A Happy Bellwether

By
eric
-
53
1636
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Elections do have consequences – irrespective of whether you voted. Because others did. One of the consequences of last week’s presidential election is that Dodge just announced it will be bringing the gas-engined version of the new Charger out first – and sooner.

When Dodge canceled the gas-engined Charger (and Challenger) after the end of the 2023 model year, it was announced that the replacement for both models would be a Charger-shaped device. That is to say, a battery-powered app on wheels called Charger. One that needed to be charged for the app to work.

This was dreary news for fans of the Charger – and Challenger – who like big American cars with big V8 engines. These two were the last of them and their forced retirement – on account of the inability of big V8s or even V6s to “comply” with federal regs designed to force their retirement – was and continues to be a source of pain and resentment for those who like these kinds of cars.

But as tough as it was to accept that the Charger and Challenger were being – effectively – forced off the market by people such as the ones recently repudiated by an electoral and popular vote tsunami – it was insult added to injury to discover that the name would return, affixed to a device.

A battery powered “Charger” being something akin to a gay pride rainbow flag painted on the roof of the General Lee. With Bo and Luke holding hands inside.

No offense intended.

There is a place – maybe – for battery powered vehicles. But it is not the place once occupied by the Charger and Challenger.

Some believed – as I did and said, publicly – that Dodge cancelling the Charger and Challenger may have been fatal all by itself because it cut out the beating heart of the brand. Dodge without a Charger/Challenger is like VW – back in the day – without a Beetle. But the stake through the heart, arguably, would be to affront the people who loved Dodge because it offered models like the Charger and Challenger by affixing that name to another battery powered device.

Just like everyone else is being – effectively – forced to manufacture.

Another device that looks like a Charger but is not much different from a Tesla. The market needs that like Rachel Levine needs a pair of pants.

The happy news is that – it appears – Dodge will be bringing forth a Charger that is not a device. The device version is now apparently on the backburner. It was supposed to have been first, with an engine-powered alternative scheduled to arrive second. Now that’s been reversed, according to Mopar Insiders, as well as some inside sources who have told the same – off the record – to this writer. The 2025 Charger SixPack will be powered by a version of the new inline six that has already replaced the V8 in a number of Stellantis (i.e., Jeep and Ram) vehicles. It will be paired up with a hybrid system, of course – because otherwise it could not be “compliant.”

The hybrid system creates a loophole for engined vehicles by shutting off the engine as often as feasible, as when the vehicle is “idling” and when it is coasting or decelerating. This reduces the “emissions” of the environmentally beneficial gas, carbon dioxide – which must be done to comply with the regs. But it also eliminates all of the annoyances that come along for the (short) ride when a device is tethered to a cord. The engine lets you keep on driving – and fueling up takes just a few minutes rather than half an hour or longer.

This might just save Dodge and just in the nick of time – because Dodge right now is withering on the vine, lacking much to sell. It has the Hornet – a small crossover – and the Durango, a large SUV. And that’s not much to sustain a brand. Or keep dealers in business.

If these dealers were forced – effectively – to take inventory possession of devices they could not sell, it would likely mean the end of these (Dodge) dealerships and thus the Dodge brand, too. But a Charger that does not have to be charged might just attract buyers who want a car that’s at least something more like the old Charger and Challenger under the skin. And the skin does look good. Two and four-door versions are coming – and both do credit to the Charger name.

Elections have consequences.

Maybe, just maybe, the plug can be pulled for good.

. . .

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Related posts:
  1. How to Make Something Pretty Ugly
  2. All Hope is Not Lost!
  3. Why no Charger?
  4. Where’s the Charger?
  5. Dodge and Pontiac . . .

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53 COMMENTS

  1. A 6 cylinder charger with no v8 is like a Harley Davidson with a modern, quiet 4 cylinder motor. 90% of the people buying those were buying for the cool sounds and will walk without them.

  2. They need to bring back the V8 Charger. Lee Zeldin should scrap all CO2 emission requirement dictates. Muscle car buyers do not want hybrids.

  3. So, since the election of a different dictator we may see an automotive
    reprieve – until the next Republican or Democrat dictator is elected.
    Which knee do I bend in thankfulness?

    Seems the Constitution is just “a goddamned piece of paper”.

