Roadkill Ep 38

[tedly]

Either FCA donated three soon-to-be-crushed cars, or were adamant that RK do their best to kill the cars as a durability test. Either way I personally think it's a win, and will be watching to see if one of the cars donates running gear to a RK or HRG project. There simply isn't a way I can conceive that FCA blindly handed over three $$ cars and didn't want to know what was up...all of the rubber and wheels ready to go says that somebody was encouraging this behind the scenes.

Every car has a handful of pre production models that are produced to work out the final bugs in the manufacturing process. Many of these are what you see road tested in magazines and shows. They are VIN-les cars that are destroyed after a certain amount of time because they were never meant to be sold in the first place.

Like SBG said, they gave one to Fast and Loud, even though it wasn't a Hellcat.

Now if Chrysler came to you and said "We'll give you at least one of these cars to do whatever you want with. They will be crushed no matter what when you are done, so have at it. Go nuts. We just need the chassis back when you're through, so you can keep the mechanical bits." What would you do? The thing is going to be crushed in a matter of days no matter if it's in pristine condition or wadded up like a piece of used gum.

Are you guys seriously going to tell me that you wouldn't beat that thing like a rented mule because it was wrong to send it to the crusher in anything but pristine condition?

[Deaf Bob]

I'd take the drivetrain out and put in inoperatable ones and push it..
When Toyota was crushing vans, we at the yard were swapping seats and stereos, the rep said no more.. Leave them as is..
Sooo a hole in the block and burnt trannys.. No biggy...

[Mater]

But in that episode, they're racing roadkill junk, too. So it's interesting.

i do agree with that. with the off roading on the motor cross course they could of also had the general mayhem witht he cars for a "benchmark time" and also done more with the muscle truck with the burnout testing

[Thumpin455]

It's a car, a machine with power, not intended to last a lifetime, they rust, are wrecked, depreciate fast, and the OEs need to build and sell them to make money. The high powered cars get people in the showroom, where they usually find they can't afford it, and buy something else like a minivan or truck. After it's sold, the company doesn't care as long as the check clears.

That's the reality of it.

We are gear head types, we love these crazy things, drool over the power available, and hold some specific cars in high esteem. In a thousand years, how many of these cars will still be here? Like us, the moment we spend on the planet is fleeting, have fun with it while you have it. What the hell use is a Hellcat, Viper, Ford GT, or whatever that sits in a garage and never gets driven in anger? Is it yard art or something capable of mind bending fun and terrifying oh shit moments? The car wants to be driven that way, it's designed for it, so cruising like grandma or some gold chain wearing wannabe is theft to the car. Letting it sit in a garage with 7 miles on it prevents the car from it's intended purpose.

Hard living builds character. How many fondly remembered awesome stories begin with "So my car has 12 miles on it and it's never been driven" unless you're buying it to open tne throttle and fighten old ladies? How many fun and exciting times are had driving 15 under the speed limit going to a car wax lawn chair weekend? The fun is in smoking tires, sliding sideways, pulling the front tires, showing taillights to a Hellcat with a car you've invested all of $5000 in, and doing fun stuff with it, even if it's just a road trip.

Power Tour, Drag Week, drag racing, track time turning left then right then left again, dare I say it, clandestine deserted highway in the wee hours embarrassing the cocky kid that thinks he has the fastest pos on the planet. That's why we have them, where we enjoy driving them, and what they're designed to do.

If you want one, go buy one. Or wait twenty years and build a faster one.

[pats91]

I didn't make to the motorcross track part of the episode. The burnout portion of the video was just flat boring, that shouldn't have gone on for 15+ minutes. I think it was boring because they didn't have to fight mechanical problems or the weather. There wasn't any uncertainty or sense of impending doom.

It doesn't really matter to me that those cars were preproduction units destined for the crusher, it is cringeworthy watching people beat the hell out of such expensive and desirable machinery. Burnouts are no big deal, but hammering them on a motorcross track is just annoying. Since those cars are crusher bound, maybe Dodge will let F&F yank the drivetrains out them for their own project. General Mayhem would be really awesome with a Hellcat drivetrain. May stuff one in one the GM project vehicles they have.

Thumpin455
We are gear head types, we love these crazy things, drool over the power available, and hold some specific cars in high esteem. In a thousand years, how many of these cars will still be here? Like us, the moment we spend on the planet is fleeting, have fun with it while you have it. What the hell use is a Hellcat, Viper, Ford GT, or whatever that sits in a garage and never gets driven in anger? Is it yard art or something capable of mind bending fun and terrifying oh shit moments? The car wants to be driven that way, it's designed for it, so cruising like grandma or some gold chain wearing wannabe is theft to the car. Letting it sit in a garage with 7 miles on it prevents the car from it's intended purpose.

Well said. Nothing quite as sad as a performance car that has never turned a tire in anger.

[Dan Barlow]

I'd rate it up there just above the first Alaska attempt. They should have drive one of the he'll cats to the end of the earth. ( like Washington State ) ( just kidding SBG ) find a flat fender jeep that hasn't ran in 30 years and swap the motor in and drive it home . Or bring one of the he'll cats to the Hot Rod challenge ECTA event with a gutted interior and a cage and see how fast it goes.

[Deaf Bob]

Wouldn't mind blowing folk's minds showing up at a demolition derby with an old Ford stuffed with a Hellcat drivetrain ..
Probably too fragile, maybe?

[TheSilverBuick]

I finally got a chance to watch it this morning, and while I was expecting a few cringe worthy moments, I rather enjoyed it. I've taken my Skylark on motorcycle dirt trails out in the desert when I was in highschool, and I've always wondered how new cars honestly do in the dirt like that. Now I know! While I do prefer the "build up something" episodes, this one did satisfy some of my curiosity. And for the record, my window's were down out in the dirt too. Killed my CD player =P

I followed it up with Carlos's Gremlin Ignition episode, also a great laugh!

[pats91]

That Gremlin would be awesome with a Hellcat engine in it.

[tcbnj]

IMHO – EP38 failed as soon as they pulled into the motocross lot. RoadKill content whose only competition is Russian dash cam videos is a sure way for sponsors to search in vain for eyeballs with moderate to high levels of disposable income.

To use the justification that this how ‘60s or ‘70s muscle cars were treated back in the day implies no wisdom has been gained over the last 50 years. Pity the SOB who ends up with one of those cars, they will have sand in their pants til the day they trade it in. The justification that the cars would be crushed anyway; funny some “intelligent” folks thought the same thing of a certain yellow Camaro

[tedly]

The justification that the cars would be crushed anyway; funny some “intelligent” folks thought the same thing of a certain yellow Camaro

There's a big difference between a car that was already licensed for the street being crushed, and a pilot car with no VIN that can never be sold to the general public being crushed. I have no idea if the cars they used in this episode were pilot cars or not, but I strongly suspect they were.