But WHY?! Can ANYONE Tell Us WHY The Dodge Challenger Is BEATING The Chevrolet Camaro In The Sales Race?

Challenger just looks so much better than the Camaro.

As I see it, the Dodge provides historic performance and excitement. It represents the quintessential wild muscle car experience.

I used to have a small sign hanging in my shop. It succinctly explains the motivation of why people do wild things.
It read: "Do it today...for tomorrow it may be illegal."

@skytop is right. Performance aplenty when you get a Hemi, Hellcat or Demon. Calls out to one of the cleanest designs ever put on the road. And, importantly, if you opt for decent performance with the 6 cylinder, you have a car that looks hot but is quiet and comfortable to drive.

I would add that they keep it fresh from a marketing point of view. Names like Hellcat, Demon etc... get peoples attention. The Camaro has a new LT1 option but it just does not grab a person like Hellcat does. Maybe Chevy should get with Yenko, Baldwin Motion etc... to put some new special models together again??

The mere fact that Chevrolet has not capitalized on "Yenko" like Ford capitalizes on "Shelby" just goes to show how poorly run GM is.

When Chevy moved the Camaro to the Alpha Platform - they made a HUGE Mistake
THe styling of the car was literally the same - it was hard to tell a new one from the older ones - and they paid the price for that. In addition, they overpriced the higher performance Camaros as well. Since that time - Chevy has done Nothing really to change that situation - reducing prices on some cars this year - but the basic styling problem remains - and until they do something about the styling - the car just gets older and older.

Thumbs down for Camaro styling

The Challenger is a fantastic looking product and it is relatively durable and reliable. It looks like a Challenger should look. It does not force you to drive a 4 cylinder if you buy the base model.

On one hand I fear what Fiat would do to it with a full model replacement, but one is so long overdue.

The Camaro does not look like a Camaro. The move the the Alpha platform was a total dud because the new car looked old. The new front end is hideous. GM has serious problems with styling across the board and the Aztek designer who is evidently still employed has ruined the Camaro and Silverado for sales with ugly styling.

For me, the Mustang does not look "Mustangy" enough so I am hoping that then in migrates to CD6 in two years that it is--for its day--as perfectly a Mustang as was the 2005.

FCA doesnt have the money for a properly developed replacement as evidenced by their entire pathetic product line

The Giorgio is a good platform, but the electrical components are total garbage. By now Giorgio versions of the Challenger, Charger, and Ghibli should have come to market. Alfa Romeo could solve their issues with a Hemi Giula as their base model and use the far more reliable LX wiring harness and given how the Giorgio was derived that would be simple to do.

Ditto all of the above. Chevy is clueless and Dodge "gets it" despite very limited resources. Dodge punches well above its weight. When life deals you lemons make lemonade.

The article shows the Mustang is gaining market share. I believe the Mustang and Camaro are more cross shopped. So as the Mustang does more and more right, it is lowering Camaro sales at a higher pace. 5.0 and GT continues to be sought after badges. Shelby absolutely helps get people in the door. My bet is many come in wanting a Shelby and settle on a high speced 5.0 GT

100% correct. The 5.0 is so good that the extra cost of the GT350 just isn't that justifiable for a lot of people. If the Mustang looked like a Mustang, it would be even more formidable. The Fusion face of the 2015 did it no favors and the update did not get rid of the Fusion face. Believe me. Dealers are being extremely vocal about styling and there is a growing chant to offer a V6 base option again. For our dealer, the cancellation of the V6 produced a sales loss of those units. For us the V6 easily outsold the Ecocrap. The $25K base V6 Mustangs were an easy sell as were the $40K 5.0s. The Ecoturd lags.

Agree with you on two fronts. I was not a fan of the Focus front. While it has grown on me a bit, I still wish it had a more traditional Mustang front. With that said, I think the rear glass and tail lights were a home run.

Also agree killing the V6 was a big mistake. I’m chalking it up to having to comply with Obama era CAFE standards.

But in my opinion, a Mustang should only be had with a V8. A lower cost, lower horsepower V8 would be a home run. The 5.0 has gone up to premium price status, making it unattainable to many.

Ford needs to do a Mustang LX 5.0. When they sold cop car Mustangs to the people, it sold very well. A base interior Mustang with a V8 instead of the Ecopoop would sell like mad. There a lot of blingy stuff and luxury items that could be deleted.

A very cute young teacher drives a 2010 "Pink Panther" Furious Fuchsia coloured edition of the Challenger to work at the school near my house. Only on dry days she said. It looks as good as she does driving it. Heritage styling sells. It isn't rocket science. It amazes me that GM and Ford struggle to figure this out. the new Land Rover Defender is going to suffer the same fate with "modern styling". Mercedes did not fail with the new G-Wagon. They delivered a high riding box with locking diff's, exactly what their clients wanted.

The Defender needed to look like 1945 in 2020.

@MD-Easy to say but seemingly so hard to do. I fail to understand why. Offer it in Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom green with a white roof and stand back and take orders.

@CC Easy to say and easy to do.

its based on a several generations old e class underneath just like the 300 is so its probably the combination of relatively low price for performance. the camaro is still a quasi retro overpriced car that gm has messed up the styling on [they realize this and are changing it] and terrible packaging. brand loyalties aside there are fundamental reasons for the charger to be winning but this is niche within a niche anyway

I prefer the styling of the Camaro over the Mustang. It drives better than the Mustang.
GM is less generous with incentives, but Ford and FCA have done a much better job marketing their respective products.
Especially FCA who has fewer dealers, resources and a platform that is decades old.

Do you want to tell your friends u drive a Hellcat.. Shelby... 1LE-ZL1-(xyz...)?

Camaro is UGLY and so clostrofobic you can hardly see out of it.. Uncomfortable..!!!

HP and performance don't matter as much when basic car attributes in Camaro are so poor... Makes Challenger and Mustang easier choice...!

Are you listening GM..... Not!!!

Plus 2020 Camaro facelift is still Ugly and new model is LT1... Not to be confused with 1LT.. 2LT.. 3LT... Right...!!!???

You can't see jack crap out of the Camaro! Horrible visibility!

The Charger is old as dirt but still rocks in the looks department. The rebirth of the Camaro was cool at first but quickly faded whereas the Charger has more eternal lines that just bloody well work. Im not into muscle cars but damn I find the Charger serious eye candy even after all these years. Timeless design of the original and the latest version. Well done Dodge!

The Charger needs a massive dose of 1968 cues in the next full restyling.

Although some would have a hissy fit. I'd love to see a Challenger Roadrunner much in the manner of the Plymouth Roadrunner i.e. base everything + high-end engine.

The Camaro Chevelle???? #WTF

It's all about the programs on the car, you can walk into a Dodge dealership and get 10k any Dodge. Chevy has very little discounts while the lease is horrible and has been for a long time.
My friend also leased a Hellcat with 1500 down @ 599 a month. So very easily it's too good of a deal to pass for awhile now.

The Camaro feels and is a lot smaller than the Challenger.