It was just a few months ago that U.S. President Donald Trump told the world he doesn’t want Canadian cars.
But now, it’s a Canadian-built vehicle — a reborn North American muscle car — that’s been racking up U.S. awards.
That car, the gas-powered Dodge Charger Sixpack, started rolling off the line in Windsor, Ont., earlier this month. Since then, the new model has won TopGear’s U.S. car of the year and The Detroit News’ vehicle of the year.
Now, it’s one of three finalists for the prestigious North American Car of the Year award, the winner of which will be revealed next month at the Detroit Auto Show.
“I think this is symbolic of the next generation of Dodge,” says Matt McAlear, the CEO of the more than 100-year-old Michigan-based car brand. “This marks kind of the evolution of muscle cars as we know it.”
The 550-horsepower Sixpack is at the heart of the American brand’s transition at a time of regulatory and market turbulence on both sides of the border. The car, featuring a 3.0L twin turbo inline-six engine, enters the market after the Dodge Charger Daytona, an ambitious all-electric muscle car, failed to catch on with consumers.
Parent company Stellantis suffered a steep drop in profits last year, in part due to Dodge’s discontinuation of the old gas-powered Chargers and Challengers.
The new model represents a broader shift back to internal combustion engines — one driven by stagnating electric vehicle (EV) sales and governments slashing purchasing incentives.
“The adoption of EVs has been very slow and manufacturers geared up for huge adoption of EVs,” said Sam Fiorani, a veteran auto forecaster and analyst. “While there is a market for EVs, a lot of buyers really want a gas engine because they understand it.”
The Sixpack also embodies the enduring cross-border nature of the North American auto industry, which has taken a financial beating from Trump’s trade war. The reimagined Charger has been a glimmer of hope for Canada’s car capital, where the unemployment rate was among the highest in the country for most of the year.
“There’s most certainly dark clouds surrounding the whole industry,” said Mike Stevenson, 1st vice president of Unifor Local 444, which represents thousands of workers at the Windsor plant.
“We’ve got to take this as a silver lining, and Stellantis is putting these cars here in spite of the tariffs,” he said. “So that’s a testament to the workforce and to me, I’ll take that good news while we can get it, ’cause it’s been a tough year.”
The Sixpack still faces challenges — the biggest of which, arguably, is whether performance-minded car enthusiasts will accept anything less than a V8 engine in a muscle car. The vehicles are subject to U.S. tariffs, too, since they’re assembled in Canada — and there doesn’t appear to be an end to those in sight.
The car also comes with a fairly substantial price tag at a time when many consumers are already struggling with the cost of living.
But so far, the Windsor-made muscle car is making a mark.
‘This truly is a turning point’
Both TopGear and The Detroit News applauded the Sixpack’s power, looks, and versatility. “The Charger is not only gorgeous (channeling the 1968 Charger OG) but utilitarian,” the latter wrote.
Both outlets singled out the car’s ability to switch from all-wheel-drive to rear-wheel-drive — something McAlear says helps transform the old Dodge muscle cars into more practical vehicles.
“The capability to put it into rear wheel drive when you want to have fun is fantastic,” he said. “550 horsepower, comfortable for five, a hidden hatch design that allows for SUV-like storage capability. This truly is a turning point.”
Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, says awards “are always helpful for marketing.”
That’s especially true online, according to a Windsor dealership.
“Social media is where a lot of that gets advertised,” said Jeff Pawluk, a sales manager at Motor City Chrysler. “I think that helps the hype, especially coming out.”
Pawluk said the dealership — which sits across the street from the Stellantis Windsor Assembly Plant — sold only two of the battery-powered Daytonas. “Most vehicles, we’re gonna sell hundreds in a year,” he said.
They didn’t have any Sixpacks in stock yet, but have already seen “a ton of interest, especially online,” he said. “We’ve had a few customers come by and ask as well.”
Pawluk said many questions centre around when the car arrive, and the different options and colours available. “And then of course it always comes down to price. Where does the price fall for it?”
The new Chargers start at $54,995 US ($69,995 Cdn) and stretch all the way up to $70,455 US, or nearly $90,000 Cdn. But as The Detroit News argued, the Scat Pack version of the Sixpack “goes spec-for-spec against a BMW M530i that costs 10 grand more.”
McAlear said that “while tariffs are definitely a part of the equation,” Dodge is working through it, delivering a vehicle “that is priced appropriately for the segment, the market and what [they’re] delivering consumers.”
He declined to provide specific sales data so far. “But what I can tell you is that we sold out the ‘26 model year allocation within 24 hours,” he said.
“The response has been overwhelming.”
To V8 or not to V8?
Top of mind for many Dodge diehards has been whether the brand will bring back V8 engines in the Charger.
McAlear isn’t ruling it out. “I think a lot of people just saw we brought one back in the drag pack, which is a modified drag racing, non-street-legal car,” he said. “But I always say history has a way of repeating itself.”
That history, he explained, refers to the engine evolution of the previous Chargers and Challengers, which grew more powerful with time.
The decision to go with the inline-six engine for now came from a desire to keep pushing for better performance, he said. The new engines pack a heavier punch than the old V8s, despite having fewer cylinders.
Fiorani expressed skepticism that consumers will accept it, though, calling it a “good test for Stellantis.”
“The Ram truck did the same thing a couple years ago and buyers just weren’t there for the six cylinder, even though it is a better engine and provides even more power and better efficiency,” he said.
No regrets on EV Charger: Dodge CEO
McAlear, who took over as Dodge CEO last year, said he doesn’t regret introducing the electric Daytona, despite the weak sales numbers.
“Hindsight being what it is, could we have potentially launched the Sixpack at the same time as the Daytona? That would have been ideal in my mind,” he said. “That’s not always feasible from a development standpoint, a manufacturing standpoint.”
McAlear also said introducing another gas-powered Charger was always part of their plan for it “to be a multi-energy platform.”
He said he still believes in EV technology and that demand will evolve over time — likely faster in big cities — and that he’s excited the company can “flex with that change.”
What the future holds
McAlear said they started shipping the Sixpacks in recent weeks and that they’ve started to arrive at some dealerships.
Still, Dodge only has two vehicles on offer now: the Chargers and Durangos. McAlear said he couldn’t talk specifics on any new models yet, but that “there’s definitely a need for a more affordable entry level product.”
As for whether any new Dodge products could make their way back to Brampton, where thousands of Stellantis workers face an uncertain future, McAlear said there’s nothing they can say yet.
“We’re looking at a lot of things from a corporate standpoint, but nothing that we’ve been able to disclose right now,” he said. “We’re looking for the best fit for both Brampton and us and I’m confident we’ll find something.”
He noted that Brampton employees have been given the option to relocate to Windsor as well. “So we have a bright future with Canada and it looks good.”
McAlear did say, however, that they’re committed to Windsor, which also builds the Chrysler Pacifica minivans.
“The Windsor Assembly Plant is a terrific group of people and a terrific manufacturing facility,” he said. “We look forward to a long history of building cars there and continue that history because it’s a terrific location from a geographic standpoint. And it’s great to be right across the river from Detroit.”
For the workers at the plant, seeing their muscle cars earn rave reviews is a source of pride, according to Stevenson, the union executive.
“We know we’re getting these cars for a reason. It’s one of their best plants in the corporation,” he said.
“We’re always looking for more products in the plant to keep us stable,” he said. The minivan’s been there since 1983.”
“So it’s pretty exciting to build a car that looks to be the next hot thing in the market.”
