I just heard today that Dodge will stop making their successful V8 muscle cars. Next year they will produce only electric cars. Is this smart? ?

[exitseven]

Will you miss this?

[BeMuse]

Electric cars are only 1% of the American market. Putting all your eggs in that basket is foolish. Tesla relies on government subsidies of about $5,000 per car, regulatory pollution credits that can be sold on the open market, and most importantly fanboydom... They have gimmick branding that targets soy boys that flock to things like apple products. For example, their power wall is something like $11,500 for what other companies charge like $2,000-$3,000 for. The same goes for the over priced cars, the shirts, hats, cyber whistles, etc. It's all brand hype that targets stupid people that want to be part of the unpopular crowd. There isn't an endless supply of soy boys. You only have so many people to target market like that. When you have to get down to the brass tacks of business it's not a great business when you are competing with other vehicles on the road. Gas and diesel are just better products at better price points. Most consumers understand that and will not migrate to inferior products at higher prices to be a Tesla dork at a premium so they can boast about their electric car at comicon convensions.

[xColinx]

You make decent points, but the peeps running these companies are forward-looking rather than focused on the present/past. Only way to survive as a big boy company.

[BeMuse]

@xColinx Good look with your progressive buzz words at your next LARP. It still ends in the same failure. Anyone who actually extrapolated out the figures would know there is no way to even get the minerals out of the ground to carry out their plan for electric cars. We're talking real things like lithium and copper. It would take hundreds of years just to get the volume of copper out of all the world's mines at current rates of mining with the use of fossil fuels to do the work, yet the plan is to have it all done in 8 years. You've been sold a pipe dream by stupid people that can't even do basic math.

[BeMuse]

The real future is oil for a very long time probably with some combination of liquefied coal and biodiesel made from genetically modified algae or cyanobacteria that is farmed on a mass scale. All of it will rely on combustion engine technology and the same liquid fuel station infrastructure.

[xColinx]

The natural resources are more than abundant. How to efficiently mine it could be another issue, but that's a long ways down the road. So, to your point, if we pretend technology will stall and we're stuck with current status-quo, you're really onto something.

[BeMuse]

@xColinx You're the only one talking about stalling technology. I specifically mentioned new energy technology fuels utilizing material science and biotechnology to get the job done practically. You're hung up on a technology that can't physically be done in time by the laws of physics energy/work, that depends on oil to get the job done and is unsustainable utilizing the very technology you are promoting, which also abandons a massively expensive infrastructure network which accounts for a large sector of the economy. If people like you were in charge, we’d enter a new dark age… Maybe even a new stone age.

[BeMuse]

You can go out and make as many electric cars as your heart so desires. It doesn't bother me at all. I'm not impeding you in any way. I’m just giving you a glimpse into reality. Innovate all you like. If you can compete for resources on the open market then use them. How I see it, electric cars only serve one practical purpose and that is to reduce demand on the petroleum supply chain. The population of earth is constantly growing, but the amount of oil that can be extracted from the Earth every day isn’t rapidly expanding. Thus if you can trick a certain percentage of the population to not demand it, then it relieves some of the supply chain issues making life easier for the majority and the economy more stable. Over the long term the dummy minority that invests in them can help to finance battery technology improvements.

[BeMuse]

While you're at it, work on packing a couple more percent of the population into walkable cities and convince people to ride bikes and take public transit. The more people that opt out of demanding oil, the more affordable real energy is for the broader economy and the higher the quality of life we all get to enjoy. GDP is directly tied to energy and more specifically oil.

[BeMuse]

We live on a planet with finite resources. Everyone can't use everything all at once. Someone has to sacrifice. If you want to martyr yourself for an ideology have at it.

[xColinx]

bruh I'm in austin and the number of EVs, tesla specifically, is somewhat nauseating.

But it's clearly the future of murrrica's inefficient transportation model of way too many oversized vehicles on the road per capita.

I understand my initial comments were snarky, but when you start bringing up potential changes to public transit, then you're really onto something. Combustion engines definitely aren't it, EVs will run their course for a while, but hopefully somewhere along the way murrrica catches up with other parts of the modern world with "better" and certainly more efficient transit options.

