Dodge Shedding Family Car Image - What Needs To Change For You Consider Them A True Performance Brand?

Dodge’s Charger SRT Hellcat is a hot-rodder’s dream: with 707 horses under the hood, it goes 204 miles per hour and devours the quarter mile in about 11 seconds.

Chrysler bills the Hellcat as the fastest production sedan on earth, and this isn’t simply about bragging rights. Dodge, derided not so long ago for selling mostly bland family haulers, is rebooting itself as a muscle-car brand that appeals to guys in their 20s and 30s.

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MDarringer - 12/26/2014 1:17:45 PM

+1 Boost

If I could wave a magic wand to redo Dodge, I would:

Reskin the Dart and make it a Chrysler 100.

Recast the Dart as a hatchback aimed at the GTI.

Borrow the Stealth name for a 3 series RWD sedan.

Replace the Challenger with a smaller/lighter model.

Replace the Charger with a lighter model. The Charger finally looks good but it's just too heavy.

Borrow the Daytona name for a Mercedes CLS coupesedan competitor at American value pricing.

balldoc54 - 12/26/2014 4:09:17 PM

+1 Boost

These are great looking MUSCLE cars, but it's not a PERFORMANCE brand. It's great to have an infinite amount of horsepower, but how about some class and not just going the "uncontrollable beast" route? Make it more agile and lighter and you can start talking about "performance" brand.

As for my own personal wishlist, I want the Americans to create interiors that don't make my eyes bleed.

MDarringer - 12/26/2014 4:47:25 PM

+2 Boost

LOL Tell muscle car owners that their cars are not performance cars and you'll be speaking words that say "I want my @$$ kicked NOW!"

Performance comes in many shapes and sizes. To some a wheezing Miata is performance. For others only a Zenvo will do.

Dodge has history as an American performance brand. During the 60s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s Dodge has always had performance in the mix. The 70s were unkind to everyone, but even then they had a few bright spots there too.

Performance does not only mean Porsche

cidflekken - 12/26/2014 6:43:43 PM

+1 Boost

Quality performance. Do I want to pay $70 large for a car with 707 hp with crappy interior materials and questionable reliability? I wouldn't want pieces of the dashboard falling off as I rumble through the neighborhood or pieces of external trim flying off as I blast down the highway.

MDarringer - 12/29/2014 10:10:17 AM

+1 Boost

You're a purist and a snob, so of course the allure of American muscle performance cars is totally lost on you.

As for quality...

If we let facts pollute the picture, the Charger is less likely to need multiple trips to the dealer under warranty for a myriad of things needing fixed than the vaunted Germans.

Clearly you have not seen a Charger up close. Its fit and finish are competent.

valhallakey - 12/26/2014 8:29:57 PM

+1 Boost

Shed some weight while shedding the image :).