“In fiction and folklore, a Doppelgänger (‘double-goer’ in German) is a look-alike or double of a living person, sometimes portrayed as a paranormal phenomenon, and in some traditions as a harbinger of bad luck. In other traditions and stories, they recognize your ‘double-goer’ as an evil twin.” (from Wikipedia)
In 1971, Dodge introduced the Dart Demon after demanding it’s own version of the Valiant-based Plymouth Duster, which had been enjoying strong sales since its introduction in 1969. Plymouth in return received its own version of the Dodge Swinger, which was offered as the Scamp. The Dodge Dart Demon would not be long for this world, however…
The Demon was based on the lightweight A-Body platform, and when combined with the Chrysler 340 (5.6l) V8, (conservatively) rated at 275 hp and 340 ft.-lbs. of torque, was a performance car that lived up to the name. 0-60 mph times were typically in the 6-7 second range with a top speed of near 130 mph (209 kph). Handling was good for the era, and the car could return 14-15 mpg.
Our subject car is a 1971 model as indicated by the split front grille and Demon decals on the fenders. 1972 models had a revised grille and cast badges on the fenders instead of decals.
An additional trim level was added in mid-1971, called the Dodge Dart Demon Sizzler. This package added some of the dress-up items from the Demon 340 to the base model.
You can’t really see the single exhaust pipe in the shadows, but it looked fairly small in diameter, which leads me to think this is a base model Demon, which came standard with the 198 cu. in. (3.2l) Slant Six making 125 hp (SAE gross) and 180 ft.-lbs. of torque. Price as-new was $2,343, compared to $2,721 for the Demon 340. The 225 cu. in. (3.7l) Slant Six making 145 hp (SAE net) was optional, and given that this car has an automatic and air conditioner, it almost certainly has at least the 225 six, possibly the 318 V8. Rallye wheels look sharp on this car, and 1971 marked the first year both sides of the car got “lefty-loosey” lug nuts.
A peek inside reveals tasteful plaid upholstery, an automatic transmission and air conditioning. Note the Demon insignia on the door panel, plus the period-correct cupholder. What’s curious about this car is that the 1971 Dart sales brochure only lists dark blue, tan or black for interior colors with the seat being “all vinyl.” Perhaps this car is actually a Demon Doppelgänger itself? Or had an interior from another car swapped in?
At any rate, this closeup of the grille reveals period-correct California “blue” plates, which were introduced in 1969.
The rear license plate frame says “Wegge Dodge,” which google says is located in Pasadena, CA, and still appears to be in business, only not as a Dodge dealer anymore.
The Demon never really sold that well, but that’s not the main reason the name was shelved after only two years. The originally-proposed name for the car was to have been “Beaver,” until Dodge found out that the term had an unsavory meaning, especially for those who were into the CB radio fad and knew trucker lingo. So in order to avoid controversy (hah!), Dodge created a cartoon ‘devil’ character and named the car “Demon,” with a play on words in their marketing materials encouraging potential customers to come in to the dealer for a “demon-stration.”
Religious groups, however, quickly and very vocally complained about the “demon” name, to the point of organizing protests, both against the car as well as against the Dodge brand. Culture is very different today, but at the time, the spiritual concerns over the name resonated with a broader swath of people. Whether Dodge considered this to be a “any news is good news” situation or not is unknown, but they stuck to their guns (and the name), at least for a while. About 80,000 Demons were sold in 1971.
By the 1972 model year, mounting religious pressure and lackluster sales of only 47,762 units prompted a re-evaluation, which led to a change of name to Dodge Dart Sport for 1973. The Sport name would continue on through the end of the A-Bodies in 1976 (including a Spirit of ’76 edition).
So in the end, the Duster’s “evil twin” was short-lived and brought a bit of bad luck to what could have been a successful idea for Dodge.
