Dodge Says No to Self-Modifying New Electric Muscle Cars

After generations of drawing more horses from Dodge muscles cars from a garage, Stellantis is pumping the brakes on self-modifying the electric muscle cars.

After the gut-wrenching decision to axe the traditional V8 powerhouses from both the Dodge Charger and Challenger, Stellantis announced their plans to produce all-electric muscle cars. A Challenger-esque all-electric muscle car, the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept, was unveiled with a powerful design — giving hope to the enthusiasts of power. It even came with speakers that produced the reminiscent sound of an eight-cylinder orchestra. It didn’t take long for people to cling onto hope that Dodge wasn’t giving up on the self-modifying speed freaks that brought Dodge muscle to fame.

However, that was reversed when Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis announced that modifications of any kind will have to come from Dodge itself. The ages of self-modification are officially over for Dodge fans. This move was to keep the brand identity intact, while ensuring that any modifications keep the new cars up to the brand’s standards.

“Now, we don’t want to lock the cars and say you can’t modify them,” says Kuniskis. “We just want to lock them and say modify them through us so that we know that it’s done right.”

To make modifications easier and Dodge-approved, they will be offering performance upgrades through their Direct Connection Program. In order to avoid the mods being mucked with by hackers, each car will be assigned code tied to the individual VIN Dodge calls “Crystals.” Cars will need to be physically connected to a computer, since over-the-air updates are prone to being hacked. Owners can achieve this by bringing their EV to specific Dodge “Power Brokers,” which are stationed at certain Dodge dealers, that will download and implement the upgrades for you.

While upsetting and seemingly cold for a company that once encouraged self-modification by selling parts to improve horsepower ratings, the only major perk is that these modifications won’t void any warranties. But, it does solidify the end of bonding through modifications.

Kristen Finley

Before she was old enough to go to school, Kristen Finley spent a majority of her childhood rebuilding rusted Chevy Novas with her dad. Once high school and college came around, she was still actively rebuilding cars, though she found out she had a second greatest love: writing and photography.

Now, in her last year of college, she's pursuing a bachelor's in Journalism and Media Studies from California State University, Monterey Bay after receiving her AA in Communications. She has been writing for three years, and as her school newspaper's automotive expert, she started and solely maintained the weekly automotive section detailing posts on car care, safety tips, features, and news. She covers stories for Mustang Forums, Dodge Forum, JK-Forum and more.

Finley can be contacted at krisfin95@gmail.com

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