With muscle car mania near its peak, Chrysler Corporation, inaugurated the Scat Pack for Dodge, which was successful enough to be copied as the Rapid Transit System for Plymouth. The Scat Pack did not change the cars (aside from a twin “bumblebee” stripe that could be deleted by the buyer, and a decal inset and emblem on the Super Bee), but gathered up the most musclebound Dodges in one group.
(Mark Donaldson indicated that the Dodge marketers may have gotten the idea from existing slang — an article in Hot Rod quoted one of the original Ramchargers as saying the “scat pack” originated with earlier Plymouths and Dodges.) When the program officially launched to the public in 1968, the Scat Pack held the Charger R/T, Coronet R/T, Dart GTS, Swinger 340, and Super Bee. The program included print ads, brochures, a national club, decals, and wearables.
Scat Pack cars all had to meet the requirement of being faster than a 14.99 second quarter mile.
In 1970, the Scat Pack cars were listed as Dart Swinger 340, Coronet Super Bee, Challenger and Charger R/T, and Charger Daytona — a car that was not actually built. In 1971, the Charger Super Bee replaced the Coronet version, and the 340 Demon was added to the list; that was the last year of the promotion.
When nearly 100,000 Chargers were sold, Plymouth realized that Dodge was onto something and did the same thing - gathering up a series of cars into a “club.” The Rapid Transit System was presumably based on the R/T (Road and Track) title, though perhaps it was simply a clever bit of wordplay.
In 1970, Dodge created a Scat Pack Club, complete with a newsletter. They also made the Direct Connection parts catalog available to members at no cost, and set up “Scat Packages” of Mopar parts.
These included the
Showboat (dressup kit),
Read-Out (gauges),
Kruncher (drag/strip),
Bee-Liever (manifold, carb, cam, headers),
and Top Eliminator (Six-Pack setup, electronic ignition - yes, in 1970 - electric fuel pump and cool can.)
People joining the Club got the catalog, wallet card, jacket patch, bumper sticker, 40 page guide to auto racing, the monthly Dodge Performance News, and the quarterly Dodge Scat News. The total cost was a stunningly low $3 per year
(Mark Donaldson indicated that the Dodge marketers may have gotten the idea from existing slang — an article in Hot Rod quoted one of the original Ramchargers as saying the “scat pack” originated with earlier Plymouths and Dodges.) When the program officially launched to the public in 1968, the Scat Pack held the Charger R/T, Coronet R/T, Dart GTS, Swinger 340, and Super Bee. The program included print ads, brochures, a national club, decals, and wearables.
Scat Pack cars all had to meet the requirement of being faster than a 14.99 second quarter mile.
In 1970, the Scat Pack cars were listed as Dart Swinger 340, Coronet Super Bee, Challenger and Charger R/T, and Charger Daytona — a car that was not actually built. In 1971, the Charger Super Bee replaced the Coronet version, and the 340 Demon was added to the list; that was the last year of the promotion.
When nearly 100,000 Chargers were sold, Plymouth realized that Dodge was onto something and did the same thing - gathering up a series of cars into a “club.” The Rapid Transit System was presumably based on the R/T (Road and Track) title, though perhaps it was simply a clever bit of wordplay.
In 1970, Dodge created a Scat Pack Club, complete with a newsletter. They also made the Direct Connection parts catalog available to members at no cost, and set up “Scat Packages” of Mopar parts.
These included the
Showboat (dressup kit),
Read-Out (gauges),
Kruncher (drag/strip),
Bee-Liever (manifold, carb, cam, headers),
and Top Eliminator (Six-Pack setup, electronic ignition - yes, in 1970 - electric fuel pump and cool can.)
People joining the Club got the catalog, wallet card, jacket patch, bumper sticker, 40 page guide to auto racing, the monthly Dodge Performance News, and the quarterly Dodge Scat News. The total cost was a stunningly low $3 per year
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