Although sporadic, and linked to the racing schedule itself, there was no other promotion like it on the muscle car market.Īn even bolder outreach came in the form of the Rapid Transit Caravan. These Supercar Clinics were incorporated under the Rapid Transit System banner starting in 1970, and would last until the end of the following year. ![]() It was a novel idea: recoup part of its investment in the team by having affiliated drivers trained in how to teach the public about Plymouth's products, its competitive efforts and how to hop-up their own cars. The automaker had already been running what it called 'Supercar Clinics' in partnership with the Sox & Martin drag racing team since 1967 as a way of promoting its NHRA campaign. Where Plymouth really pushed the Rapid Transit System past Dodge's Scat Pack was with two unique promotional efforts that would give enthusiasts a real world connection to the concept. To fully buy-in on the RTS, Plymouth suggested that franchises create 'Rapid Transit System Centers' and stock the brightest colors, biggest engines, and most aggressive wheel, tire and rear-end gear ratios available from the parts catalog. This wasn't just reflected by the ad campaigns surrounding the Rapid Transit System, but also the training that was given to the dealers and salespeople who were on Plymouth's front lines. So successful was the entire initiative that Plymouth got into the act with its “Rapid Transit System” which would run from 1970 to 1972, and included the ‘Cuda, the GTX, the Superbird, the Duster 340, and the Roadrunner. By 1970, the family had grown to include the Charger Daytona and the Dodge Challenger and, in the final year, the 1971 Dodge Demon 340 was also included. Collectively the group of Dodge performance cars was referred to as “the hive.” The marketing team went on the warpath, blanketing dealerships, magazines, and television with references to “Scat City” and the full line-up of Scat Pack cars. The Scat Pack logo was a variation on the drag-racing Super Bee found on the Dodge Super Bee. For the money, members received a monthly newsletter, a quarterly magazine, a wallet card declaring their loyalty, a bumper sticker and jacket patch, and a racing guide. It was a play on words- the Rat Pack had been Frank Sinatra’s gang of Hollywood pals that became legendary for their partying and the pictures they made together- and, as such, Dodge also created an actual Scat Pack Club that both owners and Mopar fans could join for the very affordable price of three dollars. The problem was put to the talented team at the Ross Roy Ad Agency, which came up with the ingenious idea of the “Scat Pack” designation. What was missing, however, was a way to unify each of these uniquely-named models under a single, world-beating banner- an issue that would only get worse with the introduction of the Dodge Super Bee mid-year. In the early 1960s, Dodge had many exciting high performance cars, such as the 1963 Polara 426 Max Wedge, 1966 Coronet 426, 1967 Dart GTS 340, 1967 Charger R/T 383, etc. It became legendary in the enthusiast community and symbolized one of the most feared groups of street machines every to rumble from stoplight to stoplight. Mainly a marketing term, Scat Pack cars got twin bumblebee stripes and special decals. In order for a car to enter the Scat Pack it had to be capable of running the quarter mile in the 14s (14.99 sec. In 1969, the Charger Daytona joined the Pack. The Dodge Scat Pack was originally introduced in 1968 with the Charger R/T, Coronet R/T, Dart GTS, and Super Bee.
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