For some automakers, the debut of a new model — or a new design for a storied one — is cause for a large-scale event, with VIPs, extravagant sound and lighting and the perfect location to show off the vehicle’s appeal. It’s an understandable playbook in part because it works; if you’re an automaker who wants people to think that something is a big deal, it helps to treat it like one.
But that’s not the only way to attract buzz for a new design — and it sure looks like Dodge has opted for (with apologies to Robert Frost) the road less traveled when it comes to revealing the new look of the Dodge Charger. Earlier this year, Dodge released a commercial touting the appeal of its vehicles when it comes to speed — a quality that could land you on the “naughty list” if “speed is your vice.” Now, holiday-themed ads are nothing new for automakers — or for pretty much any company looking to sell something in the waning months of the year.
As Daniel Golson pointed out at Jalopnik, it sure looks like there’s an Easter egg in this ad for keen-eyed Charger enthusiasts. (Pardon the mixed holiday metaphor.) One of the first images shown in the ad is an illustration of a car literally dashing through the snow — and the illustration lines up neatly with other images of Dodge’s next iteration of the Charger.
Golson points out that the illustration in the commercial lines up with images that surfaced earlier this year of a Charger Daytona SRT — the concept version of which first debuted last year. This electric car is intended to succeed the existing Charger and Challenger — both of which are prominently featured in the “Naughty List” commercial.
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There’s more power to be had in the muscle car’s Last Call lineup, but the deliciously retro Scat Pack Swinger is the one you wantJalopnik’s reporting notes that the illustration in the commercial resembled the leaked images and concept car in a few respects, including a “bulging hood is nearly identical to that of the concept, as is the overall surfacing and lines of the body.” In other areas, notably the headlights, the design has evolved — though some changes in the last year aren’t terribly surprising.
And if muscle car enthusiasts have their interest piqued from an unexpected source — well, maybe the automotive rumor version of Christmas came a little early this year.
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