Sweet looking car. It’s a shame some religious nutcases decided to make a federal case over the “Demon” name. It kind of fits the hot rod nature of the Duster, don’t you think? 🙂
A lot of these came thru with the slant-6 or 318. We see them as hot rods/muscle cars today but in their day, they were more like a sensible-shoes Camaro/Mustang, many of which were 6 or small V8 equipped.
Ah! Ok. With a name like Demon, I would’ve thought it would’ve either used a 318 V8 or a larger V8 engine. For me, a 318 would’ve been plenty. 🙂
Well, that was the thought process of a lot of Duster and Demon/Dart Sport buyers. It was pretty much the equivalent of the Chevrolet Nova coupe, so just as relatively few Novas were SS350s or SS396s, the 340/360 wasn’t that common.
I suppose so. I’ve always liked the 1970-72 Dart/Duster series. The Duster had the protruding grille, which I found quite attractive, while the 70-71 Dart had the divided grille, which I found attractive.
I wonder if such fanaticism also led to the “Devil-”
portion being dropped from the name of the
Tampa Bay Rays MLB team. I still call them
by their inaugural name and no one notices
one way or another.
To me they will always be the Devil Rays.
I think it was protesting which made them change their name, too.
Ridiculous.
New Jersey Devils are still around…
So are the Toronto Maples Leafs, who are in fact MUCH more scary than any team or car with Demon or Devil in the name (at least during the non-golfing season).
Nice Beaver! Thanks, I had it stuffed yesterday! The only thing I don’t like about these are the way narrower rear track. Or at least the impression of one. Thats why I don’t drive a Citroen DS.
Dirtiest thing ever said on television:
“Ward, don’t you think you were a little hard on the beaver last night?”
Oh crap.,I missed that one. How bout this from Facebook…see if you get the double entrende
Link for the lazy:
I’m surprised that the cute little devil was the center of that much controversy. Strangely, back in those days we ate a lot of Underwood Deviled Ham for lunch, and the product is still sold to this day. This may explain why I feel a little possessed.
Weird to see that front on this body. The quintessential Duster front end from about 1972 is seared into my brain (by the devil himself!).
I’m getting a little hungry, must be time for lunch…………
Oooh, and then there’s this!
Don’t forget the eggs of the devil!
I’ve spent time behind the wheel of cars like this. Any time I see a photo of an early 1970s Mopar dash and steering wheel I get a flashback of the numb power steering that had less road feel than the volume control on the radio.
I guess I’ll have to identify with the “Bible thumpers,” “nutcases” and “nincompoops,” then. As I said, culture was a bit more influenced by religion then than as now (regardless of whether folks were actually Christian or not), and I can understand (some, not all) people expressing concern over something that was, at the time, considered offensive.
You can see the same thing happening today with loud calls to redact names like “Redskins” (Washington’s football team), etc., but surprisingly, I’ve not heard any fellow ‘Bible thumpers’ calling for Dodge to change the Hellcat’s name.
That aside, I hope you enjoyed the write up on the car.
“Religious groups, however, quickly and very vocally complained about the “demon” name, to the point of organizing protests, both against the car as well as against the Dodge brand. Culture is very different today, but at the time, the spiritual concerns over the name resonated with a broader swath of people.”
Unfortunately culture is not very different today…if anything, it is worse. There are at least a couple high schools in my region that had to change their “satanic” nicknames not long ago due to opposition from the Religious Right. A nearby college had to change their Native American nickname for PC reasons. And in Oregon, Portland State’s mascot of a blonde-bearded Viking is now considered offensive and exclusionary to people without blonde beards. I don’t even know what to say to that.
http://psuvanguard.com/viking-sticker-campaign-raises-concerns-about-inclusion/
Don’t want to start a political discussion, just pointing it out.
No question about it… and that of course wasn’t the reason I wrote up the car (to start a political discussion). But it seems the Demon is still stirring up emotions yet today! (c:
I saw my comment was removed, so I don’t know if that caused a debate tree but that wasn’t my intent either, I was just poking fun. I didn’t mean to offend.
