{"id":47967,"date":"2021-01-30T07:00:58","date_gmt":"2021-01-30T12:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=47967"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:21:37","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:21:37","slug":"hellrango-ordering-the-beast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/showcase\/2021\/01\/hellrango-ordering-the-beast.html","title":{"rendered":"“Hellrango”: Ordering The Beast"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Car a-la-carte<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Shopping for a new car can be fun and exciting. It can also be very trying and stressful locating one that is JUST the way YOU want it. Whether you are looking online or driving dealer to dealer, there can be challenges. You found the perfect car with all the options and packages you wanted, but it is the wrong color, or missing the electronics package, or has no sunroof. Why not make it easy? Just order one, it is easy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most people have never ordered a new car. Heck, I am sure there are a lot of people that don\u2019t know you can. Sometimes, you get lucky and you find a car just the way you want it already on the dealer lot, ready to be driven home that day. Ordering a car, made just for you, really is about as easy as walking up to a lot and driving off that day. That is, IF you can handle the wait. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"2021<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As soon as our beloved mad scientist Tim Kunsikis hit the\nstage for the COVID-friendly vehicle reveal of the 2021 Dodge Durango SRT\u00ae<\/sup> Hellcat,\nI knew that this was not a vehicle I was going to let slip by me. THIS is when\nthe wait unofficially starts. Let me explain how it works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those of us wrapped up in the SRT product line, it goes a little something like this. A new model is announced in the spring. Before the days of COVID announcements, these announcements often happened at big auto shows. Somewhere between February and June, the new and hottest reinvention of our beloved HEMI\u00ae<\/sup> engine-powered beast is announced for the upcoming year. You see it, you hear it, you listen to the specs and if you are lucky enough to be a part of the press, you are able to experience it. Right now, we must settle for seeing it on our computer screens. You fall in love. You decide then and there that there is no way you are going to let this one slip by. You start scheming and crunching numbers. Most importantly, you figure out how to sell it to your spouse or significant other.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"2021<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, it is a bit more involved to build a car than\nsomething like an iPhone\u00ae<\/sup>, so don\u2019t expect to hear something like \u201cThe new 2021\nDurango, orders start tomorrow and shipping next week.\u201d Generally, ordering opens\nin mid to late summer. The brand will announce when ordering will open for that\ndream vehicle and you get to work convincing the significant other that \u201cwe\u201d\nneed this vehicle and how you plan to make it happen. During this time, you should\ncontact your dealer or salesperson to let them know you plan to order one. If\nthis new ride is a limited production car like the Durango SRT Hellcat or Challenger\nSRT Demon, you better lock down your dealer quickly. Maybe you just want to be one of the first in town to get yours. Make use of this time. Find your dealer. Stay in touch with\nthe salesperson and make sure you are both on the same page. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dodge puts a handful of pre-production versions of the vehicles out in the world for press and press events. You spend the next several months watching and re-watching all the videos you can while you wait for ordering to open. You sit there twitching, tapping your feet and building angst for that dorky auto vlogger ripping around in YOUR new car. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"2021<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The day the order banks open up for the dealer to put the order in with Dodge, Dodge\u2019s website is updated with a configurator for the vehicle so you are able to build your own. You finally get a chance to start seeing how you want to option your specific car. While the dealer can also tell you what packages and options are available and what the costs are for those, it\u2019s nice to be able to see it with your own eyes in a neat little 3D rendered version of your dream build, especially with color options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2021 Durango SRT Hellcat came with a moderately sized option list. It comes standard, packed to the gills with cool stuff. For those that don\u2019t know, the Durango SRT Hellcat is a single year model, made only in 2021 and never again. Our options were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n