Goodbye Challenger & Charger

[Morris Minor]

Dodge will discontinue its Challenger and Charger muscle cars next year

Dodge will discontinue its gas-powered Challenger and Charger muscle cars at the end of next year, marking the end of an era for the brand as it starts to transition to electric vehicles.

More:
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/15/dodge-challenger-charger-to-be-discontinued-in-2023.html

[dazzleman]

This is sad news.  Those cars were the most convincing reproduction of their original versions from the early 1970s.

[Eye of the Tiger]

It was a very, very old platform. Too bad they are joining the dark side.

[CaminoRacer]

I thought people were saying that updates were coming soon, and not EV yet

[veeman]

I should buy a V8 orange Challenger, drain all its fluids and take out the battery, and then keep it covered in a storage unit somewhere dry (like Arizona).  Then sell it 25 years from now at Barrett-Jackson.

[Eye of the Tiger]

I should buy a V8 orange Challenger, drain all its fluids and take out the battery, and then keep it covered in a storage unit somewhere dry (like Arizona).  Then sell it 25 years from now at Barrett-Jackson.

It takes money to make money.

[Morris Minor]

I should buy a V8 orange Challenger, drain all its fluids and take out the battery, and then keep it covered in a storage unit somewhere dry (like Arizona).  Then sell it 25 years from now at Barrett-Jackson.

That's actually a reasonable long term strategy for collectors. Pick the ones that are rarer: expensive, high-trim, most powerful.

I think Stellantis will fail & undergo zombification: functionally dead but kept walking by using governments to reach into taxpayers' pockets. Bits of GM's flesh are beginning to smell a bit rotten too.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

This is sad news.  Those cars were the most convincing reproduction of their original versions from the early 1970s.

Agreed!

It was a very, very old platform. Too bad they are joining the dark side.

[cawimmer430]

An "electric sports car" just seems so wrong.

Yeah, it will be neck-snapping fast but so what? You want a driving experience with a sports car and this also includes either controlling the gears or enjoying the harmony between the engine and automated transmission, not to mention the sound an engine makes.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a40921430/dodge-charger-daytona-srt-concept-ev/

[FoMoJo]

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a40921430/dodge-charger-daytona-srt-concept-ev/

The Daytona SRT will have an 800-volt electrical architecture called Banshee. Powertrain specs aren't available, but Dodge claims it will be faster than a Hellcat.

Banshee~supernatural being in Irish and other Celtic folklore whose mournful "keening," or wailing screaming or lamentation, at night was believed to foretell the death of a member of the family of the person who heard the spirit.

I had heard decades ago that GM was first going to name the Camaro "Banshee"...until someone looked up the definition.

[Soup DeVille]

The Daytona SRT will have an 800-volt electrical architecture called Banshee. Powertrain specs aren't available, but Dodge claims it will be faster than a Hellcat.

Banshee~supernatural being in Irish and other Celtic folklore whose mournful "keening," or wailing screaming or lamentation, at night was believed to foretell the death of a member of the family of the person who heard the spirit.

I had heard decades ago that GM was first going to name the Camaro "Banshee"...until someone looked up the definition.

The Banshee was the concept car that guided the styling of the fourth generation Camaro/Firebirds.

[giant_mtb]

https://youtu.be/pzQNrVqg_8Q

[Morris Minor]

Fake muscle car noises to confirm your wanker status with neighbors. Some intern probably told him that to gain acceptance early automobiles used to drop horse shit in the road.

Stellantis is terminally fucked.

[Soup DeVille]

The more I think about this (which is way too much admittedly), the more it pisses me off.

Let's start with the practical aspect; What will this car cost? $70k? And how much of that is spent on creating fake vroomy-vroom noises to fool dimbulb boomers? $1000? $2000? Whatever it is: that expense came out of something else in the car- something else that could have been made better, or more reliable. Maybe its better seating material- maybe its another pair of speakers for actual music. Maybe its just some extra corrosion resistance. Whatever; they've played to the idiots rather than make a better car.

Not to mention its fucking embarassing. I almost guarantee the first thing a lot of people are going to do is rip all that out. Any performance modification is going to start with that, and then deprogramming the fake gearshifts that literally can't do anything other than slow the car down.

This keeps reminding me of pictures I've seen of very early automobiles that had the busts of horses affixed to their fronts in order to not scare the other horses on the street. It was stupid then, but at least them you were trying to fool dumb-assed beasts of burden, not, well... well shit, maybe it is the same thing.

[CaminoRacer]

It's spot-on for what I expect out of Dodge, though.

[Morris Minor]

It's spot-on for what I expect out of Dodge, though.

It needs a Kleenex dispenser so owners can badger the witness without messing up the upholstery.

[r0tor]

I actually think it looks good and sounds good... Toned down to a production car version it might be fairly entertaining

[giant_mtb]

I think it sounds stupid. Fake engine sounds have never been cool. Sure, they're making "real" noise with some sort of fan/tube/chamber system...but it's still just fake engine sound that sounds like shit compared to a real engine.

[r0tor]

I think it sounds stupid. Fake engine sounds have never been cool. Sure, they're making "real" noise with some sort of fan/tube/chamber system...but it's still just fake engine sound that sounds like shit compared to a real engine.

To me it sounds like every electric Hollywood car... Saying that, I was hoping one one day massively loud exhausts would go the way of the dodo

[FoMoJo]

The more I think about this (which is way too much admittedly), the more it pisses me off.

Let's start with the practical aspect; What will this car cost? $70k? And how much of that is spent on creating fake vroomy-vroom noises to fool dimbulb boomers? $1000? $2000? Whatever it is: that expense came out of something else in the car- something else that could have been made better, or more reliable. Maybe its better seating material- maybe its another pair of speakers for actual music. Maybe its just some extra corrosion resistance. Whatever; they've played to the idiots rather than make a better car.

Not to mention its fucking embarassing. I almost guarantee the first thing a lot of people are going to do is rip all that out. Any performance modification is going to start with that, and then deprogramming the fake gearshifts that literally can't do anything other than slow the car down.

This keeps reminding me of pictures I've seen of very early automobiles that had the busts of horses affixed to their fronts in order to not scare the other horses on the street. It was stupid then, but at least them you were trying to fool dumb-assed beasts of burden, not, well... well shit, maybe it is the same thing.

I can't see any boomer car guys giving this thing a second look.  They're into authenticity.  For that matter, I can't imagine anyone wanting one of these fake muscle cars.

Now if they amplified that actual motor sounds...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ0CU0-PzQc

That might be cool.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Can you at least turn it off? Maybe change it to a V12 or a diesel locomotive?

[CaminoRacer]

Real electric motor noise can still be cool. High end RC cars sound cool.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Real electric motor noise can still be cool. High end RC cars sound cool.

I predict straight cut gear mods for the ultimate racing whine.

[veeman]

It reminds me of an Orlando theme park ride. 

[CALL_911]

Looks good, but why is Dodge so hell bent on being the "cheap trick" brand? This thing is cheesy, stylistically at least.

[r0tor]

Looks good, but why is Dodge so hell bent on being the "cheap trick" brand? This thing is cheesy, stylistically at least.

They understand their market - the 80th percentile muscle car buyer is a massive poser

[565]

https://youtu.be/pzQNrVqg_8Q

That product intro was surprisingly honest.  The car world is going electric, SUVs have replaced the sedan.  It's all true.  Adapt or go extinct.

[AutobahnSHO]

That product intro was surprisingly honest.  The car world is going electric, SUVs have replaced the sedan.  It's all true.  Adapt or go extinct.

Agree on the intro. 
I think there will still be need for ICE, the entire world isn't all within one battery charge.

As far as that video-
The revving sounds are retarded. And MAN those tires are FAT.