We have a policy of not disparaging groups; that includes “bible thumpers”.
Like I said, really didn’t mean to offend. Being part of a big family of Christians and Catholics, I make a pretty large distinction between those who impose their beliefs on others rather than live their own lives based on the messages of it.
I’d be called a nincompoop or worse if I protested outside Ford headquarters for christening Lincolns with alphabet soup names I dislike. That in fact was the main point of the offensive post I made – dislike alphanumerics? This is why they’re commonplace today.
I’m a born-again too, but those words in a name never
bothered me. After all, it was a certain plane that helped
us win in WW2: the Grumman “Hellcat”! I would also
never ask a ball club to remove “Devil” from their
name if it helped to distinguish them.
Let’s see just how many slots a die can cut in this rear sheetmetal panel before it distorts to death, then see how easy it is to damage on the assembly line. After all, we are practically rebuilding these cars as it is before they get shipped out…
I always thought “Demon” was a good name, but then I was an adolescent when these were out. I suspect that more than the noisy boycotts, low sales caused the name-change after too many potential buyers opted for the less-charged Duster instead. A lot more teachers and secretaries bought these than the 23 year old guys who loved the name. I was always disappointed that they couldn’t come up with a better name than “Dart Sport” for the replacement. To this day, anyone with a Dart Sport has to add “like a Duster”.
This is a NICE one, too. And wow, that interior. My college roomie Dan bought a really worn 71 Duster that had the same interior cloth, only in blue. The back seat was beautiful until he set it on fire with a stray cigarette butt on the highway. He stopped the car and threw handfuls of smoldering stuffing out on the road before snuffing the embers with the motor oil he kept in the trunk. Until then, the back seat had been the only decent part of the car.
Wait a minute – what’s with that dashboard? That is the Plymouth Valiant/Duster dash for 1971-76. Before 1973, the Dart used a different instrument panel with a horizontal speedo, but switched to the Plymouth panel for 1973. Did the Demon use the Duster’s dash (while maintaining a separate dash in the Swinger and Dart sedans from their Plymouth counterparts)? Or did this car start life as a Duster or maybe get the Plymouth cluster at some point in its life?
I have tons of wheel time behind Dusters and Scamps, but zero time in a Demon. Any experts out there?
As noted, the interior color may be a tip-off that maybe this is a Demon “tribute” car?
Ed,
That is the original cloth/vinyl interior in that Demon. The factory option code is M1F7 (Green cloth/Vinyl bench seat) and was ordered that way by the original owner in late 1970. Here is an image of the fender tag in the car in question if you have any doubt.
I looked at some photos of Demons for sale and it looks like unless someone popped for the optional instrumentation package, Demons shared the Valiant panel instead of the Dart panel. Chrysler in the 70s could be so confusing.
Ah – now it all makes sense. I looked at interior colors for the ’71 Valiant, and boom – there’s our green plaid:
The same upholstery appears in the Dart trim book as well.
Unless it was a 340 (and then only in 1971), the Demon got the standard Duster/Valiant dash.
The dashboard and steering wheel look just like the ones from my ’71 Scamp. This car’s got air conditioning, which suggests it’s probably at least got a 225. A friend of my older sister’s had a Demon with a 318 in high school. It was fast, but it had led an incredibly hard existence. It was probably only about 14 years old at the time, but one might have believed it had spent that long abandoned in the woods.
Hmmm – the 225 was supposed to have been available starting in 1972, and this is clearly a 1971…
I’m sorry; I should have caught that error in the text The 225 was always available on every year Dart and Valiant ever since 1960. I’m not sure where you got that info.
The 198 was a fairly rare bird, and almost always seen only on strippers and with manual transmissions, like the 170 it replaced. There’s no doubt that a relatively nicely equipped Dart like this with AT and especially AC certainly had at least the 225. It may well have had the 318.
