What if...

This would be a terrific automobile available in it's IC V-8 rwd form and offered in such very cool exterior colors, although this one would also be a looker in virtually any hue.

IMO, they should ahve considered both versions from the outset. It was all a miscue. 

@jkuvakas I agree John.....and find it very strange that it didn't play out that way.

Posted by: @jack-dodds

↑

"...very strange that it didn't play out that way."

While development of these vehicles was occurring, Carlos Travaris, the CEO of Stellantis, made a series of disastrous decisions that included destroying Dodge's brand equity.  Ultimately, Travaris was terminated.    Tim Kuniskis was brought back (lured out of retirement ) to salvage and restore Dodge's "muscle car reputation." 

He's doing the best he can as FAST as he can.   

Nice looking car. Put the Marlin name on it would be dead upon arrival.

Yeah, this would be a fantastic Charger, supercharged V8 and AWD would suffice.😁

The EV hysteria impacted everyone several years ago. With Tesla selling every car they could make and the public concerned about clean energy, electric cars seemed a great idea (to some). The govt. (not just in the USA, all over Europe) stepped in, and every manufacturer was off to the races. It seemed to be the future for everyone. Indeed, electric car sales are increasing every year. But no one took into account that a seismic change in what was available made a lot of folks uncomfortable. The market was growing, and still is, but it was/is nowhere near enough to accommodate everyone making electric cars. Still, in the wink of an eye, there were so many electric cars in production and so many more being planned, the manufacturers were shocked to find there was no way to sell that many electric cars to a public that wasn't quite ready to buy them.

Dodge's miscue might be the greatest. How a brand that leveraged ever-larger engines and ever-increasing horsepower into a powerhouse ever talked itself into thinking its base would want fast cars that made no noise... it was incredibly naive. Dodge has been singing a one-note song for years, that note being "VROOM!" It's been a very long time since Dodge offered anything new. Check out the platform the Challenger and Charger are built on. It's a modified version of the Mercedes E-Class platform from the nineties, which ChryCO received in the ill-fated "merger." It's a good thing that the platform was extremely competent. Yet Dodge built a strong brand around making their cars fast and loud, not on their handling or the sophistication of their suspensions. There's nothing wrong with that; it's actually a really cool image that's been crafted. But when they started to go electric, they turned their back on the only card they had in their hand. 

It's not that the public doesn't want electric cars. They do...just not enough of them to warrant everyone making them all the time.

Posted by: @jkuvakas

↑

"Dodge has been singing a one-note song for years, that note being VROOM!"

And "VROOM"  translated meant "HEMI."     Even non-car folk understand the significance of the word despite not understanding the engineering prowess behind it.   Tim is trying to restore Dodge's "VROOM"  ASAP.    😉 

@jkuvakas Well said Jk; plus the building of an adequate amount of efficient charging stations for all of the proposed new electric vehicles was woefully inadequate, which also caused many potential all-electric buyers to reconsider.

@jack-dodds Well said John and Jack. Putting all of your eggs in one basket can be risky.

• Level 1 (Standard 120V Home Outlet): 40–50+ hours. This is the slowest method, often called "trickle charging," adding only 2–5 miles of range per hour.
• Level 2 (240V Home or Public Charger): 4–10 hours. This is the most common for overnight home charging, adding roughly 10–25 miles of range per hour.
• Level 3 (DC Fast Charging/Superchargers): 20 minutes to 1 hour. 

I totally agree that our infrastructure is not adequate to support millions of EVs. In Europe, it's even worse. And, yes, charging times are a huge challenge right now. Over time, that will change. The generations after us will drive EV's that charge quickly, provide incredible speed, have far fewer moving parts than an IC-powered car, and are easier to maintain. The writing is on that wall...but not for today. Personally, I'm glad we have choices, but I will always default to a car or SUV with a gas-powered engine.  

For me personally. I have no interest in an ALL electric vehicle. Just to many unknowns at present. A high performance hybrid for Dodge would be great. As for Dodge, when you think of them, you think of performance.  When you're a performance junkie, what they were headed for was like making a "junkie" go cold turkey. And the rebellion was heard loud and clear, but not before a lot of damage was done. Thankfully they were able to coax Tim back. They need more people like him in the automotive biz that understand what the consumers want. Our in some cases, need.😁

I really like this "what if" concept, regardless of its brand.  I am not interested in any EV but my next new car would strongly consider a hybrid.