Stellantis is currently wandering through a very long, very dark tunnel, and despite a flurry of activity from Ram and Jeep, the light at the end remains suspiciously dim. The group’s subsidiary, FCA US LLC, saw its deliveries slide to a dismal 1.26 million units last year, a 3% drop from an already lackluster 2024. Nowhere is this struggle more apparent than at Dodge, which is starting to look suspiciously like the nearly-extinct Chrysler.
After axing the Dodge Hornet, essentially a rebadged Alfa Romeo Tonale that suffered a staggering 54% sales collapse, the brand is down to just two survivors. The aging Durango and the brand-new eighth-generation Charger. The new Charger fastback, available as both a coupe and a sedan, is having a rough start. It’s currently stuck in a “muscle car” identity crisis, powered either by the Daytona electric motor or the Hurricane inline-six.
While fans are praying for a “triumphant return” of the Hemi V8 later this year to save the day, the internet has its own ideas. Digital artist Marouane Bembli, better known as The Sketch Monkey, has issued a virtual “call to arms” to bring back the boxy, aggressive aesthetic that defined the brand’s glory days.
His unofficial CGI project takes the defunct L-body sedan and reskins it with the soul of a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T, complete with the signature hidden-headlight grille and a classic “beak”. It’s a retro-modern masterpiece that begs the question: should Dodge have stuck to its roots instead of betting the farm on the STLA Large platform and its Sixpack variants?
Meanwhile, Ford hasn’t missed the opportunity to kick its rival while it’s down. While Dodge brags about the 550-hp Hurricane HO engine in the Charger Sixpack Scat Pack, the Blue Oval has responded with the Ford Mustang Dark Horse SC. By stuffing the 5.2-liter supercharged V8 from the Mustang GTD into a street car, Ford has essentially brought a bazooka to a knife fight.
