Stellantis is Going Electric but Some Gasoline Models Are Here to Stay
Automakers around the world have all committed to a plan to increase their lineup with electrified options. Plug-in electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are starting to become more prevalent with larger automakers, but it also doesn’t seem like everyone is 100 percent onboard with the whole “Go Electric” business plan. Maybe gasoline isn’t going anywhere. Dodge and Jeep are the largest culprits of this desire to hold onto the past.
In 2022, Dodge made a “last call” for its Last Call of Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger models that were powered by gasoline. A total of seven, every last call Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger model was a special edition and paid homage to one of the legendary incarnations of the past. It ended on the perfect note with a Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 powered by ethanol. Ooh, a high-performance SRT and it didn’t use gasoline? Way to kill two birds with one stone!
That sounds like a great end for the automaker to phase out gasoline models, right? Wrong. Next came the “Last Call” for HEMI-powered Dodge Challenger and Charger models. What’s more like a slap in the face is the next generation of the Dodge Charger.
Although Stellantis never said we would see the end of gasoline for the current generation of the Dodge Challenger and the Dodge Charger, but “last call” used to mean something. Why is the new generation of the Dodge Charger not only releasing the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT BEV, but also a multi-power Dodge Charger with a 3.0L Twin Turbo Hurricane S.O. engine as the standard option? What are they doing?! This was all followed by the “Last Call” for V8 Dodge Durango models and the “Last Call” Dodge Durango SRT 392 model. Another special edition with several models planned, the Dodge Durango SRT 392 AlcHEMI is available now.
Jeep is no better. The Jeep Wrangler 392 Rubicon Final Edition was supposed to be the end all model for the 392 Rubicon to phase out gasoline. Powered by a 6.4-liter V8 engine under the hood, able to deliver 470 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque, this is the strongest Jeep Wrangler a consumer could get. Based on the Rubicon, this is the strongest, most capable Jeep Wrangler in the lineup. Able to accelerate from 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds and able to complete a quarter mile run in 13.0 seconds, the Wrangler also provides a 48:1 crawl ratio for really going the distance when going off road. A perfect sendoff for the Jeep Wrangler in 2024.
Yeah, right. “Back by popular demand”, the Jeep Wrangler 392 Final Edition comes back for 2025. What in the name of cheese?! Collectors are gonna be angry when they hear their special limited edition of the Jeep Wrangler isn’t so special and limited anymore. It’s like the song, “Ironic” by Alanis Morissette. Although the song is more about unfortunate happenings and not really irony, depending on how one defines irony, it’s the lyric “It’s a free ride when you’ve already paid”. That’s how it feels to see Jeep cave into peer pressure and bring back the Jeep Wrangler 392 Final Edition again.
Eventually, the automakers will cave. In case they do in 2025, be sure to get a new Dodge Charger or a new Jeep Wrangler while they last. Find new Dodge and Jeep vehicles at Aventura Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram.