Manoli Katakis 
The Dodge Charger has sold over 80,000 units annually for seven consecutive years, and just came off of the best Q3 it’s had in 13 years. The high-performing Charger Scat Pack in particular just had a record month. And over time, the four-door muscle car has emerged to be the best selling vehicle in the entire full-size sedan segment.
So, as it turns out, it’s necessarily that the segment itself is shriveling up. That just pertains to the boring models. Not only that, but the potent Charger has been able to bring in buyers from the shrinking two-door muscle car/pony car segment.
“We actually see a lot of people coming in from Mustang and Camaro. It’s a sedan, but we see (two-door) muscle car buyers getting into it,” according to Dodge Charger marketing manager Ashton Muñoz in an interview with MC&T.
Another vehicle in the FCA stable that’s been pulling muscle car buyers away has been the JL Jeep Wrangler.
“We like to theorize that you’ve had a muscle car your whole life, and you’re in that next stage (with a family), but you still want something fun. You can have it with the (Dodge Charger),” he said.
At the same time, customers driving more tame full-size sedans such as the Toyota Avalon and Chevrolet Impala aren’t looking to fall into the ranks of The Brotherhood of Muscle and seize the savings of Dodge Power Dollars.
“We don’t see a lot of conquest from ‘normal’ full-size sedans. It’s (literally) the muscle cars and trucks,” Muñoz disclosed, without irony. “F-150, Silverado, yeah… Mustang, Camaro and F-150 are kind of the top three.”
Some brands have made the effort to rival the Dodge Charger, but results have been futile.
“The (discontinued) Ford Taurus SHO was decently powerful and had all-wheel-drive, but it was still a Taurus… Impala has zero performance trim levels, and the only (Chevy) that was close to the Charger was the SS sedan, which is no longer,” he said. “The Toyota Avalon just came out with a TRD… they’re trying, I get it, they may be see what we’re doing and hoping to get a piece of that performance market. But what you look at their actual additions for performance, they only did an exhaust and tightened up the steering and suspension. And it’s still front wheel drive. We’re the only RWD car in that segment.”
Lastly, it’s not just the looks, the drivetrain, or the fun badges. It’s the bang for the buck, and, like the Dodge Challenger, not overcomplicating the formula.
“When people are paying $40-grand for almost 500 horsepower, to me, is one of the reasons why it’s been super popular. It comes with Brembos, it comes with 20 inch wheels, and all of the ways you can customize it. Like the satin roof and hood, the Hellcat wheels, and the Widebody now. We’re looking to see a lot of success with the Widebody from people getting into the Scat Pack.”
One Comment
Leave a ReplyOne Ping
Pingback:RSS to WP (T2) – The Automobile On Modern Society