I have never been to big a fan of the American sports car, except maybe for the Chevy Corvette for its engineering and quality. Now Dodge has come up with the Challenger, also the more powerful SRT8 version. I can’t keep my eyes off this machine, its beautiful and it exemplifies everything that a muscle car should be. Big, bulky, loud, and the ability to shred it’s tires to bits. For once a manufacturer designed a car unapologetically, not caring about the mileage, or other tid-bits that don’t make a car fun to drive, I got in one a little while back and any man would feel like a kid behind the wheel wanting to slam the gas pedal to the floor with a broad smile on their face. The best part is the manual transmission that it comes with, check out the excerpts from autoblog.

Why Men Love Manuals:

We’ve driven the slushbox-equipped SRT8 on both the street and track. While that variant delivers most of what it promises, the manual gearbox completely transforms this bear from Teddy to Grizzly. Stick-shift junkies will tell you they like manual control – the ability to downshift and engine brake when most automatics simply coast. They like the ability to run the engine to redline, and hold it there, when most automatics simply shift up. As manual transmissions are slowly replaced by quicker (and more efficient) automatics, we welcome Dodge’s generosity to still allow us manual addicts the ability to control a whopping 6.1-liters of gasoline-fed HEMI explosion with the grip of our right hand.

We’ve driven the slushbox-equipped SRT8 on both the street and track. While that variant delivers most of what it promises, the manual gearbox completely transforms this bear from Teddy to Grizzly. Stick-shift junkies will tell you they like manual control – the ability to downshift and engine brake when most automatics simply coast. They like the ability to run the engine to redline, and hold it there, when most automatics simply shift up. As manual transmissions are slowly replaced by quicker (and more efficient) automatics, we welcome Dodge’s generosity to still allow us manual addicts the ability to control a whopping 6.1-liters of gasoline-fed HEMI explosion with the grip of our right hand.

One thing describes this machine perfectly, “It’s an ego car above all else.”

What I like About It:

• Rational thought was thrown out the window, its dripping in testosterone and its one mean machine.
• From its big and brawny stature to its angry exhaust note, its what any man wants.
• There are faster cars in its class but no car can come close to the authenticity of this machine.
• Don’t expect it to hold corners tightly, or to be the most luxurious, its a muscle bound machine going in a straight which can surprisingly handle when needed.

Link: Autoblog