{"id":15760,"date":"2018-06-15T07:00:43","date_gmt":"2018-06-15T11:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=15760"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:25:05","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:25:05","slug":"road-trip-with-the-durango-srt-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/showcase\/2018\/06\/road-trip-with-the-durango-srt-part-1.html","title":{"rendered":"Road Trip with the Durango SRT®<\/sup> – Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

With human beings, it is absurd, no matter how hard we try, to fit us into neatly defined boxes. We\u2019re wild creatures with minds and hearts that rarely stay put for a day, let alone a lifetime. Our needs, wants and wishes fluctuate moment by fleeting moment. It\u2019s one of my favorite things about existing, although it can sometimes devolve into frivolity. English poet William Cowper espouses the former and warns against the latter in this excerpt from his 1785 piece called \u201cThe Task\u201d, a bit which starts with perhaps the most quoted yet misrepresented idiom this side of the Atlantic:<\/p>\n

\u201cVariety\u2019s the very spice of life,<\/p>\n

That gives it all its flavour.  We have run<\/p>\n

Through every change that fancy, at the loom<\/p>\n

Exhausted, has had genius to supply,<\/p>\n

And, studious of mutation still, discard<\/p>\n

A real elegance, a little used,<\/p>\n

For monstrous novelty and strange disguise.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To paraphrase another Englishman, Winston Churchill, the Dodge Durango SRT<\/a>\u00ae<\/sup> 392 is a hot rod, wrapped in a luxury SUV, wrapped in an enigma. It\u2019s a loaded question to ask exactly what it is, but it\u2019s easy to tell you what it is not: an appliance. There are fascinating incongruities that eventually reveal themselves, but frivolous they are not. It has a spirit that both muscle car and late-model luxury aficionados will appreciate. Variety is<\/em> the very spice of life and it need not cost your fortune, your style, nor for you to keep that inner Don Garlits at bay.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Any whiff of boring went out the window while watching the Octane Red Durango SRT<\/a> pull up to the guard shack. Being that both the headquarters and the prototype shop for one of America\u2019s largest Department of Defense contractors, General Dynamics Land Systems, is on my side of the gate, security is pretty tight. I walked up to the guards to let them know the drivers were dropping the Durango off, and to get a temporary pass to let me bring it in. They aren\u2019t typically well versed in cars, but they\u2019re always fascinated by the fun stuff I drive. \u201cWhat is that color!?!?\u201d was the immediate reaction this time. It wasn\u2019t the last I\u2019d hear that during our travels with the SUV; in fact, nearly everyone we came across had something to say about the metallic red that just pops in the sun.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I honestly wasn\u2019t sure what to expect sliding while into the pilot\u2019s chair. I sort of figured it would be a less sporty version of the Jeep\u00ae<\/sub> Grand Cherokee SRT. That would make sense, as the Durango SRT is measurably bigger (even if only slightly) than its Jeep cousin in every dimension and weight and is powered by an identical drivetrain: the stout, naturally aspirated, 475 hp\/470 ft.-lb. 6.4L 392 HEMI\u00ae<\/sup> mated to a ZF TorqueFlight 8 speed.<\/p>\n

I figured wrong. Despite sharing such similar building blocks, in its soul, the Durango SRT is very much the \u201c7 seat SUV version of the Charger Hellcat\u201d that former Dodge head honcho Tim Kuniskis touted it as. The exhaust note is already Black Sabbath\u2019s “War Pigs” at idle, but mash the hyper-responsive gas pedal and it summons Tony Iommi shredding “Paranoid” through the rear exhaust. That was the first sign that this was a different kind of animal. There were many miles ahead, so I figured I\u2019d just let the thing sort of reveal itself to me.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The plan was to leave work, stop by the loft to pick up my wife and pack up the SUV, then head south to get a head start on our trip to Memphis. I\u2019d been out of the country for work and hadn\u2019t really driven much for 3 months, so \u201cchomping at the bit\u201d would be an understatement. Quality time with Darla while on the open road was going to be a much-needed holiday.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But first, I have a hard time leaving Detroit without taking photos. I love the aesthetics of the city, the creative energy, the gritty attitude. Eastern Market always has some killer murals for a backdrop, plus Supinos Pizza is right there. Can\u2019t start off a road trip without fuel. Delicious, thin crust, fuel.<\/p>\n

There was no need to pack light. We filled up the 2nd row with our luggage and a cooler full of snacks, with room to spare. I couldn\u2019t help but think we needed to really test the cargo capacity at some point. I just wasn\u2019t sure how. Yet.<\/p>\n

We made it to Louisville that night to grab a few ZZZs before an easy 6-hour drive to southwest Tennessee.<\/p>\n

Cowper\u2019s word use in the aforementioned section of \u201cThe Task\u201d speaks to me. So I had a little fun with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cVariety\u2019s the very spice of life,<\/p>\n

That gives it all its flavour. We have run<\/p>\n

Through a very monstrous Exhaust,<\/p>\n

That has had Hemi genius to supply,<\/p>\n

And, studious of mutation still, espouse<\/p>\n

A real elegance, in a little used segment,<\/p>\n

For a bit of a novelty for muscle loving girls and guys.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With human beings, it is absurd, no matter how hard we try, to fit us into neatly defined boxes. We\u2019re wild creatures with minds and hearts that rarely stay put for a day, let alone a lifetime. Our needs, wants and wishes fluctuate moment by fleeting moment. It\u2019s one of my favorite things about existing, although it can sometimes devolve into frivolity. English poet William Cowper espouses the former and warns against the latter in this excerpt from his 1785 piece called \u201cThe Task\u201d, a bit which starts with perhaps […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":15930,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[638],"tags":[737,2011,605],"class_list":["post-15760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-showcase","tag-durango","tag-hemi-engine","tag-srt"],"acf":[],"custom_fields":{"post_thumbnail_image":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/thumbnail-1.jpg","icon_selection":"article","external_link":"","featured_article":[],"upload_background_image":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15760"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15760"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15760\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43928,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15760\/revisions\/43928"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}