    • Hi Liberty,

      This could be the beginning of a sea change if handled right and if we’re lucky. We did not arrive at the place we’re in overnight – or in four years.But a lot can change in 12 years. Orange has four. Vance potentially eight more.And maybe even more after that – if the culture changes – and it may have done so already. Just maybe.

  5. I will never buy a new car again. They offer nothing compelling, and more importantly, anything that stirs the soul. Nothing that creates a Pavlovian impulse in a car enthusiast. It is no wonder that used cars that enthusiasts liked from the 80s/90s and 2000s are all going up….new cars are utter trash.

    When you factor in how expensive cars are now, bc ICE cars are now subsidizing money loser EVs, its a complete disaster. That is what happens when you cater to the wims of an insane commie govt that hates everything the average American stands for. Let it all burn down to the ground…all of it. I’m done.

    Enjoy this video…he has more and I laugh hard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HwDvt2eoJc

  6. What they should do right now is put the old V6 Pentestar in it and start selling them again.
    I think the Brampton Ontario plant that made the Charger/Challenger/300 is now making Jeep compasses?. It used to print money with the charger/challenger/300.
    While the new Hurricane I6TT is a pretty cool engine, it is, as most are these days, a very high energy engine with 22 to 26 pounds of boost. wow. It’s built to handle it, with race car like materials, etc… But, no one will buy this I6TT in a hybrid trim in a Charger. No one.
    Heck, the Wagoneers and Ram that use it aren’t hybrid’d. Jeez.

    • I will add that the old V6 Pentastar is still being made. Goes in the Grand Cherokee still and Durango. maybe others. I just looked and they are still offering the 6.2 Hemi but only in the durango as far as I can tell. $100K, no one is buying these.
      The regular 5.7 hemi is gone gone, meaning the plant has scrapped the line. Not coming back. Unless they do a re-design and I don’t see that happening with these socialist owners.
      And they should put the new I6TT in the Grand Cherokee (no hybrid!!!), but I heard a rumor that only the 4cyl-T (4xE) will be the future of Grand Cherokee, how stupid can ya get, we’ll never buy one, after 3 of them.

  9. Chrysler/Dodge’s swan song. The company (Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep?Ram. Not the CIA) is just about out-of-business. Will they leave us on a positive note? Will they even be allowed to? It all remains to be seen. As someone else said, I won’t believe it till I see it.

  10. I shall hold my breath until I see it in the sheetmetal, plastic, glass, and rubber. This poor car has been delayed, delayed, delayed so long I have my doubts.

    But should it be built I will be very interested to see it. Perhaps they can tilt the engine over 30 degrees like the old Slant Six. Could work.

  11. The DumCuntCrats plan is to get the little voting death cult retardz out of their cars to clear the roadways for the political terrorist elites…15 minutes cities is going to happen. That is now being delayed for a little while. I still doubt the terrorists will allow Trump back into the Whore…err…White House. I doubt Chrysler and Dodge can recover.

  12. Hopefully, once they create the I6 version, they will eventually create a V8 version after one or two model years. Isn’t that what happened with the Mustang II?

    • Even easier: tilt two I6’s 30 degrees each, in opposite directions. Stitch them together and you’ve got a V12, with prestige worthy of an inaugural parade.

      MAGA: Make Automobiles Great Again

  13. Now the question is: Would the new Charger platform even be able to accommodate the Hemi? I actually like the sheetmetal, but it being electric, hybrid and no V8….. I guess the consolation prize is that it’s at least a V6 and not another 2.0…..

    Guessing the development began before Sergio Marchionne passed away. So it probably started with Hemi included as an engine choice. So I would think it was possible. If Dodge could find its balls and Trump manages to roll back some of the regs…..

    I know, I am dreaming.

    • “I guess the consolation prize is that it’s at least a V6 and not another 2.0…..”

      Alas, it’s a “straight” (I6) six and not a V.:

      “The 2025 Charger SixPack will be powered by a version of the new inline six that has already replaced the V8 in a number of Stellantis (i.e., Jeep and Ram) vehicles.”

  15. Dodge figured out that there is no market for a battery-powered Charger/Challenger. Whoddathunkit?

    There must be buyers standing in line to purchase a new Dodge Charger, pre-orders are booked already.