That’s not quite right; the only engine available in the 1960 Valiant was the 170. The ’61 Dodge Lancer had the 225 available as an option from the start; it was given a head start over the ’61 Valiant, for which the 225 wasn’t released as an orderable option until partway through the model year—at least in part because some shoehorning had to be done to fit the 225 in the Valiant’s engine bay. The extra 1″ of block height made it a bit of a difficult fit in terms of hood clearance. A new, lower-profile air cleaner and some other reworked components were needed.
(The 225 in the ’60 Dart doesn’t count; that year’s Dart was not a compact)
Very astute observation!
I don’t know the answer. However, since the Duster was derived from the Valiant, it stands to reason it would have a Plymouth Valiant IP.
The Demon was not a redone Dart–it was a badge-engineered Duster.
Also, in the late 60s thru some point in the early 70s, the Dart’s wheelbase was 2″ longer than the Valiant.
So, in 1973, perhaps given that the cars needed bigger bumpers, Chrysler “commonized” the platform. Hence common instrument panels AND wheelbases.
On the wb issue, Dart had been 111 and Valiant 108 since 1967. The Duster (being a Valiant) was on the 108 inch body and the Plymouth Scamp (being a Dart Swinger) was on the 111 inch body. Beginning in 1974 the 108 inch Valiant body went away, except for the Duster/Dart Sport. Valiant lost its separate and distinctive sedan body and shared the Dart body (and I believe Valiant sedans went to 111 inches for the wb.)
Easiest way to figure this out, and I learned this observation here at CC, the wheel openings are mismatched on the Dodge Demon and Plymouth Scamp, in the direct inverse, with the Dodge openings swept back.
In addition to the wheel arches, the side marker lights are different.
’70-’76 Valiants and ’72-’76 Darts all used the same IP (with minor changes such as the addition of a “SEAT BELTS” warning light) except if the upgrade “rallye” instrument panel was ordered.
I don’t think it was available a la cart. Seems like the only way to get that ‘rallye’ IP in ’70-’71 was in conjunction with the 340 engine.
That’s in amazing condition…and I cant say as Ive EVER seen a Demon trimmed out as much of anything less than a full on street beast. The Dusters were much more likely to be found optioned like this.
Its good to see this is a pre-’73 model with its goofy ‘prow’ to go along with the wonky 5mph bumpers. The ’73-up Plymouths came out of that mess smelling like a rose, with that newer bumper.
One other reason for Demon name getting canned was to get away from ‘racey car’ image. Dodge was going after mainstream buyers; Ford, Chevy, and imports.
Compact car buyers were avoiding cars that would relate to high insurance rates or speeding tickets. Even the Dodge ‘Sheriff’ mascot, ready to hand out fines, was dropped. In ’72, magazine ads said “Dart Demon”, emphasis Dart. [But also, Duster name just sounded better.]
Anyway, these A bodies are “Mopar’s Greatest Hit”.
The “Sizzler” trim option was apparently aimed right at folks concerned with high insurance, so I think you’re on to something there.
Duster had the counterpart “Twister” option.
Well the replacement name for the Demon was “Dart Sport”, so it wasn’t really leaving it behind completely, “sport” = racey car. Plus the Demon never really set the world afire in that department, it was dodges Duster, yes you could get a performance 340, but it was really just a sporty looking Dart for the most part. Charger carried much more muscle car baggage with it, and it stuck around long after 1973, too long in fact.
The shift is definitely true though, but I think it was more an attempt to throw off the insurance companies than outright getting away from it, which in some cases simply coincided with emissions standards and phasing out leaded fuel in addition to the changing market that thinned out the hottest engine choices in them. Dropping the R/T Charger/Challenger in favor of Rallye is the best example of that
You’re right about makers wanting to throw off insurance companies. This is why GTO was reverted to option package in 1972. The VIN would say LeMans instead.
Dart Sport sounds less ‘muscle car’ than Demon, but I also agree that complaints from some people was #1 reason for name change.
But OTOH, Dodge sells Hell Cat cars today, and no outrage?
It’s one word, Hellcat. It’s named after either the Grumman Hellcat fighter or the M18 Hellcat tank.
Is it me or is the featured car one of the nicer looking Darts ever?
The color really makes the body style show off its graceful lines and makes the car look much newer than a 1971.
Really? They actually considered the name Beaver? Did the folks involved with that idea grow up in a convent?
I always figured the Duster and Demon sold in fairly equal numbers, and have been puzzled as to why the Demon has pretty much disappeared while there are still a few Dusters to be found….apparently the Swinger outsold the Scamp? while the Duster outsold the Demon?
I also don’t remember that Sizzler package, I wonder if the restaurant chain gave Dodge any grief over that name?
I like this example here, but that green interior looks wrong on what appears to be a gold car….but the 60s and early 70s gave us some strange interior/exterior color combos.
I suspect the ‘Sizzler’ was the Demon version of a similar option package available for the Duster called ‘Twister’ that had many of the appearance features of the Duster 340 without the hi-po engine..
Seems like the Sizzler and Twister only lasted a few years. A much more popular package was the Gold Duster.
The Scamp never really sold that well, seems like Duster hit the ground running and never stopped. So much so the name was used on later Plymouths: Volare, Turismo, and Sundance
So “Demon” was a controversal name? But “Swinger” wasn’t at all controversal? I have nothing at all against swingers mind you, but I can imagine some people would be uncomfortable with that image as their daily drive. Or did “swinger” mean something different in the ’60s and ’70s?
Swinger then basically meant you were single and could date anyone. And were a bit of a party person.
That was back in the days when the only person who publicly swung both ways was Tarzan.
A “swinger” is a person who is open to “encounters” with others , preferably without clothing.
That sounds about right. 🙂
On “Married with Children”, Al Bundy famously drove a Dodge Demon/DartSport, but I think I’ve seen a Plymouth Duster stand in for Al’s much maligned mode of transport.
Yeah, Al always referred to it as the Dart, but they used a Duster when it was shown.
The show was obviously written by casual car fans who think all A bodies were called Darts or Dusters, or both. aka “I had a Dodge Duster in HS!” or “A Dodge Plymouth”
This is a nice looking car, but that butt is a little large. I remember the Demon name disappearing rather quickly, but as I was only 7 or 8 back then I never knew why. I wonder why on earth a sporty car like this would be saddled with a bench seat and column shift- it just cries out for good buckets and a floor shifter.
The Demon/Dart Sport is the only Valiant/Dart combo that does not look right to me….The Dart front clip does not match up to the Duster rear wheel openings……The Scamp and later Valiant sedans seemed to work better with the Dart style rear wheel well openings……The Duster sold in higher numbers than the Demon/Dart Sport…..I wonder if potential buyers were put off by the odd look of a Dart front clip on the Duster body…..It almost appears that someone put a Dodge front clip on a Duster body as a backyard mechanic’s way to repair accident damage……I always liked the Duster/Valiant/Dart family…..If I were old enough to buy a new one back in the 70’s, I would have bought a Duster with either a 225 six or 318 V8 with the 4 speed manual overdrive…..Those were available in the 1975-76 timeframe.
The pre-73 clip does look tacked on the Duster body, and looks better 73-76. But then it was just a different grille, using the same clip as Duster later.
Nice piece.
’72 was also the first year for surface-mount all-plastic front and rear side marker lights rather than the flush metal-framed ones used in (’70 and) ’71. The one-piece ’72 side markers were considerably less elegantly integral than the 4-piece previous items, but they were also markedly (zing!) less expensive both directly and also by eliminating parts proliferation: instead of different marker lights for each vehicle line, many of which also required a left and a right, just two parts (one amber, one red) served for all. The ’72 markers were used for many years on many Chrysler products, and can still be bought new at the dealer. But those ’72 markers also cleaned up an ugly detail on the ’71 Demon, which had Valiant/Duster rear side markers and Dart front ones. The two were differently shaped and didn’t look right together; maybe not a big egregious thing like body lines failing to match up would’ve been, but nonetheless, when the ’72 markers came in, same shape front and rear, it did away with the issue.