Anyway, back to EVs, solid state is around the corner and the next thing will follow after that. In the meantime, the supply can easily lap the near-term demand. Clinging to oil-soaked dinosaurs doesn't make sense.

[BeMuse]

@xColinx Life depends on other life to survive. You’re argument is like, bro we need to stop eating meat and vegetation that’s so antiquated lets make a new food technology and abandon the old one. ATP is ATP at the end of the day… Fossil fuels are just stored solar energy in organic chemical bonds. That is the largest “battery” of solar energy from the solar system’s largest fusion power plant the sun. The sun is where the bulk of our energy originates. As I mentioned the future is likely oil with some mix of liquefied coal (we have an abundance of it) and biodiesel made from genetically modified algae or cyanobacteria. This is because we have millions of years of technology development already invested in biodiesel via evolution. Chlorophyll already has a higher efficiency than the best solar panels and can be improved with biotechnology. Bacteria and algae are self assembling biological machines. They don’t require large inputs. They are also very easy to work with on an industrial scale. Their fuel bioproduct utilized the current liquid fuel infrastructure and recycle carbon put into atmosphere. They are also simple enough technologies that farmers can be trained easily to produce them. We have a lot of land and a lot of farmers. This is a solution that can be feasible.

[BeMuse]

*utilizes
*recycles

[xColinx]

"You’re argument is like, bro we need to stop eating meat and vegetation that’s so antiquated lets make a new food technology and abandon the old one."

Uh, yes, growth rates of global population make it obvious the demand is not sustainable vs. natural meat supply. The solution there is not to cling to da beef.

Back on topic, you're obviously swimming upstream and that's fine. I have no inherent bias with oil or EV, I'm just following the technology / experts in the area.

[BeMuse]

@xColinx Quiet frankly you're ignorant and you follow morons that can't do basic math. You don't even ask basic questions or do the math yourself, yet you call them experts and think you know what you are talking about. You are victim of propaganda.

[Lliam]

Electric care are going to flop. The only way to get most people to buy them is through government coercion. Electric cars are a terrible idea. People won't be able to take long trips. There will be electrical shortages and rationing. And electric cars are worse for the environment than gas cars.

So, producing nothing but electric cars is a bad bet. And ending the production of muscle cars is sad. Dodge made some classics.

It's true that not everyone wants a tricked out V-8 HEMI, but people do want V-8s, not necessarily for excess speed, but for the power.

I grew up during the time when American made cars were the best and "car culture" was huge. I do like classic cars and will miss seeing their bad ass designs and hearing them fumble.

And is car racing doomed?

Fuck that. I had a Prius for a while, but I'll never own another hybrid or electric car. I will not surrender my freedom to the profiteers who are pushing the climate narrative.

[exitseven]

I don't want to give up my V8 Pickup truck.

[Lliam]

Exactly. How far could an electric car go if you were towing something?

[exitseven]

The Ford F-150 electric has a range of 100 miles towing a trailer. I looked at them last summer and the sales guy could not answer the question about range.

[xColinx]

Do y'all still have sweet VHS collections? Or did you upgrade to DVD?

[Aerissa_Jade]

I guess we'll see in the next few years, how well the company does for profits.

To stop making something that sells on a gamble for something that might, is very risky. At the very least they should do both.

Electric isn't even a thing here, since no company has built electric cars with range needed for the vast west.

Even people I know who have bought electric cars, can't use them... waste of money, unless you live in the city.

Like if I want to go to the big city its 80 to a 100 miles, one way and then I drive around to various places.

Then again there is lots of hills and mountains here, going to be heading to WY soon and Idaho, big old steep hills. I can imagine electric cars do great with the power, but seems like it would drain the batteries faster.

[AviatorTom]

SUVs and EVs and pickup trucks make up 90% of the automobile market, so it makes sense to not give muscle cars a priority. Plus, Dodge is now part of Fiat, which is known for making small cars.

Muscle cars will still be around... they'll just be several years old, maintained and loved by those who appreciate the sound of a V8 engine and acceletration that leaves burned rubber behind.

