The 1971-72 Dodge Demon is a weird historical anomaly in that it showed the Chrysler Corp. at both its best and worst. Giving the compact A-body an entry-level sporty coupe turned out to be the automaker’s single smartest move of the early-70s. However, The Demon proved to be a much poorer seller than its corporate sibling, the Plymouth Valiant Duster.
This body style was unusual for that time period because it didn’t share the same windshield as the rest of the lineup. Instead, the A-pillar was given a more swept-back appearance that better matched the semi-fastback’s C-pillar.
The look was much more modern but never adopted by the rest of the A-body’s lineup — at least in the United States. Chrysler of Australia appears to have incorporated the new design across the board in its compacts — with arguably excellent results (go here for further discussion).
Another unusual quality of the body style was that it had frameless door glass but a B-pillar with fixed or flip-out, rear-quarter windows. This was in contrast to its compact competition, which had metal frames around the door glass.
The biggest problem with the Demon may have been its name and devil-with-a-pitchfork logo, which could be problematic to potential customers who were religious (Wikipedia, 2025). However, the car may have also suffered from being the first badge-engineered A-body model since 1962.
Plymouth gets jump on Dodge and never looks back
Plymouth arguably gained a big advantage over Dodge because its version of the coupe was introduced a year earlier — and immediately became a hot seller. Thanks entirely to the Duster, which generated over 217,000 units in 1970, the Valiant outsold the Dart for the first time since 1964.
In 1971 Demon production only reached 80,000 units, compared to around 187,000 for the Duster. Things got worse from there. In 1972 49,000 Demons left the factory compared to roughly 228,000 Dusters.
Chrysler understandably decided that something needed to be done. For 1973 the Demon was renamed the Dart Sport. Output jumped to around 79,000 units compared to 265,000 for the Duster. That was better but no cigar.
Meanwhile, the traditional Dart models — the four-door sedan and two-door “Swinger” hardtop — continued to outsell their Valiant counterparts despite becoming increasingly indistinguishable.
In 1971, when Dodge got the Demon, Plymouth unveiled the Scamp. This was a Dart two-door hardtop with a Valiant front end. Then, in 1974, the Valiant sedan adopted the Dart’s sheetmetal from the A-pillar backwards.
Demon gets ill-fitting sheetmetal combination
The Demon’s unpopularity was surprising in one respect — it looked somewhat sportier than the Duster. This is because the Dart had a longer snout with a thin-scupted bumper and a swept-forward fascia. In contrast, the Duster’s flat front end looked bland and utilitarian.
One of the Demon’s design quirks may not have been noticed by most people: The front-wheel flares did not match with those in the rear.
Also see ‘Compact cars became the neglected stepchildren of U.S. automakers’
A more obvious stylistic quirk was the rear bumper, which was shared with the 1967-73 Valiant sedan. That gave the rear an overly ponderous shape that was particularly unappealing with the small and inboard taillights used on the Demon and the Duster through 1972. Whereas the Duster had horizontal lenses, the Demon sported a vertical design.
Mercifully, in 1973 both cars received much larger and more outboard taillights that significantly improved the rear-end’s styling.
Demon wasn’t decontented like Maverick and Hornet
Our featured car appears to be a base Demon dressed up with options such as road wheels. The listed price for an entry-level model was $2,343. That was lower than the equivalent Chevrolet Nova ($2,376) and Pontiac Ventura II ($2,458) but higher than a Ford Maverick ($2,175) or AMC Hornet ($2,174).
The price spread illustrated how the Demon was more akin to the GM compacts in being an old-guard compact, whereas the Maverick and Hornet were decontented new-generation compacts.
One area where that could be seen was in the interior, where the Demon’s dashboard had more instrumentation and a higher-quality look than its Ford or AMC competitors.
The Demon used the Valiant’s 108-inch wheelbase, which was three inches shorter than the rest of the 1971 Dart lineup. That translated into less back-seat legroom.
Initial Demon advertising was cringeworthy
Advertising in 1971 emphasized the Demon name. One headline announced: “Dodge’s new Demon brings out the devil in you.” The text then discussed how the car “works like a demon . . . plays like a demon . . . and is devilish fun to drive.” If that wasn’t enough to sell you, the ad concluded by suggesting that you drop by a Dodge dealer to take a “demon-stration drive.”
Later in the model year Dodge marketeers appeared to tone down the Demon name. One ad promoted a special edition called the Demon Sizzler, which dressed up the car with a variety of features such as “Rallye” wheels, racing stripes and a vinyl roof. The ad steered clear of playing with words relating to the devil, but I wonder whether Sizzler was intended to remind one of life in hell.
With the luxury of hindsight, we might wonder why the Demon name ever saw the light of day. Perhaps the best excuse for it was that around this time Chrysler was experimenting with a variety of offbeat names such as Road Runner, Cricket, Duster and Swinger.
The moral to this story: Unusual car names may work as long as they have relatively innocuous connotations. Of course, the devil is in the details.
NOTES:
Production figures and specifications came from the auto editors of Consumer Guide (2006) and Gunnell (2002).
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
RE:SOURCES
- Auto editors of Consumer Guide; 1993, 2006. Encyclopedia of American Cars. Publications International, Lincolnwood, IL.
- Gunnell, John; 2002. Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1946-1975. Revised 4th Ed. Krause Publications, Iola, WI.
- Langworth, Richard M. and Jan P. Norbye; 1985. The Complete History of Chrysler Corporation 1924-1985. Publications International, Skokie, IL.
- Wikipedia; 2025. “Dodge Dart.” Page last edited on Feb. 13.
ADVERTISING & BROCHURES
- oldcaradvertising.com: Dodge Dart (1971, 1973)
I wonder if the Dart Demon would have been more lucky if it was named Charger instead like its A-body counterparts from Australia and South Africa. Someone posted some vintage scans from Car magazine (South Africa counterpart of Motor Trend, Car & Driver, Wheels magazine, Autocar) showing the South African Charger. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ifhp97/49438222607