Best Muscle Cars
Can Dodge Make the Ultimate E-Muscle Car?
by Dave Ashton
Normally, the news of Dodge releasing an all-new muscle car is followed by subsequent dancing in the streets. When Dodge announced a few days ago they are planning to release their first full battery electric muscle car in 2024, the news was met like hearing Metallica wanting to change musical direction and only play Indonesian throat music from now on. The end results are going to sound great, but it’s not exactly the direction we all want.
What the terrible analogy above doesn’t sum up is Dodge doesn’t really have a choice in their change of direction. Governments and all legislators are gearing up for a full EV takeover of the world. In this future landscape, it’s a matter of develop for the future or be left behind.
What is a E-Muscle Car?
At this point, most muscle car fans would answer, ‘an aberration’ or words to that effect. The sentiment is very much justified when you consider over 50 years of V8 performance is behind the breed. It’s a bit like Fender scrapping the classic Stratocaster guitar, which has been around since the 1950s, and from now on only making a flashy, synthesizer version. It all feels a bit wrong.
However, Dodge knows their market and their back history. Horsepower, straight-line speed, and a mechanical structure that is easy to upgrade… at least in the golden era cars. Large displacement engines, coupled with superchargers and rear-wheel drive provide a distinctive driving sensation. Burnouts are also a prerequisite.
A muscle car also needs to be tweakable. It’s part of the heritage. While most modern muscle cars need a trip to the shop for upgrades due to all the newfangled electronics, customization is key. An electric muscle car that can be easily upgraded could be a winning platform. If you take a look at present-day electric vehicles, you get what you are given, with nearly zero upgradability.
While the E-Muscle car template is still being thrashed out, which could revitalize the sector, it’s likely classic muscle car names will make a comeback. Think Dodge Daytona, Super Bee, or even some Plymouth nameplates like the Roadrunner. We’re guessing it’s the names that sounds the best with ‘E’ before or after it that will win through. As for muscle car like sounds and vibes, I think Dodge will have to have a chat with the EDM(electronic dance music for all the oldies) guys for the best ways to reproduce sub-bass frequencies and rumble.
Car Buyers Are Still Sceptical About Electric
It’s not just muscle car fans that are chin-scratching over this whole electric car thing. An article over at the BBC website with the boss of Ford UK, Lisa Brankin, says the switch from petrol and diesel to electric is, ‘a real challenge.’
‘We did a survey looking at customer attitudes and we saw that just over 10% of customers were actively considering a battery electric vehicle as their next purchase.’ Brankin goes on to say, ‘Most other people were still concerned about a number of things – range, the charging infrastructure, the lack of information available to customers and obviously the price as well.’
Ford are one of the biggest sellers of vehicles over the pond, and say governments need to provide far more help for when the proposed ban on sales of ICE engines come in by 2030.
So, back to the initial question, can Dodge build the ultimate E-muscle car? Yes, but no matter how good it is, there will always be critics. Whatever comes out will be refined and tweaked over the years to better suit what is expected of an E-muscle car. This doesn’t mean the end of V8-powered machines and the ability to drive them, but rather more options to choose from in the future.
As we have stated before, ICE engines will still be on the roads for decades to come, maybe under special licenses, but they will still be around. So even in 2024, this is not the death cry for the V8 muscle car, but think of it as just a change in direction. This is little consolation for the longtime muscle car fan, but we have no other choice but to look on the bright side and see the new era as ushering in new possibilities.
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