Page 12 - aruba-today-20220819

A12 BUSINESS
Friday 19 august 2022

Gas-powered muscle cars drive into

the sunset, turn electric

standards that were un-
veiled in April, the fleet of
new vehicles will have to
average around 40 miles
per gallon in 2026, up from
25.4 mpg now, the EPA
says. The standards are like-
ly to become even stron-
ger in the future, a trend
that will compel U.S.-based
automakers to shed some
gasoline muscle cars if they
are to avoid fines.
Of all major automakers,
the EPA says, Stellantis had
The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT concept is unveiled, Wednes- the lowest average fuel
day, Aug. 17, 2022, in Pontiac, Mich. economy — 21.3 miles per
Associated Press gallon — and the highest
average carbon dioxide
By TOM KRISHER on sale. And Polestar, an emissions. So the company
AP Auto Writer electric-performance spi- likely will have to eliminate
PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — noff from Volvo, just an- some models to avoid fines.
Thundering gas-powered nounced a new Polestar 6 Its limited-edition Charger
muscle cars, for decades a roadster for 2026. SRT Widebody, with a su-
fixture of American culture, One reason for the industry percharged 6.2-liter Hemi
will be closing in on their fi- shift is that electric vehicles Hellcat V-8, for instance,
nal Saturday-night cruises are simply faster off the gets only 12 mpg in city
in the coming years as au- starting line. Their handling driving and 21 mpg on the
tomakers begin replacing is typically better, too, be- highway.
them with super-fast cars cause their heavy batter- To many gearheads, the
that run on batteries. ies create a low center of thought of a muscle car
Stellantis' Dodge brand, gravity. without noise and smells
long the performance Stricter government pollu- is heresy. But Kuniskis says
flag-bearer of the compa- tion requirements are an- Dodge is working hard to
ny formerly known as Fiat other factor, too. As au- make the electric experi-
Chrysler, is officially mov- tomakers in the U.S. face ence match internal com-
ing toward electricity. On more stringent fuel-econo- bustion. The Charger, he
Wednesday night, Dodge my requirements adopted said, will generate its own
unveiled a battery-pow- by the Biden administration air flow to make an exhaust
ered Charger Daytona SRT and produce a broader noise that rivals gas perfor-
concept car, which is close range of EV vehicles, they mance cars. And the trans-
to one that will be pro- will have to jettison some of mission will shift gears.
duced in 2024 as the sun their gas-fueled muscle-car When the electric Charger
sets on some petroleum models. was driven through a ga-
models. Tim Kuniskis, CEO of the rage door and entered a
Stellantis says it will stop Dodge brand, said the pos- building Wednesday night
making gasoline versions of sibly of government fines for at a racetrack in Pontiac,
the Dodge Challenger and not meeting gas-mileage Michigan, it roared just like
Charger muscle cars and requirements hastened the a gas muscle car.
the Chrysler 300 large car shift to the electric Char- Electric vehicles, Kunis-
by the end of next year. ger. "Compliance fines and kis said, have the poten-
The Canadian factory that things like that associated tial to perform better than
makes them will be con- with a big cast-iron super- gas muscle cars with fast
verted to electric vehicles. charged V8, yes, it's tough," acceleration. But he said
Other automakers are he said. they are kind of sterile. "It
moving — or have moved Still, it will take a few years doesn't have the emotion.
— in the same direction. for the gas-powered clas- It doesn't have the drama.
General Motors has said sics to go away. It doesn't have the kind of
it will build an all-electric "Over the next several dangerous feeling that ICE
Chevrolet Corvette. Tesla years, I think we'll contin- (an internal combustion
says its Model S Plaid ver- ue to have some internal engine) has when it's loud
sion is the fastest produc- combustion stuff, probably and rumbling and shift-
tion vehicle made, able through most of the de- ing and moving the car
to go from zero to 60 mph cade," said Sam Abuelsa- around." Kuniskis wouldn't
(97 kilometers per hour) mid, a research analyst at say how fast the electric
in under 2 seconds. Audi, Guidehouse Insights. "But Charger will go from zero
Mercedes, Porsche and increasingly, the focus is to 60 mph, but said it would
other European automak- going to be on the electric be faster than the compa-
ers already have high-per- ones." ny's current petroleum per-
formance electric models Under new gas-mileage formance cars.q