First Hellcat bites the dust...

We all knew these types of headlines were coming...but really? This soon!?!

http://www.streetlegaltv.com/news/hellcat-carnage-this-one-left-the-lot-an-hour-later-it-is-totaled/

This is why America always gets the watered down versions of cars. That and our emissions standards. Man, I cant even

I wouldn't get all worked up about it. I suspect that an early example of any car you can think of (from Hyundai to Ferrari) was wrecked within hours of leaving the car lot. Stuff happens, and stupid people are stupid.

Apparently happened not necessarily because of its power, but because the driver came into a hard corner way too fast. And shocker, all that power doesnt' make the beefy Charger take a hard corner any better. Momentum always wins.

"Media car" = "We road test the Hellcat at 11/10ths!"

(paraphrased from an actual byline C&D ran after they destroyed a Lola)

stuart in mn wrote: I wouldn't get all worked up about it. I suspect that an early example of any car you can think of (from Hyundai to Ferrari) was wrecked within hours of leaving the car lot. Stuff happens, and stupid people are stupid.

This. It's just a car.

I've never understood why sites like Gawker take such delight in the first crash of anything. So someone destroyed their shiny new toy. Are they trying to hint at some political connotation that I'm too dense to get? Or is it just they're looking for page views? Stuff like this happens every day and it doesn't even move the needle as far as my interest in cars go.

Not trying to be a jack wagon just curious why everyone likes to point and laugh at "firsts."

In reply to The0retical:

Because it makes people without access to such cars feel better about that reality by implying that they are still better in some way to the people who do...And that apparently the same couldn't or wouldn't happen to them if they did.

That and page views.

/ me searches copart for a new engine donor ......

In reply to Driven5:

So I'm being too pragmatic in my consumption of celebrity gossip columns and what passes as news now days? You sir have stroked my addled from lack of sleep ego.

I wonder what that engine will part out for?

Assuming Richard Rawlings doesn't already own the corpse I imagine it'll be 25k or better, you're basically looking at the first hellcat swap kit on the market. I bet that thing still fetches 50k.

I bet Keith can make it fit in an NA Miata before Warren in an Exocet Go!

If I saw that happen, the first words out of my mouth would have been, "How much you want for the drive train?"

I just know that someone higher up on the chain with "influence" is going to point their finger and say "SEE!?! THERE IS NO REASON TO HAVE A 700HP CAR! WE NEED MORE REGULATIONS!!!"

I don't want more regulations :(

Would people have the same assessment of the handling if it was a S65 instead of a Hellcat?

Remember just a year or two back when the first FR-S crash was front page news? I don't renember anyone crying about overpowered production cars then

Yeah but the Hellcat is kind of a "statement" car. Its a symbol that American car companies are still willing to produce ridiculous, "fun" cars. The FRS is a fun car, but it is by no means ridiculous. The Hellcat is. And logically speaking, there is really no reason for having such a car, so if enough people are causing problems in these things, I wouldnt put it past our system to have somebody say "No more 600hp factory cars" or slap some other stipulation on there.

Maybe my fear is irrational, but hey, its still plausible right??

I don't have a good view, but from the pics, that car sure doesn't look totalled. Appears there's no damage from the doors back. Easy fix for any decent repair shop. I also think it should be mandatory for the people that buy these cars to attend a 3 day driving school, preferably with the car they bought, before actually being able to drive it on public roads.

Appleseed wrote: If I saw that happen, the first words out of my mouth would have been, "How much you want for the drive train?"

Literally first thing in my head was " wonder what that motors' gonna go for...."

Classic example of visual fixation under pressure. Looks like the driver came in way too hot and locked the brakes ( no anti lock?) but actually steered into the tree because he was fixated on it. A straight line would have put him in a field.

As to being totaled, the first pict and second seem to tell a different story.

that'll buff out

The0retical wrote: I've never understood why sites like Gawker take such delight in the first crash of anything. So someone destroyed their shiny new toy.

Really.

Some people have this weird idea that new things are the most valuable things. They are still making Hellcats. They are replaceable commodities. It's not like it was a fifty year old 1-of-7 unrestored survivor or something.

Crank out another one, BFD.

That car is very fixable, you will need a hood, right fender, front bumper, core support, radiator, A/C condenser,Head lamps, and some other odds and ends. I say tops $10K and the car will be back on the road.

The best way to piss off you insurance company award goes to the guy who purchased a new (2001 or 02) Viper, drove off the lot smashed the gas the car spins into the curb on the other side of the street and comes back into the curb on the dealership side of the street. Yep the guy drove it about 600' in 15 seconds and did $15K in damage on the car. The best part was my boss gave me a bunch of E36 M3 for chirping the tires in third gear on the prep-dive.

Paul

The Sunday AM crowd here is way too sensible. Media needs content to draw eyeballs. "Old lady crashes Focus" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

I remember having a horrendous crash on my first high-end mountain bike before I realized that money doesn't buy talent or experience.

It's also like having AWD. it's genuinely helpful in some situations, but when you've overcooked a turn by a large amount, nobody but the big fella upstairs can bail you out.

I bet the motorcycle crowd sees this even more. Custom Cycle here in town, used to always watch out the front window as the squids would ride their new bikes away. More than one got thrown away in front of the showroom windows.

And I agree, that Dodge is quite fixable.

Sure there's plenty of damage but not enough to total a $60K + vehicle IMHO. It could be pulled back into shape.