Dodge Challenger Is the Bestselling Two-Door in America for 2021 Q2

Dodge Challenger beat the Ford Mustang by a narrow margin, but they both beat the Camaro badly.

It is a troubled time for muscle cars, pony cars or whatever else you prefer to call the V8-powered, rear-drive performance coupes like the Dodge Challenger, the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro. The current governmental administration is likely to impose new restrictions which will slowly suffocate the high performance machines that we all know and love, but in the short term view, the key issue is production problems.

Production of the Challenger, Mustang and Camaro was hampered last year by early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic and more recently, a microchip shortage has caused Dodge, Ford and Chevy to stop or greatly limit production. As a result, inventory levels are shockingly low, leading to poor sales numbers for the Camaro and Mustang, but the Challenger has pushed ahead to post solid numbers for the second quarter of 2021.

Challenger Wins Q2 2021

During the second quarter of 2021, Dodge sold 15,052 examples of the Challenger, up more than 50% from the same three months in 2020. That number represents a slight decline from the 15,096 Challengers sold during the first three months of this year, but in the auto industry, the year-over-year comparison is the most important and in that area, Dodge posted amazing growth.

The Ford Mustang finished second in the segment and among all two-door models, with the Motor Company moving 14,675 examples of their legendary pony car. That is a decline from the same period last year and from the first three months of this year, but amidst a push for cleaner cars and limited inventory levels, that is still a strong number.

Finally, the Chevrolet Camaro was third in the segment, but it is far from third in the overall pool of two-door sporty cars sold in the United States. During the second quarter of 2021, Chevrolet managed to sell just 2,792 examples of the Camaro. That is not an error on our part and you read that correctly. In a quarter where Dodge and Ford combined to sell nearly 30,000 examples of their muscle car and pony car, GM sold less than 3,000 Camaros. At this point, it is unclear as to why Chevrolet is still selling the Camaro rather than just putting it out of its misery just like the company did back in the early 2000s.

Annual Totals

During the first half of 2021, Dodge has sold 30,148 Challengers, up 37% from the first half of 2020. That is a great number, but it is still a bit short of the Mustang’s total of 31,949 units sold during the first six months of 2021. Although both cars are dealing with all sorts of production issues stemming from component shortages, it is shaping up to be a great race to the title between the Challenger and the Mustang.

Meanwhile, Chevrolet has sold just 9,881 Camaros to start the year, all-but-guaranteeing that 2021 will be the worst sales year ever for the legendary muscle car. It seems that the company is just going to let the car fade away as sales numbers hit shocking new lows.

Photos: Stellantis

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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