Dodge muscle cars are symbols of nostalgia, style, and revved-up performance. The Challenger and Charger have dominated the American muscle car scene and continue to turn heads every year, every decade. But the Challenger and Charger aren’t just Dodge’s best vehicles. These two performance cars are the reason why the automaker keeps winning awards for its designs.

Why the Challenger and Charger are Dodge’s saving grace

Every year, Kelley Blue Book awards the best brands in the industry for maintaining “favorable brand image” with shoppers in a variety of categories. According to KBB, these categories include “Most Trusted Brand” and “Best Value Brand.” In its second consecutive win, Dodge recently took home the 2020 Brand Image Award for “Best Styling Brand.”

Although some vehicles in the lineup may not make you think of “best style,” the Challenger and Charger are what captured KBB’s attention. After all, these muscle cars aren’t just meant to have aesthetic style, but superior driving style as well.

According to KBB, “Dodge has snared the attention of the KBB.com shoppers by capitalizing on its American muscle-car heritage in the form of its handsome Challenger coupe and Charger sedan.” Calling these muscle sports cars both “striking” and capable of “turning heads,” the Charger and Challenger are saving the brand and winning it awards at the same time.

The Challenger and Charger: carrying the automaker’s popularity

The Dodge brand has always struggled to stay competitive, especially when stacked against giants like Ford and Chevrolet. When Ram broke away from the Dodge name, it may have streamlined things for FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobile Group), but it also took popularity from the brand. According to GoodCarBadCar, sales for Dodge dropped 35 percent the first full year after Ram trucks broke away, down to under 340,000 total sales for the brand. Since then, the muscle car company has struggled to regain its losses.

But the popularity of its two best-selling sports cars has helped keep loyal owners and a good reputation. According to a Dodge press release on PR Newswire, Dodge sold a total of 422,886 vehicles in 2019. Dodge sold a total of 60,997 Challengers and 96,935 Chargers, accounting for nearly 38 percent of the brand’s entire sales for the year. Out of eight vehicles in Dodge’s lineup, these two are an intricate detail in Dodge maintaining its popularity amongst buyers. 

Why people can’t get enough of the Dodge Challenger and Charger

The impressive nature of both the Charger and Challenger help Dodge to maintain its quality reputation, and there’s plenty of reason for that. Not just kings of the exterior style, the Challenger and Charger are beautiful on the inside, packed with power, and available with an almost endless array of options.

According to U.S. News, the 2020 Dodge Challenger’s new interior and exterior styling options as well as a well-built cabin make for a retro, man-cave-like performer. Interior styling includes intuitive, quality technology, plenty of space, and premium materials. Not just here to look great, the Challenger also has a variety of available, powerful engines that can make up to 700 hp. 

The even more popular 2020 Dodge Charger also has 700-hp engines available. It also has similar tech features and package options for the interior, but the sedan may be considered to be more “family-friendly” than the two-door Challenger, appealing to more potential buyers. Though it shares much of the same styling as the Challenger, the Charger is known more for its comfort, space, and suitability for daily driving, according to CarMax.