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As you’ve in all probability heard by now, the days are numbered for the Challenger and Charger, Dodge’s muscle automobile duo that has been using on the identical LX-derived bones for roughly a decade and a half. They’ll depart us in 2024 to get replaced by an EV, seemingly very a lot impressed by the Charger Daytona idea. However issues might have gone very in a different way, as model CEO Tim Kuniskis not too long ago recounted to some journalists on Autoline’s After Hours YouTube present.
Credit score to Carscoops, which unearthed the interview that truly occurred on September 22. In it, at in regards to the 43-minute mark, Kuniskis talks a couple of scratched plan again in 2013 to develop successors to the Challenger and Charger that may have been primarily based atop Fiat Chrysler’s Giorgio platform — the exact same one which underpins the Alfa Romeo Giulia. Right here’s why that didn’t occur, within the chief govt’s phrases:
In 2013, we had a vital choice level. In 2013, we’re preparing for our investor day of 2014, and we needed to decide the place we have been going to go along with the platforms. And at the moment, you bear in mind inside FCA we had the [Giorgio] platform [used by the Giulia.] And we needed to resolve are we going to maneuver the Charger and Challenger on to the Giorgio platform?
On the Giorgio platform, we might’ve ended up with a automobile that, fairly frankly, would’ve been lighter, would’ve dealt with higher, it might’ve carried out quite a lot of the issues that individuals mentioned we have been type of laggards to the competitors on. However we checked out it and we mentioned, ‘We will try this, but when we try this, we’re going to go and compete head on with the Mustang and the Camaro.’ And fairly frankly, these are nice vehicles. They’re incredible vehicles. Why would we wish to go struggle with them of their sandbox? Let’s keep in our sandbox, and be completely completely different from them, and go left after they’re going proper and attempt to personal this house.
Alas, that was the tip of Giorgio-powered Dodge muscle. I can’t assist however chortle on the notion that FCA actively selected to not make its flagship vehicles higher, even although it had the {hardware} to get it carried out, as a result of doing so would have created an expectation that the following Challenger and Charger wanted to be nearly as good as Ford and GM’s pony vehicles on observe.
However you’ll be able to’t argue with numbers, and automaking is a enterprise, in any case. Final 12 months, Dodge shifted extra Challengers into driveways than its crosstown rivals did of their sports activities vehicles. And it achieved that 13 years into the Challenger’s lifespan, which is outstanding. What number of vehicles that previous have managed to steer their phase in quantity, in opposition to vastly newer equipment? The Challenger and Charger have owned their lane as a result of they’ve by no means been too good. With the transfer to electrification, Dodge received’t be capable to coast on that old-school appeal once more. Finest to reap the income when you nonetheless can, which is strictly what the model selected to do.
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JX Fitness Dumbbell Rack
Gains but tidy
Has a three-tier design to help store more weights more conveniently, can safely support up to 1000lbs of weight, which should be enough for most people, has a triangle base for stability, and also features anti-scratch feet which is great if you’ve built your own studio or workout in your garage.
Nevertheless, we can and will dream about how those Giorgio-based vehicles might’ve looked and how they would’ve driven. Dodge knows its audience very well, and I think it knows they’d prefer to see the sketches. What do you say, Tim?
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