Dodge is capping off an action-packed few weeks for the brand by celebrating a pair of 2023 Kelley Blue Book Brand Image Awards, with Dodge taking honors for Best Performance Brand and Most Refined Brand. The honors mark the fifth consecutive year Dodge has been recognized with a KBB.com Brand Image Award.
The 2023 Brand Image Awards are based on consumer automotive perception data from Kelley Blue Book’s Brand Watch study. Kelley Blue Book’s Brand Watch is an online brand and model perception tracking study, which taps into more than 12,000 in-market new-vehicle shoppers annually on KBB.com. The highly comprehensive study offers insight into how shoppers perceive important factors driving their purchase decisions and captures brand/model familiarity and loyalty among new-car shoppers. The study is broken out by six segments and captures brand and model familiarity and consideration among new-car shoppers. The study tracks 12 factors important to shoppers across all segments and models and respondents are in-market for a new vehicle and recruited from KBB.com.
“We are honored by this recognition from Kelley Blue Book, especially as we double down on our brand’s commitment to performance,” said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge brand chief executive officer – Stellantis. “The all-new Dodge Hornet GT is shipping now to dealerships, disrupting the status quo of the mainstream CUV segment with class-exclusive and best-in-class performance features.”
The Best Performance Brand award was based on ratings across all non-truck models and the importance of one factor: driving performance. Kelley Blue Book cited Dodge models as “bred for high-performance, featuring massive power and torque for an exhilarating, unforgettable driving experience.”
The Most Refined Brand award was calculated based on ratings across all non-truck models and the weighted importance of four factors: driving comfort, interior layout, technology and prestige/sophistication.
Dodge brand vehicle technology was hailed by KBB.com as making “significant strides with its driver assistance features and uncompromising safety systems, while also providing control and comfort in the driving experience.”
The all-new Dodge Hornet offers the quickest, fastest, most powerful compact utility vehicle (CUV) under $30,000 with the Dodge Hornet GT, which delivers 268 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque. The Dodge Hornet GT is shipping now to dealerships. The Dodge Hornet R/T performance hybrid — the first-ever electrified performance vehicle from Dodge — offers the most powerful utility vehicle in the segment with 288 horsepower and 383 lb.-ft. of torque, with a unique PowerShot feature that supplies a burst of 30 additional horsepower. The Hornet R/T is scheduled to arrive at dealerships in late spring.
Dodge unveiled the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT® Demon 170, the brand’s seventh and final “Last Call” special-edition model, in a dramatic helicopter-drop debut during the Dodge Last Call Powered by Roadkill Nights Vegas performance festival at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 20, 2023. The 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 pulls the highest G-force acceleration of any production car at 2.004 gs, hits the 60-ft. mark in 1.24 seconds, and reaches 60 mph in 1.66 seconds on its way to a quarter-mile elapsed time (ET) of 8.91 seconds at 151.17 mph. The Challenger SRT Demon 170 is currently open for orders, with dealer allocations available for viewing at DodgeGarage.com.
The Dodge Last Call Powered by Roadkill Nights Vegas event also shined a spotlight on the electrified future of the brand with the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept on display. The Charger Daytona SRT Concept offers a glimpse at the brand’s electric future through a vehicle that drives like a Dodge, looks like a Dodge and sounds like Dodge.
Also part of the Dodge brand’s power-packed lineup is the 2023 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, fueled by a supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI® Hellcat V-8 engine to the tune of 710 horsepower and 645 lb.-ft. of torque. The Durango SRT Hellcat can move from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, click off a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA)-certified quarter-mile elapsed time of 11.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 180 mph.
Direct Connection, the Dodge brand’s exclusive source of factory-backed performance parts available through Dodge Power Brokers dealers, also continues to grow after launching in 2022. Direct Connection factory-backed performance parts are available through a network of nearly 100 exclusive Dodge Power Brokers dealerships, as well as online at DCPerformance.com.
2023 Dodge Charger/Challenger “Last Call” Highlights
The 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 is the seventh and final Dodge “Last Call” special-edition model, commemorating the Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger, which are coming to an end in their current HEMI®-engine-powered forms at the end of 2023. Six Dodge “Last Call” models were previously introduced: the Dodge Challenger Shakedown, Dodge Charger Super Bee, Dodge Challenger and Charger Scat Pack Swinger, Dodge Charger King Daytona and Dodge Challenger Black Ghost.
In addition to the seven “Last Call” special-edition models, Dodge is also celebrating its 2023 model lineup by bringing back three beloved heritage exterior colors, B5 Blue, Plum Crazy purple and Sublime green, and one popular modern color, Destroyer Grey. 2023 Charger and Challenger R/T models will also feature new “345” fender badging, a callout to the 345-cubic-inch HEMI engine under the hood, and all 2023 Dodge Charger and Challenger models will carry a special commemorative “Last Call” underhood plaque.
Dodge also launched a new Horsepower Locator online tool to help Brotherhood of Muscle members make the “Last Call” for the model of their choice. The Dodge Horsepower Locator tool, as well as information on the brand’s 24-month Never Lift plan, is available at DodgeGarage.com.