Dodge is getting out of the gas-powered muscle car business, and getting out of business is good for business.
Shoppers have been snapping up the last Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger models since the company announced this would be the final year for both.
Industry publication Automotive News explains, “The Charger has had sales gains for the past four quarters, while the Challenger just posted its third consecutive positive quarter.”
Last Call Special Editions
Dodge announced last year that its big, rear-wheel-drive cars would exit forever at the end of 2023. The automaker has been sending them off with a series of Last Call special editions, each built in limited numbers.
They include:
- Challenger Shakedown
- Charger Super Bee
- Challenger and Charger Scat Pack Swinger
- Charger King Daytona
- Challenger Black Ghost
- Challenger SRT Demon 170
No More Waiting for Someday
Buyers can’t order them directly from Dodge. Instead, Dodge has allocated each to dealers in small quantities. But the company tracks which dealership will get which car with a Horsepower Tracker tool on its Dodge Garage website. Buyers instead go to dealerships to place their orders.
Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis tells AN that the company knows it created a sense of urgency by announcing the end. “All those people are thinking I’m going to get a muscle car someday — someday I’m going to get it,” he says, “We just told them when ‘someday’ was because we said this is it.”
Most Selling at Sticker Price
You might expect demand to push prices up, but Kuniskis says 60% of Last Call models have sold at sticker price. Dodge wanted to ensure dreamers wouldn’t get priced out of the market by collectors. To ensure that happened, the company enacted a unique strategy — buyers who pay sticker go to the front of the line.
Since each will be built in limited numbers, paying a higher price to jump the line could leave a collector without a car. “If you paid over sticker, you’re going to get pushed to the end of the line, and we may not build that car,” Kuniskis said.
What’s Next? An ‘Electric Muscle Car’
What’s next for Dodge? The company may get out of the V8 business but won’t leave its snarling performance-car image behind. Last year, Dodge showed off an electric muscle car, complete with an intimidating rev sound and an actual shifting transmission. The company hasn’t said when it will reach production.
But the factory that builds Charger and Challenger cars will have nothing better to do in seven months.