    Eight cylinders can’t be beat.

  16. I can’t celebrate. Let’s get some perspective here. A hybrid 6 cylinder hitting the market, no matter how pretty is not a win. Just a few years ago they were making Hemi V8s that the market demanded. Now, they’ve been regulated out of existence by government parasites.

    The bastards took a ribeye steak off of your plate and gave you warm tofu and you’re happy about it.

    Screw every last one of them and anyone in the industry who didn’t defy them.

    Looky there, crate engines are still cheap.

    https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mll-bp38318ctc1d

    • Incrementally, this is how they win. Concession after concession until we can’t even remember the freedom we had in the before times.

      Sorry about my hotheaded writing above, but I’m just sick of it all. Sick of the incremental loss of freedom and seeing other liberty minded folks celebrating 2 steps back and 1 step forward as a “step in the right direction”.

      I too am naively optimistic about Trump’s chance to roll back government, but I won’t be at all surprised when it doesn’t happen.

  17. As RK says there is now a DOGE coin meme, hopefully they will cut the size of government to a reasonable size. That of course being what the constitution actually states as being in the purview of government. The odds of that actually happening are slim but it would be priceless when the purple haired soy boy is informed he’s in the militia now and needs to have a M4 for weekend training.

    In other news Scotty Kilmer has pointed out that Stelantis is selling off their American prooving grounds. That shows their confidence in remaining afloat. Battery power is a good idea for portable tools but not the best idea to move a vehicle. Steam anyone?

    • [The odds of that actually happening– cut the size of gov –are slim…] Landru

      Doesn’t look good… The savior just added another useless agency.

  18. The unintended consequences of the greenies agenda is rarely addressed. Good on you Eric for continuing to point out the tremendous cost of these fractional reductions. Never minding the EV movement is based on the false premise of the evil of Co2, the amount of toxic, solid waste in the landfills is a problem.

    These car companies deserve to fail. They drank the koolaid, without pushing back. Don’t want anymore of my tax going to bail them out. It will be interesting to see how orange man handles that. my guess is we’ll get all kind of convoluted pretzel logic about how we must bail them out, and its different when our guy does it..

    Its now the same with all types of appliances, made to be replaced, not repaired. I have an old outside fridge/freezer in my open air barn thats older than me, keeps things cold even in the heat of summer. a new fridge/freezer, used under similar conditions would probably fail in the first year.

  19. You know, I personally have always been a fan of straight sixes (CIS sixes?). But the all American V8 has a special place in the heart of every car guy. Why the heck doesn’t anyone make a modern V8 in a small displacement? The legendary 8BA Ford flathead was 239 cubic inches (3.9 liters in communist units). Older flatheads were even smaller, down 136 cubic inches (2.2 commie liters). My 88 Allante has a 4.1 pushrod V8 and makes a very satisfying rumble and a tolerable 185 horses.

    Both make all the right sounds and feels, why wouldn’t a modern 3.9 pushrod V8 with computer optimized heads and engine management, maybe some forced induction, not be viable and (importantly) marketable?

  20. I know Elon has been a rent seeking leach on the backs of the auto industry making money selling carbon credits not cars. But it must be schadenfreude to know that all the liberals especially in California who bought a tesla, must be downloading their tesla’s by uploading to Craigslist to sell their devices after the election. The Libs can’t stand the guy who they thought was one of their own and they owned.

    Love him or hate him, I heard Elon had a very astute idea on laying off half of the government dead weight sinecures in Washington DC. If you announce mass layoffs, they will sabotage and lawyer up under class action lawfare on the way out the door. Offer them a 2-year severance and generous early retirement packages. Better to buy them off and they go away and not return to work. Get ready for the *Bob’s* meeting to discuss “What is it you exactly do around here?

    • Another idea is to move the office to someplace in the middle of nowhere, say the northern edge of North Dakota where it’s really cold. Severance packages and early retirement for anyone not wanting to go there, buh-bye.

        • -58 F in Northern Minnesota is cold, Lake Superior will be frozen over.

          The northern tier counties in the state of North Dakota have numerous empty farmsteads that can be bought for not a lot. Numerous small towns have plenty of good real estate for sale.

