“Last call” is a strong pair of words that Dodge is using to its advantage in selling the Charger. When the bartender makes the last call, there’s typically an influx in drink orders since the bar’s patrons know that if they don’t get another beverage now, they’re done drinking for the night.

In much the same way, Dodge has made a last call for its gas-powered muscle cars, namely the Charger and Challenger. If the plan was to boost demand for these aging muscle cars, the plan is working well.

Last call for the gas-powered Dodge Charger

Dodge is making the bold move of discontinuing the products that the brand is best known for. Dodge has built a brand identity for old-fashioned muscle cars with rear-wheel drive and big, loud V8 engines. The American brand is now moving in a different direction.

It’s discontinuing its gas-powered muscle cars with promises of an electrified Charger in the near future. Dodge is marking this occasion with a few Last Call special editions of the Charger and Challenger.

To recap, the three Last Call editions of the Charger are the Super Bee, Swinger, and King Daytona. Super Bee is a factory drag car with drag radial tires and a Drag drive mode, while the Swinger is full of retro style with “Gold School” accents and faux wood interior trim.

While the other two are based on the Charger R/T Scat Pack, the mighty King Daytona is an 807-horsepower beast based on the SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody. It’s very orange and a nod to William “Big Willie” Robinson, the street racing legend who built the original King Daytona Charger.

Dodge Charger sales are up 43%

According to Stellantis, sales for the Dodge brand are up 24% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year. Numbers for the Challenger are up 2%, the Durango is up 22%, and the Charger is up a whopping 43%.

Of course, only a small portion of that growth consists of the Last Call models themselves. However, Dodge has done a good job getting the word out that the end is nigh for the gas-powered Charger. This means more people are scooping up new ones while they still can.

The idea of scarcity has a strong effect on people’s decisions. If an item has an air of exclusivity, it automatically becomes more desirable. This is even true for a fairly common commodity like a Dodge Charger.

Hundreds of thousands of Dodge Chargers are out there, several thousand of which are for available right now. However, when Dodge throws on a limited edition package that you’ll never be able to get again, that Charger gets more exclusive.

For example, when the news broke that Hostess was going out of business back in 2012, people rushed out to get Twinkies. They were changing hands on eBay at ridiculous prices. This isn’t because people really loved Twinkies. They were motivated by the looming threat that they’d never be able to get one again.

The Dodge Charger seems to be experiencing the Twinkie effect right now, but unlike the yellow snack cake, the V8-powered Charger probably won’t return after it’s gone.