[Chazmatazz269]

I don’t see a problem with it. If you’re a car person or a racing junkie, you’ve almost certainly seen videos of road-ready electrics going to open track drag races and destroying drag racers built specifically for the track by career builders and racers. There aren’t many places where you can get away with doing 120 mph off-track either. Yet, the electrics can do that too. We’re not even getting into the high performance electric cars here. The real question is, if i can buy an electric car off the showroom floor that outperforms the fastest car i’ve ever built, AND i can take it to work everyday, AND i never have to buy fuel again…. why would i stick with the ICB? Only an asshole would make such a ridiculous choice. Almost certainly their best justification would be something like, “Cuz i can.”. Ell oh ell!

[xColinx]

Yeah, basically this. I don't know if others commenting are overly nostalgic or just not aware of what EVs are already doing.

[Chazmatazz269]

Well, nostalgia isn’t triggered by NEW vehicles. And until they outlaw older vehicles, we can still experience nostalgia by admiring classic muscle cars. Nothing wrong with that either.

[sage2021]

Taking away muscle cars is taking away joy for a lot of people. I happen to love muscle cars. I watch the tv show "Counting Cars" every week because they have the muscle cars I used to ride in in highschool. I used to go to the races to see them as well.

I hate that they have to stop, but maybe it will stop some of our young people from dying in the car races they have in our neighborhood. It's a bug problem where I live.

Plus the gasoline cars may be fading away, so it wouldn't be the kind of car you could pass down in the family.

Sad to see them go. I think it's a mistake, but it's probably better for Dodge to stop making them.

[xColinx]

EVs destroy the muscle cars in drag racing, so I don't know if it'll stop that.

I get that muscle cars are cool, and there will always be that nostalgic factor, but EVs--even in their relative infancy--already destroy the muscle cars in every aspect of actual performance.

[Tenebrae_mentis]

Yes, it's smart. Some states and countries have passed laws banning the sale or purchase of gas vehicles or otherwise began the process of phasing them out. This greatly cuts down on the market for them. By continuing to manufacture gas vehicles, Dodge could lose out on a lot of money to their competition.

It's also smart for the environment. Gas vehicles emit a lot of waste, which causes smog and intense weather, which has been a real problem of late and is expected to get much worse over the coming decades without drastic change.

Finally, by switching to electric vehicles, it cuts down the nation's reliance on foreign powers, like Russia, who produce much of the oil needed for gas. In a nation with an infrastructure so dependent on personal vehicles, like the United States, electric vehicles are just very advantageous.

It's a good move by pretty much every measure.

[Sparkie460]

The teslas are fast at acceleration but I think they should still offer a choice. Unfortunately, the government won't allow that since they don't want anything to run on gas.

[exitseven]

Don't you think that people will be pissed because they have to spend an additional 20 grand to buy a electric car and then have an electrician put a charging station in their garage. And what if you don;t have a garage? Will people hold onto theoit gas powered vehicles and maybe do an engine swap instead of spending 60K on a new one.

[Sparkie460]

People are getting car chargers without blinking an eye. Since January I've done about a hundred of them.

The batteries in the electric vehicles only last 7 to 10 years and cost 15k to replace them right now.

Personally, I'll keep my gas vehicles as long as I possibly can.

[exitseven]

yes, someday I will get my truck re-fitted for another 200,000 miles.

[Sparkie460]

You just bought your truck not long ago. You got plenty of time.

[exitseven]

It will be 3 years old in a couple of weeks but it only has 15K miles. I plan on keeping it 20 years.

[Sparkie460]

After 25 years it becomes a classic

[Sparkie460]

I'm thinking about putting a car charger in my garage just for the hell of it. It adds value to the house when I go to sell it

[exitseven]

Yes, you could do thst. I heard that solar panels make it harder to sell your house but a charging station might be okay. Also a backup generator would be a big selling point as well.

[Sparkie460]

I already have the backup generator

[exitseven]

is it propane?

[Sparkie460]

They had a tesla catch fire today in Florida. The battery started getting corroded and went up in flames

[Sparkie460]

Mine is tri fuel. Natural gas, propane and gasoline

[exitseven]

there is a tesla dealership in the next town. They had a car catch fire and the fire department had to come back twice because it kept reigniting.

