Owners who paid big bucks to get what they thought was a one-year limited model only jump into the frenzy, and many have filed a class action lawsuit over it.
Dodge hasn’t been shy about touting the 710-hp Durango Hellcat SUV, telling potential customers they only have “one chance” to get behind the wheel of the team’s fastest bus idling in the drop off lane.
Buyers were understandably disappointed when last year Dodge said it would bring the Durango Hellcat back for the 2023 model year.
Seven original customers have now filed a class action lawsuit against the company, seeking damages of more than $5 million.
A class action lawsuit was filed last week against the idea of a 2023 Dodge Durango Hellcat.
Well, technically, the suit alleges that Dodge used “false and misleading advertising and marketing” in 2020 when it told potential buyers that the 2021 Durango Hellcat would see its only production year, but reversed course in late 2022 when it announced a 2023 Durango Hellcat with nearly identical specs.
The lawsuit seeks damages of more than $5 million, citing some instances where Dodge representatives made claims that seemed like they wouldn’t exist after that year.
The biggest one? Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis said in a promotional video for Dodge that “The Hellcat Durango will be one model year.
When we turn the order books over to model year ’22, the Durango Hellcat will be gone. You only got one shot [to buy one].”
The lawsuit also cites a press release from Dodge saying this to Kuniskis: “The 2021 Durango Hellcat is just one model year away, ensuring that it will be a unique and desirable SUV for years to come.
” -Come. Based on expected demand, do not save distributors amount. , But there is still time to save the distributor system that does not sell.
Crazy enough to move on
Based on these observations, the case appears to have at least some merit. Dodge promoted it as a limited-edition luxury SUV, and some people paid for it. The lawsuit says some paid nearly $115,000 for their Hellcats. Now, all of a sudden, Dodge is doing more than a car, and these people are very angry.
Of course, there is another side to this: why Dodge said it would only build Durango Hellcats for one year.
Let’s start with a short timeline. The above video is part of the Hellcat Durango launch in July 2020. That same month, Kuniskis told Muscle Cars that the truck and Durango Hellcat would not be limited production vehicles. Instead, Dodge produced only a small number because of this ailment:
“With all the changes we’ve had in the industry to get back [to production] post-COVID and the process and spacing in the factory, the amount we can produce has changed.
I don’t have an exact number but it should be less than 2,000. I don’t know less than 2,000.
That will be determined.” Depending on the client’s request and how much money we can collect in those six months.”
Unlimited production 2023?
COVID is part of the problem, but it has become part of the solution. A global fuel shortage allowed Dodge to produce more Durango Hellcats by shifting production to other models.
The final nail in the coffin is that the Hellcats’ fuel doesn’t help Stellantis achieve its goals.
The COVID-related crisis is waning and Dodge engineers have managed to meet emissions standards by changing the gas tank, fuel tank and carbon tank, according to the motorists, who also quoted a Dodge spokesperson as saying, and the 2023 Durango Hellcat will not.
The size range is limited.
Dodge did not respond to Car and Driver’s request for comment prior to publication.
The company told other media outlets that it would not comment on ongoing lawsuits.
