Everything is changing, and not necessarily for the better…
We knew this was coming but it’s still a slap to the face: Stellantis has confirmed production of the Dodge Charger and Challenger, along with the Chrysler 300, will end at the Windsor Assembly Plant next year. The facility will be retooled for the production of STLA Large platform electric cars. We don’t have a detailed timeline of when this will take place, but it does confirm the era of Dodge muscle we’ve currently been enjoying is coming to a close.
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Some will say what we’re seeing is the beginning of an even better era of Dodge muscle. They argue electric muscle cars, or e-muscle or whatever Dodge is trying to get us to call it, will be better than anything we’ve seen yet. That could be, but there are reasons to worry.
Electric vehicles cost more to produce, and that expense is absolutely passed to the consumer. One of the hallmarks of American muscle cars has traditionally been accessibility as the average Joe can buy a flashy car with a lot of power. The democratization of muscle for the masses would likely end as they become far more expensive EVs. Even if they’re faster and more powerful than those preceding them, they’ll become more like exotic supercars only the wealthy can afford to own.
The anticipated future Dodge muscle EVs are expected to be built in the Stellantis plant located in Belvidere, Illinois which currently churns out the Jeep Cherokee. In other words, expect a lot of shuffling of all the former FCA brand lineups as we close out 2023 and roll into 2024.
For now we have a lot of questions which will go unanswered. Dodge and its owner Stellantis isn’t ready to take the covers off this brave new world order and how you will love the changes it’s making behind closed doors. In the meantime, if you want to buy a new Dodge muscle car you shouldn’t wait around because a lot of people are thinking the same thing.
Source: The Detroit News
