I flew the Devil's Chariot for the first time in ages this past weekend (MSN - DTW re-route from MSN - ATL). They did offer us row 1 as "C+" when re-booking us but I declined (we both had small backpack and preferred to have them under the seat in front of us instead of the overhead.
It wasn't nearly as bad as I remember it but we were certainly helped by the fact that it was (a) a short flight and (b) a perfect day weather-wise