[Sparkie460]

But they are so great.

[exitseven]

I looked at the electric F-150. It is pretty nice but only has a range of 200-250 miles. It drops to 100 miles if you tow a trailer. 60 grand and i couldn't even tow my boat to my vacation home.

[Sparkie460]

You won't have to worry about your catalytic converter getting stolen

[exitseven]

Yeah, they will just steal the whole battery.

[aquamarine321]

I can’t say if it’s smart or not, because most successful companies that I have heard of as always made risky steps, and I know you may have heard of some over the years and even many many years ago of companies going in another direction, plus they know the risks when they made that decision, and based on history persons always say they are making a big mistake and they shouldn’t but most of the time business tend to be slow in couple years and then boom selling more products than before there pervious products, and no, not all businesses succeeded in time or immediately

[FunkyMonkee]

Not at all!
If people are so heavily worried the global warming hoax, why aren't we making cars that run on water?

[exitseven]

make a car that runs on pee.

[FunkyMonkee]

I'm sure it's possibly but, who's gonna fill it? And no one would be able to stand the smell of the tank when the cap comes off to fill it, again.

[Anonymous]

It doesn't matter whether it's smart or not. It only matters what the public is willing to buy. They're already doing away with sedans because everyone wants a sport SUV or A crossover because the jagoff next door has one.

🖕🙄🖕 lol

[exitseven]

Do you think that the person that buys a V8 muscle car is going to buy an electric vehicle?

[Opinion Owner]

Eventually... when that's his only option.

[USLegionary]

To me probably not. But I'm sure they've done the research otherwise they are sinking their company.

Traditional gasoline diesel engines are on the way out but the question is what will replace them. Its kind of like when the steam engine was on the way out, there were other technologies competing such ad the electric car.

[tfan1]

In my opinion all electric cars are stupid - government forcing everyone to get one, forcing makers to make them. Oh yes great mileage but what happens when you are stuck in a traffic jam? But at what cost is this good? Strip mining the earth for the stuff for the batteries? Oh and look at this, batteries are Not recyclable, and cost about 1/2 - 3/4 of what the whole car costs for replacement.

[lightbulb27]

was never into such cars, I'm too practical oriented... so I won't mis them.

how boring will motorized sports be when there is no sound. I'll be grateful I don't hear "idiots" racing my streets at night though...

It's a chapter in American history closing. fyi... those cars will become very valuable.

[Surely]

I heard that the EV Dodge will be even faster than the HEMI. So there will be a market for them for the people who need the latest, greatest and fastest.
As for shutting off the petroleum spigot and throwing the electric switch. The infrastructure won’t be ready to handle the demand in my lifetime.
EV’s aren’t for everyone. Not everyone will want one! But if they are within your driving range. They do save money over Brandon’s gas prices!

[aaron210419]

As a certified auto technician, Dodge has not had a successful V8 in a long time. That aside, people do not think deep enough about where the electricity is coming from that charge their electric vehicles... It comes from coal. Not to mention the effect that producing the EV batteries has on the environment, including acid rain.

[genericname85]

not really. why would you just ditch your decades of experience in making cars just to get into a business that you're a complete new in? i understand the global ecological argument. but from a business side, this is suicide.

i do think electric cars are the future but before the grid and the infrastructure is there to support the transition, electric cars make no sense.

[bolverk]

They'll probably come to regret it as there is a severe bottle neck in battery production because of a lack of rare earth minerals, if someone comes with a battery chemistry using common elements with the same energy or better than the lithium based cells available at the moment.

[Bratsondanielle]

Well, with the BGP (Biden Gas Prices) it might be smart. But BEP (Biden Electric Prices) are way up too so I don't know. Unless the people vote the wrong way (a threat to democracy) it might never change

[KayMay]

I don't blame Dodge, I blame the liberal idiots that think this is going to work, and mandated it. It won't work. We don't have the infrastructure for this. 17 states are banning gas cars in 12 years.

[dustybiker]

Unless they make them electric with a fake zoom zoom sound. They will probably ban all gas/diesel engines at some point. Those greedy B’s with their fingers in oil better collect all the $ they can now.

