It Looks Like It’s Up To Dodge To Save The American Sports Car Scene
(The Gas Station is where American Cars And Racing Executive Editor Gary Gastelu vents his opinions. Feel free to let us know if you think they stink.)
With cars like the 815 hp Ford Mustang GTD and 1,064 hp Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, we have entered a golden age of American performance. At least for those who can afford the entry fee.
Mustang GTD prices start at $325,000 and the $175,195 Corvette ZR1 only looks like a bargain by direct comparison. The 1,250 hp Corvette ZR1X’s price hasn’t been announced yet, but you know it will be even higher than that. Sure, you can still get a Mustang GT for $48,555 or a Corvette Stingray for $70,195, but neither are big sellers.
Mustang deliveries were down 14.2% through the first half of 2025 in the U.S. to 23,551, and that was just a year after it was redesigned. It’s hard to imagine a dramatic turnaround before the next all-new Mustang arrives, which will likely be no earlier than 2029.
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Sales of the more expensive Corvette were about half the Mustang’s at 12,595 through June and Chevy doesn’t appear to be in a rush to replace the more affordable Camaro that wen’t out of production in 2023.
GM President Mark Reuss recently told The Detroit News that he sees the segment for such cars in decline and hasn’t committed to reviving the Camaro, although a new one would need to combine “functionality and fun” if it the nameplate returned, and noted that thee Mustang Mach-E SUV outsells the regular Mustang now.
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Chevy and Ford have both made major moves toward focusing more on the profitable high-end and racing versions of their sports cars. The “Performance” section of Ford’s website includes the GTD and three competition Mustangs listed, while the regular Mustang is filed under SUVs and Cars, and it is the only one of the latter you’ll find at Ford dealerships. Ditto for the Corvette and Chevy.
But there his hope on the horizon for folks looking for an accessible sports car from an American brand.
Dodge will soon be launching a version of the new Charger that’s powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter straight-six called the Sixpack. It’ll be offered in 420 hp and 550 hp tunes and in both two-door and four-door body styles.
Pricing hasn’t been announced, but the less powerful V8-powered Challengers and Chargers that preceded them cost less than the Mustang GT does now, and the full Challenger and Charger lineup combined to outsell the Mustang by a wide margin.
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Dodge will almost certainly be adding a V8 engine to the Charger following the Hemi’s return to the Ram 1500 pickup, thanks to recent changes to U.S. policy on EVs and emissions rules and new management at Stellantis that’s into it. The electric Charger Daytona has been a sales disappointment and Dodge is already cutting trims ahead of the arrival of the internal combustion engine cars and Dodge’s looming return to NASCAR in 2028.
Being larger than the Mustang and available in a four-door with a hatchback, the Charger delivers on that “functionality and fun” mix Reuss was talking about and will have little to no direct competition to deal with when it starts arriving in showrooms.
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That should be pretty soon as The Windsor Star reports that early production is already underway at the Windsor Assembly Plant in Canada, which is the hitch. A bad trade deal with Canada that puts a high levy on cars imported to the U.S. could make the Charger less appealing and keep this Canadian-American car from saving the day.