This particular ’71 you profile did not come with the 198, it came with at least the 225—air conditioning was not available with the 198, and this car has factory air (that under-dash air duct is as integral as A-body aircon got; a step down from there was a self-contained add-on Mopar unit not at all integrated with the heater/defogger, and a further step down from there was an aftermarket item from Vornado, Frigi-King, Sears, etc. Anyhow, the engine: a quick glance at the 5th character on the VIN plate, visible through the lower left corner of the windshield, would’ve told the tale: B for 198, C for 225, G for 318, H for 340, and a couple others that won’t be found on US/Canada-market cars.
Was the Dart/Valiant the last American car with a non-integrated A/C? I know the AMC Concord/Spirit/Eagle had that dated-looking underdash shelf with air ducts at the ends, but it also had some regular dash vents.
Thanks for the clarification on the engine (you and Paul both). It appears you can’t trust *everything* you read on the internet after all!
The Duster/Dart design is still good looking after all these years. It was very clean in 1969 and still holds up well today.
The Demon is a very obscure muscle car, but it’s one I like. I will admit to liking the 72 version better, as the updated front half gives the car a much more aggressive stance that fits well with the character its going for. But this is a very clean example.
As to the controversy over the name, considering what I’ve seen people get offended by in this day and age, the uproar over calling it the Demon just seems tame by comparison.
Nice little car here , I love the A body Mo-Pars .
-Nate
A friend’s mother had a red Duster when it was new , or very close to it. Her husband worked at Proctor and Gamble, and there was a VERY strict unwritten automotive hierarchy at that time…people at his level could drive a Pontiac or somesuch, but had best NOT buy an Oldsmobile or it would make the guys at the next level up look bad…but once you got that next promotion, you darn well better get rid of the Pontiac and get an Olds. He’s retired now and drives a late model Mercedes S550.
Anyway, the wives could drive whatever they liked…and she drove a Duster. Do I recall that there was a Feather Duster model too, some kind of lightweight variant?
End of the mystery.
In ’70 & ’71 the 340 models used the old ’67-’69 Barracuda panel (Duster too) . Regrettably the bean counters got to it in ’72.
If Chrysler Brazil had made one of these, it would have been a real mini Charger, way back in the 70´s.
Sweet looking car…!
Some interesting variations in Mexico also.
The stylists got their way over the bean counters with the rear end on these, what a beautiful bit of stamping that tail light panel is, and filled seams as well.
You didn’t see that very often on mass produced cars. It looks customised but from the factory, very nice.
There was a nice Norwegian couple around 75 years old or so in our church around 1972 who would not accept delivery of their new Demon until the decals, badges were removed by the dealer. I thought they were cute.
It’s recently come to me that the Duster/Demon was the real inheritor of the original Mustang / Pony Car model – a sporty body using compact components, with a lot of trim and engine options. And it sold very, very well, at least in Duster guise. Certainly much better than the bloated, if belatedly loved Barracuda/Challenger E Body.
To that end, it’s interesting to see how some of the styling cues from John Herlitz’s 1967 Barracuda SX carried over to the Duster, especially the overall shape of the rear quarters and the rear valance. What price a unique front clip, though?
A 340 Demon seen on Saturday, a long way from home
Make mine a pink one with a 340 & 4 speed & Deep Purple’s Highway Star on the cassette player
Demon-what a great name for a car !
Nice write up.
The names just wouldn’t work in the UK – swingers are couples you are willing to meet other couples for mix and match relationships, and a duster is used to collect dust