[Anonymous]

Petrols are still selling well now in most countries but projections are they won't be in only a few years, and electrics are selling more and more. If they don't prepare for this now, only Tesla and the Chinese will be left.

And I know there are electric muscle cars already. They're just a lot quieter.

[Msputiton]

Probably.

Eventually probably every car will be switched over.

Might as well get a head start working out kinks.

They would have a headstart while the other companies will be behind.

[DJB72]

If they only want to sell in Europe it's fine. On the African continent pure electric cars are pointless as there's no stable production of electricity to charge them. I don't see America switching to electric cars any time soon

[Telekinetic-Potato]

I don't think they're really going to stop. Or at least not completely. Maybe smaller manufacturers will pop up and take over

[CaptainSmartass]

Nope. People are already becoming aware of the environmental impact of EVs. In the UK, the government are encouraging research into hydrogen powered cars. Lots of big firms are backing hydrogen now.

Simples...

[Redstang88]

I really don’t give a shit what dodge does, I’d never buy one. But it’s a sign of what’s coming, and I’ll keep my old gas guzzling V8s

[OddBeMe]

Honestly, if true, this wouldn’t be my marketing advice. They have a consumer base and it ain’t hippies like me.

That said, EV’s and hybrids can be powerful as fck.

[Phoenix98]

I don't really see it as a smart choice but it's their mistake to make.

[jimmy2]

I am not buying a electric car when you get off work then have to find a connection for a hour then stand there for 40hours more or buy a connection to hook up to your house then it vist $70 bucks for electric then what is the great thing about them

[Tom_Wray_04]

I don't know how smart it is, but I'm not surprised. That seems to be the trend car companies are starting to go in.

[KrakenAttackin]

This has to be false. If it isn't false, I would say "Fuck you Doge, go woke, go broke".

[Cubus]

I wonder how you're gonna drive from East Coast to the West Coast by an electric car

[peedy]

Go woke go broke
Wait 2 years and see what they're doing thsn

[Quigly]

It's extinction, the end of owning an automobile. Soon they will be Autonomous

[AngryCarl]

It's smart for the environment. Whether it's commercially savvy remains to be seen.

[888theGreat]

nope , they will lose money and end up laying off everybody or move all production out of US

[Fuentes]

They announced this awhile ago and pissed off tons of Mopar fans lol

[Anonymous]

No but it's all about the elites controlling freedom of movement

[Daniela1982]

It will up the value of my car.

[Guy13]

Nothing Government Motors does is “Smart”

[Fuentes]

Last time I checked GM isn't Dodge lol

[Guy13]

@Fuentes Chrysler/GM what’s the difference. GM whole line is already ready to switch. The tax on having a new gas ⛽️ car is going to be huge too

[Fuentes]

GM breaks on you a Dodge is way more reliable that's I would never by a Corvette or Camaro or a Silverado lol

[Havthrills]

@Fuentes so true.

[Fuentes]

@Havthrills yup I would never drive a Gm vehicle unless I decided to be a mechanic in practice lol

[LaFerrari]

Dodge is terrible…. Unreliable garbage transmissions lol

[Fuentes]

@LaFerrari you think GM is better? Really hahaha

[Danny_dan92]

I’m not a fan of the electric car shift.

[msc545]

Not smart at all.

[Jamie05rhs]

That's incredibly dumb.

[BLP11520]

No it is stupid

[TrueConfection]

Nope

[joeldalton]

Dodge sucks anyway.

[Twalli]

Overall yes

[Jamie05rhs]

How so?

[Twalli]

@Jamie05rhs driving is going electric. It will happen. Any company that goes fully electronic will be advantaged when we go fully electric. Yet they will not be as successful now. So going fully electric is advantageous long-term, but will cut profits short-term.

[Jamie05rhs]

@Twalli I think it's a big gamble.

[Twalli]

@Jamie05rhs it will pay off in the future, if they are still competitive then. I just don't know how close we are to being fully electric.

[Jamie05rhs]

@Twalli But we don't even have the electricity to power other things, let alone cars.

[Twalli]

@Jamie05rhs it depends on where you are.

[Sixgun77]

No, it's foolish.

[rizeliman34]

Bad news