Dodge announces 2023 will be the "last call" for ICE powered for Challenger and Charger cars.
Makes me a little sad. Dodge has gotten great mileage out of that platform and engine architecture with very small, well spaced updates (interior, LED tails, then more power and editions). The ROI must be insane, and I can't believe how well it has carried the torch against the Mustang and Camaro without feeling long in the tooth (like the Nissan Z or Frontier).
But all good things must come to an end.
fasted58 said:Dodge will offer a body in white and a rolling chassis.
If I wanted a stripped Charger or Challenger chassis I'd just check Co-Part in any major city. Plenty of empty shells.
Despite the dirtbag image, I always liked these cars. The Challenger has been the best-looking American pony car since it came out, and it still is.
Pour one out for the end of an era.
Detroit has been known to jump the gun with announcements, and I predict this will be one.
I have no pony(car) in this race, so it matters not, to me.
In reply to yupididit :
Can't speak for Tom on his definition, but, remember that human trash former buddy of mine that parked his car in front of my house, threatened to kick down my door and fist fight me in my own driveway?
He drove a 2017 Charger R/T.
That definitely qualifies as a dirtbag.
In RVA their owners are somehow the worst of cars and coffee mustangs and highway time trial altimas wrapped into one.
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:The Challenger has been the best-looking American pony car since it came out, and it still is.
Challenger is ugly. They took the original one, chopped it in half halfway between the ground and beltline, added 8" of mid-section, then glued it back together and put it through a soft focus to get it all rounded.
The proportions are way off on all of it. Its ugly.
The models that have flares at the wheels at least break up the horrible lines, but that's not doing much for all of it.
yupididit said:In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :
Enlighten me on the dirtbag image?
They seem to attract a certain kind of young, aggressive male owner. So do all pony cars, but for whatever reason, the Dodges do it... more. Every time they bust someone for illegal drag racing on the news, they are in a Charger or Challenger.
AClockworkGarage said:But what will awful people drive poorly now? 4 door jeeps with fabricated bumpers?
Well, obviously, the EV versions of the Challenger and Charger, with twice the torque, and probably some stupid loud sound system to keep up the audio torture they have gotten used to.
(realistically, you will probably see a lot of Chargers and Challengers driven way beyond the point you normally would, think Joe Dirt)
I am starting to think the US car manufacturers might be jumping a bit too heavily into the EV game, I mean, there are still serious limitations to them for a lot of people.
There is definitely a "billy badass" thing with Challengers. They are decent looking cars though, if little too big for a Pony car, in my opinion.
In reply to yupididit :
In Chicago the gang bangers (dirt bags) were specifically hitting up these cars.
Something I've wondered about is how there are TV ads all the time for the Charger and Challenger, but I've never seen a single one for the current Mustang or Camaro.
AClockworkGarage said:But what will awful people drive poorly now? 4 door jeeps with fabricated bumpers?
Hey, wait a minute, I drive a Jeep Gladiator!!!! I guess I need to go build some bumpers for it.
It's surprising they lasted as long as they did. I still occasionally look at 6 speed manual Challengers.
While it's just a concept, the proposed EV replacement doesn't look bad. Supposedly, some version of this will be introduced in 2024:
I'm sure the front "wing" won't make it to production, but it's an interesting styling element:
Datsun310Guy said:In reply to yupididit :
In Chicago the gang bangers (dirt bags) were specifically hitting up these cars.
We've had a few Hellcats stolen that way out of the employee lot at the Toledo Jeep complex. One was a Hellcat Challenger that belonged to a buddy of mine. It was found less than a week later in California.
Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:I'm sure the front "wing" won't make it to production, but it's an interesting styling element:
During the unveiling, the head of Dodge specifically mentioned the front wing, and how critical it was to performance and improved aerodynamics, comparing it to the aero of the original Charger Daytona. He followed with comments about how their goal was to improve the aero over the current Charger by 25%. This seems like a big part of the vehicle's design and intent, so it's probably staying for production.
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