It’s wise to expect backlash when a company radically changes its core product. With Dodge stuffing electric motors inside the Charger, long known for burnouts and big-displacement V8s, there was bound to be criticism. That said, the brand is enduring a heck of a lot of it with its electric Charger Daytona, especially from fans of its more traditional offerings who haven’t exactly welcomed the newfangled, unorthodox muscle car with open arms.
And how does that make Dodge feel?
“It stings, but you understand why it stings,” Dodge CEO Matt McAlear told The Drive during a roundtable interview.
On paper, gearheads should love the Charger Daytona. Visually, the two-door is a total throwback and more faithful to the original Charger’s design than the V8-powered last-gen model. On top of that, its specs embarrass most Hemis.
“If we sent you an invitation [that said], ‘We want you to come drive the all-new, top-secret replacement for the Challenger. It’s standard all-wheel drive, 670 horsepower, zero to 60 in 3.3 seconds, quarter-mile in 11.5 seconds. State-of-the-art technology, driver-focused cockpit, just as loud from a decibel level as the outgoing Hellcat, 132% more cargo capacity, more rear legroom than the outgoing four-door Charger…’ Everyone would say, ‘Sign me up, let’s go,’” McAlear told us. “You might not even ask what’s under the hood, you just assume this is an awesome car. It looks like a 1968, the most iconic muscle car in history.”
But, of course, that’s not how the discourse has gone. Instead, people have criticized the car’s weight, fake engine noise, and lack of a V8, in most cases without having test-driven the car, as it’s so new.
“So yeah, it’s frustrating. But the problem becomes, based on who we’re hearing from, it’s so easy to be negative today. That’s easy. No one wants to be positive,” McAlear added.
It doesn’t help that Dodge launched the Charger Daytona at the wrong time, through no real fault of its own. The EV market and the public’s perception have shifted recently—and not in a positive direction. However, McAlear feels that what sets Dodge apart, and how it will regain some of those customers, is the Charger Daytona’s mission. Dodge isn’t making an electric car with a Charger name; it says it’s making a new muscle car that just so happens to be electric.
“The other thing I tell people is we’re not coming to market with an EV, we’re coming with a muscle car that just happens to be an EV,” McAlear said. “Because you walk around any auto show or any EV show, they’re all two-box, white vegan leather, flat floor, three big large screens, big open consoles—they all look exactly the same. That’s what everyone thinks of as an EV, right? This, when we put the six-cylinder in it, other than the stuff that has to change to accommodate the engine, it’s the exact same car. The paddle shifters go from regen braking to actual shifters. They’re both standard AWD and you can put them in RWD mode. So I think that’s the encouraging part. We’re not like everyone else. We didn’t come to market with another EV, we came with a different muscle car.”
McAlear finds the response ironic, too. “It’s funny, we got beat up for years on the old cars,” the exec recalls. “When are you gonna bring a new one? When are you gonna bring a new one?” Customers increasingly asked Dodge for something fresh as the last-gen Charger and Challenger aged, but when the company finally gave them a new model, they grumbled.
But what if Dodge did it differently? What if, instead of launching the EV first or even at the same time, it started with the Hurricane inline-six Charger as a standalone initial offering? While dropping from a V8 to an I6 might have been odd for some folks, the power, performance, and authentic exhaust note might’ve been able to sway enough of them.
“Hindsight 20/20, you say, ‘Hey, would you have launched with the ICE first instead of the EV?’ Well, maybe. But you never know, right? You make those decisions two to three years ago,” McAlear said.
Despite the criticism, the CEO says he’s not overly concerned. He’s learned through talking with dealers that the Daytona is bringing in new customers who never previously considered Dodge: existing EV owners who want something different, something sportier and more exciting. They’ve had the stereotypical all-electric experience and they’re ready for new thrills. And, for more traditional enthusiasts unwilling to leave internal combustion behind, there’s still the straight-six version. While McAlear can admit that the backlash stings, Dodge isn’t reversing course.
“I’d rather be part of the conversation than not part of the conversation, even if it’s bad,” McAlear said. “It’s better to be part of it.”
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