"The marriage many of us in the media considered made in hell has turned out a winner."
That from writer John McCormick of The Detroit News Autos Insider, who raves about the don't-call-it-a-station-wagon Magnum RT, Dodge's latest pavement-smoking adventure in radical design. McCormick is particularly enthusiastic about the balletic interplay between the Magnum RT's good ol' American Hemi V8, 340 horses of pushrod magic, and its German-made Getrag five-speed automatic tranny, which shifts up and down seamlessly — kind of like, forgive me the obvious metaphor, clockworks.
All of that, plus a suspension shared with the Mercedes E-Class that provides a pleasing mix of give and take, in the European handling tradition, adds up to an intercontinental success story few thought would get past "once upon a time."
Hear that, Ford? I'm still waiting for an Aston Martin/Mazda partnership.