means the other 49.8 percent of Mazda's sales were split among five other models, the Miata, 3, 6, CX-3 and CX-9. Breaking that down further, the second-best seller was the Mazda3 at 64,638, which isn't even half of the CX-5's sales. People are crazy for Mazda's middle crossover. Volkswagen actually sold more cars than crossovers It's clear that the crossover is the future king of car sales. For most mainstream brands, it already is. Chevy, Ford, Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Mazda and Nissan all sold more crossovers and SUVs than they did conventional sedans and hatchbacks. There are holdouts, though, and one of them is Volkswagen. At the end of 2018, the company sold 189,343 cars and 164,721 crossovers in the U.S. So that's one win for the classic car set, and it's justification for VW to maintain its car line for the foreseeable future. It's a bit of a hollow victory, though. Look closer and you'll see that car sales were down 28 percent from 2017, when VW sold 262,029 cars. Crossovers, on the other hand, jumped 112 percent from 2017 when 77,647 crossovers moved through U.S. dealers. So expect the tables to turn very soon. Mustang is still the muscle-car sales king, but Challenger is the only one to improve Once again, the Ford Mustang topped the muscle-car sales charts, beating out the Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro. Ford moved 75,842 of the ponies in 2018, while Dodge sold 66,716 Challengers for second place, and Chevy sold 50,963 Camaros to bring up the rear.

2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye is the Demon spawn

The Demon has passed from us, but the Demon's spawn are here, so please allow them to introduce themselves. A new demi-Demon trim level has been anointed as the 2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye. Plus there's an updated Challenger SRT Hellcat and new Challenger R/T Scat Pack Widebody. Like with the Charger introduced this morning, they have inherited some of the best parts from the Demon. The Hellcat Redeye is possessed by the Demon's howling supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi, making 797 horsepower and 707 pound-feet of torque. Dodge proclaims it the "most powerful production V8" and "quickest production muscle car," with a 0-60 time of 3.4 seconds and quarter-mile time of 10.8 seconds at 131 mph. Top speed: 203 mph. Dodge can claim these superlatives, of course, because the 840-horsepower Demon's limited production run has ended. The Hellcat Redeye's Hemi is paired with an eight-speed automatic. Dodge says the powerplant gets 25 major component upgrades, including a larger supercharger (2.7 liters, up from 2.4) with higher boost pressure (14.5 psi, up from 11.6), strengthened connecting rods, pistons and valve train, high-capacity fuel injection system and improved lubrication. It gets a second fuel pump and a higher redline of 6,500 rpm. Theoretically, if you were someplace where you could operate at full throttle without letting up, Dodge says the Hemi would drain the fuel tank in under 11 minutes. Yet the car gets a 22 mpg highway rating from the EPA. View 30 Photos It also has the Torque Reserve system that starts building boost before launching, as well as the air conditioned intercooler to provide extra cool intake air. Both of these were features in the Demon. Furthermore, if the standard 2.62:1 final ratio isn't quick enough for you, Dodge offers a 3.09:1 rear axle. The Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye also comes with the Demon and Hellcat Widebody's fat fender flares. It's an unsurprising inclusion, since you'll want as much tire as possible for all that power. Now, a mere clear-eyed Challenger SRT Hellcat gets a 10-horse boost for 2019 to 717 horsepower, and a smidge more torque at 656 pound feet. A six-speed manual transmission is standard, and an eight-speed automatic is an option. Both Hellcat models get the new dual-snorkel hood we've seen in spy shots. It's meant to evoke 1970s Dodge muscle cars. Dodge says the airflow from the hood alone reduces engine temperature by 4 degrees Fahrenheit.