Dodge decides only its most worthy dealers can sell the Challenger and Charger Hellcats

By Andrew Hard September 11, 2014

Dodge Challenger Hellcat — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Whoever holds the sales numbers, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Hellcat.

Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis has been doing his best Odin impression lately, saying that Dodge dealerships will only be granted access to the new Challenger and Charger Hellcat if they meet a certain sales goal.

“You sell a lot of Darts for me, Journeys for me, Durangos for me, I’m going to give you the rights to this one too,” he said, “because this is a halo of the brand.”

That means if you live in Small Town, U.S.A, your first chance at an 11.2-second quarter mile may be a few cities over.

180 is the magic number, says Automotive News, as in the number of days a certain amount of Dodge vehicles must be sold. The report didn’t specify the exact number of sales needed, but it did add that a second batch of Hellcats in December will be allocated based on the previous 90 days of sales.

Related: Dodge’s 2015 Challenger Hellcat burns 1.5 gallons of gas every minute

Dodge’s reasoning? To make sure as many Hellcats are on the road as possible. After all, a 707-horsepower V8 doesn’t do much good parked in a fluorescent showroom.

Kuniskis says the Hellcats will also serve as a reward for dealers “that are selling the Dodge brand.”

This is great news for consumers, because it discourages dealerships from instituting ridiculous markups to generate profit. For the sales manager at your local car lot? Not so great.

“If you want to market-adjust the car, that’s your right,” he says. “But if your days-on-lot goes above what the other guys that are selling them at MSRP is, they will end up earning the allocation because their days-on-lot will be lower. They’re turning the inventory.”

“Some dealers are going to have some heartburn with that,” he continued. “It’s going to be a nightmare, but I think it’s the right thing to do.”

The Dodge Challenger Hellcat starts at $59,995.

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