          Mechanization moved farmers off of the farmsteads and into the small towns in the area. Machines, man. Drive the pickup truck to the field then back to the house with running water, electricity, heat, pure luxury for a hick dirt farmer in the sticks.

          Farming does have attrition, not as many are needed out there in the wilderness.

          Don’t go to landwatch dot whatever, over-priced and stuff.

          -20 F on a sunny day in the winter with no wind is not really all that cold. The night skies are incredible.

          16 degrees F on the high plains of Colorado is just as cold.

          Art on cave walls in France meant the folks there were living in the caves because the countryside was covered with snow and ice.

          You had to hunt to stay alive and live in subterranean digs.

          Real climate change does happen.

    • Another way to end the bureaucracy – stop hiring any more employees.
      With attrition, it would soon be controlled. Don’t fire anyone, and
      keep the promised pensions. The support would be there.

      • Donald Trump is a businessman, an executive, a CEO. He needs to do what businesses often do: institute a hiring freeze and offer buyouts.

  21. This video came up on the feed last night. While I’m sure the hosts are cherry picking examples, there seems to be 2023 Chrysler/Jeep/Ram vehicles, brand new, still sitting on dealer lots.

    This brand new 2023 Cherokee has been sitting on this lot for an insane 500 Days. This Dodge Charger has been sitting here unsold and collecting lot rot for 214 days. The poor leadership of these Stellantis brands has totally alienated the average consumer and now the decision to focus on Wealthy customers has totally backfired on them in a huge huge way…

    How can a dealer hold these cars for 500 days? That’s got to be costing them a boatload to keep that loan on the books. How are they going to get (and where are they going to park) the 2025s? It might almost be worth it to go into the rental business and open up a Hertz franchise just to get them off the lot.

  22. Any worry about a platform that can accommodate two radically different propulsion systems depending on which way the wind blows? Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad for the weather change but I feel like this would have, HAVE to be a brilliant piece of engineering to overcome the old wisdom, that no man can serve two masters…

    • Hi Mike,

      There are already hybrid and non-hybrid iterations of various vehicles, so I imagine it’s not that big a jump to go from making one with a hybrid system and the other with just the hybrid (i.e., the electric) side. In any event, some good news!

    • I believe modern C.A.D. (Computer Aided Design) is saving their engineering bacon.
      3D modeling via computer & then data available for manufacturing is a godsend.

      Engine bay designed for both & stress analysis for all the related parts done and done.

      My first exposure to all this was 30 plus years ago in aerospace. Aircraft production is a tough one making big and little parts fit together and “fly right”. One of our managers: “A million parts flying in close formation at near the speed of sound”

      I’m sure 30 years on the computing power and software for design/build is pretty amazing.

  23. Trump appointed Musk and Ramaswamy to lead something called the Department of Government Efficiency. Talk about an oxymoron. With hope the EPA comes under their crosshairs and Trump has the sense to listen.

    Personally, I prefer the Ron Paul approach: if it ain’t in the Constitution, then it shouldn’t exist.

  24. ‘The device version … was supposed to have been first, with an engine-powered alternative scheduled to arrive second. Now that’s been reversed.‘ — eric

    Whether or not it’s too late to save Dodge, this move is deeply symbolic, and will be copied by others. EeeVee sales suck, even with lavish subsidies. Should those subsidies be repealed, EeeVee sales will fall off a cliff.

    Treasury ‘Secretary’ Yellen extended EeeVee subsidies to leased vehicles, even though the statute didn’t say that. The incoming TreasSec can reverse Yellen’s scofflaw diktat at the stroke of a pen, plunging a shiv into the stomach of subsidized EeeVee leasing.

    Conceptually, a Charger with a 3-liter inline six is appealing. But since it likely will be automatic only, and equipped with all the usual spyware and nanny monitoring, chances are I’ll quickly dismiss it in favor of vintage vehicles.

    The auto industry is building vehicles that I don’t want at any price, including free. #FAIL #CHAPTER 7 #WHO FRIGGIN’ CARES

  25. Love it!

    It’s a great sign, but may be just too little, too late.
    In order to bring the Hemi back, Stellantis would likely have to hire back all the designers and release engineers – as Cheapskate Carlos already gutted the tech center.

    I’m led to believe that Stellantis North America is a liability and the only way out is ANOTHER bailout.

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