Are Large American Cars Dead?
The large American car is a dwindling presence in the automotive landscape. Unfortunately for fans of the sizable, domestic four-door, many models are heading to the scrapyard in the sky. Among the doomed namesakes, the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger will fade away before the 2024 model year. So, are large sedans a casualty of the American fascination with SUVs and crossovers, or will the four-door car make a recovery?
Is Chrysler still selling the 300?
Chrysler will discontinue its large flagship car, the 300, before the 2024 model year. The discontinuation finishes nearly two decades of the modern sedan.
However, the automaker isn’t killing off its posh sedan without a celebration. Instead, a limited-run 2023 Chrysler 300C packs an Apache 6.4L Hemi V8 with a tire-roasting 485 horsepower. The last 300C isn’t just the swan song 300; it’s the most powerful factory model in the namesake’s history. Still, high horsepower figures and a handsomely-appointed cabin aren’t enough to save the 300 from being one of the latest casualties in the waning American large car market.
Why is Chrysler discontinuing the 300?
Like the past sedans in the American domestic market, the Chrysler 300 couldn’t keep up with the popularity of SUVs. Moreover, with the industry push for hybridization and electrification, the 300’s relatively thirsty standard 3.6L Pentastar V6 mill has no room in the changing market.
Unfortunately, that means fans of large American cars are losing a versatile companion to the Dodge Charger. Both models offer optional all-wheel drive (AWD), albeit without a Hemi V8 accompaniment. Better yet, the 300S offered a 363-horsepower 5.7L Hemi V8 that turns the posh five-seater into a proper rear-wheel drive (RWD) sleeper sedan, per TrueCar.
Why is the Dodge Charger being discontinued?
Like the Chrysler 300, the Dodge Charger is heading out of production before the 2024 model year. Unfortunately, the Charger’s departure marks the end of the wildest, most delightfully unnecessary muscle sedan in history.
At the end of its run, the Charger offered up to 807 horsepower. The Charger’s SRT trims make it one of the most potent factory four-door cars ever. Also, like its Chrysler sibling, the Dodge is sending off the Charger with special editions. However, while the 300C is the only limited-run Chrysler sedan sendoff, the Charger makes up three of the automaker’s “Last Call” models: the Super Bee, Swinger, and King Daytona.
Are there any large American cars on the market?
The larger American car isn’t the only disappearing vehicle type in the domestic market; midsize cars are also vanishing. For instance, Cadillac’s CT cars and Chevrolet Malibu are a couple of the only gas-powered sedans from any legacy American automaker.
Moreover, 2020 saw the end of the Ford Fusion and Lincoln Continental. Both vehicles are five-seater American cars with over 16 cubic feet of storage.
Are sedans extinct?
While large and midsize gas-powered sedans are dwindling in the domestic market, some electric vehicle (EV) automakers continue producing fully-electric sedans. For instance, the popular Tesla Model S and its closest competitors, like the Lucid Air, offer four-sedan platforms on EV platforms.
