America, Dodge Yeah! Stars & Stripes Edition Challenger and Charger Celebrate the Troops
Dodge has launched a special patriotic theme for its Challenger and Charger muscle cars, celebrating that the brand has the highest percentage of active military buyers in the industry.
The limited-edition models will be available to order in May and arrive in dealerships this summer.
The surcharge for the Stars & Stripes Edition starts at $1995.
Remember that Dodge Super Bowl commercial from a few years back depicting George Washington at the wheel of a Challenger coupe, storming the Redcoats on the field of battle while flying a gigantic American flag? As it turns out, our nation's (fictionalized) first president and Revolutionary War hero isn't the only member of the American armed forces that appreciate's Dodge's brash, in-your-face Challenger coupe or its four-door sibling, the Charger sedan. So, to celebrate those men and women in uniform-even those who don't purchase Dodges-Dodge is introducing a Stars & Stripes Edition for its two muscle cars.
According to the automaker, it enjoys the greatest popularity among American troops in the segments in which its Challenger and Charger compete. That's not hyperbole-it apparently has data to back up the assertion. Of course, that appeal has a trickle-down effect to the Americans those troops defend and serve. As Steve Beahm, Fiat Chrysler's head of passenger-car brands, puts it, "We have a strong following of buyers who are in the military, as well as many buyers who are patriotic." You don't say? Overtly American large cars (albeit built in Canada . . . ) with awesome styling and huge engines making ridiculous power are popular among the 'Murica! set? Shut the front door!
But seriously, it's difficult to look at a Challenger or a Charger and not think, "Hell yeah, U.S.A.!" The Stars & Stripes package, then, which costs $1995 and can be added to the Challenger and Charger R/T, R/T Scat Pack, and GT trim levels, ups the patriotism further with a cool military theme.
In addition to an American flag fender decal, the kit includes a matte-black body-length stripe, 20-inch gloss-black wheels, black-painted badges, black cloth seats, dark interior trim, and bronze stitching and a little bronze-colored badge on the dashboard. Dodge also embroiders a bronze star on the front seats, a move that could be seen either as presumptuous-servicemen and women are awarded the Bronze Star for exceptional valor and heroism on duty-or tongue-in-cheek, a reference to the heroic muscle of Dodge's vehicles.
Either way, if you feel like signaling your support for the troops in likely the most patriotic vehicles next to Jeep's Wrangler, a Dodge with the Stars & Stripes Edition option seems like a solid choice. Dodge would like to remind active military and veterans that it offers them a $500 military bonus cash incentive on certain purchases or leases.
('You Might Also Like',)
