Dodge Challenger Designer Says Lose The yellow Plastic Splitter Guards

By Dave Ashton

In the past year or so, Dodge started attaching protective, yellow plastic strips to the edge of front splitters on Challengers and Chargers. This is basically to prevent damage during transportation to the dealers. The idea was than for dealers to replace the plastic, with even the plastic saying, ‘To Be Removed By Dealer.’ With so many being out in the wild, clearly this wasn’t the standard procedure.

However, the yellow plastic strips started to become a feature, with examples even being sold on eBay. There’s no common consensus on if they look good or not, some thinking they look cool, while others totally disagreeing. Either way, the lead Dodge SRT designer Mark Trostle has thrown in his opinion and says, ‘I wish they would take them off.’ Clearly not a fan of keeping them on.

The remark was made during a video interview on the 2010 Charger Widebody, with one of the reasons for removal being that it spoils the aesthetics of the car. ‘When we did the sketch for the Charger and Challenger, it never had yellow strips on it, and to me, as a designer, it ruins the lines of the car.’ And it’s not just about the looks, he says it’s also ruining the paint job.

Tyler Grant, an Internet sales manager at a Dodge dealer, wrote a Facebook post asking owners to remove the yellow splitter guard. He stated that the guards weren’t made to fit perfectly, which means dirt and moisture can quickly get between the plastic and the splitter, damaging the paintwork. He also provided a photo example of a car that had done minimum miles and still exhibited scuffing on the splitter.

Although the head designer and others have thrown their comments into the arena, it’s not going to stop the two opinioned camps stomping forward on social media. There’s even Facebook groups to remind people to take the splatter guards off, with others who are into the look, developing workarounds like putting protective tape on the air dam, painting the thing to match the car or even applying yellow tape when they can’t get hold of one themselves.

Apparently, a new purple version could be coming out soon. Either way, if you’re going to keep these yellow splitter guards on your car, just be aware that it can cause damage to the paint. Me wonders if Dodge will offer this as an option in the future if enough people get into the feature.

 

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