Are the Dodge Charger and Challenger Hellcat going away in the near future?
With all the recent talk about the EPA allegedly banning race cars, rumors have surfaced about how the V8’s days are numbered, and how we might not get a Hellcat for 2018.
There is a thing called corporate average fuel economy fuel-economy standards, or CAFE for short, and in a nutshell, it’s an industrial standard that states a manufacturer must comply with an average MPG rating, so, with two gas guzzling Muscle cars in the lineup, Dodge, or rather Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), would need to produce myriad of economy oriented cars, and maybe even a hybrid.
The future looks bleak for high powered cars, especially the Hellcat , since according to the official sales figures for January, demand for cars is actually down 10%, while truck and SUV demand went up 2% and 8% respectively.
Maryann Keller auto market analysis expert spoke about this to Bloomberg
“FCA is not a company that can survive in its present form.”
Leaving the business stuff aside, it is obvious Dodge will want the Challenger and Charger with the brand and name to continue.
But, without a supercharged V8 to power it, is it still a Hellcat?
You already know the answer to that question.
There seems to be a pattern here, while more and more sport, muscle, and performance cars are being endangered, trucks and SUV’s are thriving.
Is the car enthusiast community really not buying enough new cars?
Or are the newer cars not exciting enough for their price tag?