By Roger Boylan

12.04.2008

Plato had no room for artists in his ideal republic, but not because he didn’t respect them; on the contrary, he argued that the “sacred fear” inspired by great art could cause too much excitement and passion and ultimately undermine the entire social system. I surmise, therefore, that he would have been firmly opposed to anyone in his republic driving the car I just wrapped up a week with: the ’09 Dodge Charger SRT8, a work of mechanical art quite capable of generating excitement and passion and undermining anybody’s social system. At first sight, this sculpture of power parked in my driveway raised serious doubts in my mind that it and I could ever find a modus vivendi. After all, it’s an in-your-face statement of automotive moxie, a direct descendant of the macho muscle cars of the ’60s driven by televisual hillbillies, mechanical monsters that mostly made a lot of noise and smoked their rear tires during getaways from the moonshine authorities. This, I thought, was hardly my style; my daily driver is a Jaguar S-Type, nimble enough but comparatively discreet. I wondered if I hadn’t made a mistake; was this Charger my nemesis? I was eager to find out, so I stashed the Jag in the garage for the duration and embarked on my routine of weekday commutes and weekend excursions as the middle-aged driver of what appeared to be the quintessential young man’s car. Continue Reading →