Two years ago, Dodge finally lived up to its commitment to ending its run of long-in-the-tooth muscle cars — the Charger and Challenger — and then tried to usher in a new kind of muscle car: an electric one.
Ram killed the Hemi, ushering in new, powerful six-cylinders, in a so many different variants it was hard to keep track of. In the meantime, Jeep was well into its revival of the Wagoneer nameplate with the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, plus the all-electric and somewhat smaller Wagoneer S. Alfa Romeo got a new hybrid small crossover, the Tonale, and Chrysler got … whispers.
Collectively, the effort got a yawns and head scratches, and ultimately it played a role departure of Carlos Tavares. Fast forward to 2026, and not-so-new CEO Antonio Filosa’s Stellantis looks different.
Dodge has gas-powered muscle cars again. Ram has a Hemi again, and Alfa … ok, it’s still got the Tonale, but Rome wasn’t built in a day!? Right? Also, Tim Kuniskis has returned to help bring the American brands back to prominence while dropping just enough curse words to make us giggle and not really offend anyone.
Now we’re nearly into the final quarter of 2026 with the Filosa-endorsed changes and we’re wondering: Are they enough? Is the shift to embrace the past while still moving forward product-wise getting your attention and possibly your bank account? Let us know!
[Images: Stellantis]
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