Dodge dealers don’t need a new Charger — they need a new Caravan

If the market failures of the Dodge Charger Daytona and VW ID.Buzz have proved anything at all, it’s that the Baby Boomer era is over, and their kids — GenX and Millenials alike — aren’t willing to pay a premium for a vehicle that looks like something their dad once thought was cool. As GenX becomes the largest and richest new car-buying demographic, manufacturers need to find out what they are nostalgic about.

To that end, I propose the following nostalgia play: the “Goonies Never Say Die” edition 2027 Dodge Caravan BEV.

If you’re under a certain age, you’ll have to just believe me when I tell you that all sorts of great memories were hatched in the back of the K-based OG Dodge Caravan, both as young kids and as teens — and these economical, practical, and generally fun to be driven in (if not to drive) minivans were absolutely everywhere in the late 1980s and early ’90s.

It’s easy to understand why. With small-ish engines and unibody construction, they offered a much more car-like driving experience and roomier, flatter-floor interiors than their body-on-frame rivals like the Ford Aerostar and Chevy Astro, and the combination of low price and better-than-the-competition fuel economy moved metal.

In 2026, as in 1986, what Chrysler Stellantis needs is a vehicle that it can sell in volume. Not a niche vehicle. Not a muscle car. Not a high-performance halo hypercar. A practical, affordable, everyday A-to-B ride in a body style that’s finding new life with smart models like the clever new Kia PV5 and detail-driven Renault Trafic E-Tech, and a reborn Caravan is 100% it.

Hyundai gets it

If you’re not familiar with it already, the car you see, above, is the Hyundai Grandeur Heritage — a concept car celebrating 35 years since the launch of the company’s original Grandeur/Sonata. It’s a vehicle that’s packed with 80s nostalgia, but updated with modern lighting and an up-to-the-minute battery-electric drivetrain.

I think it works, and I’m applying almost the same exact formula to the OD Dodge Caravan with just a few exceptions:

• I’m making a roof basket standard (those are very in fashion now)
• I’m making AI slop instead of building a concept car

That said, I didn’t just leave things up to AI. I also decided that Stellantis should base their reborn Caravan on the Peugeot e-Partner / Citroën ë-Berlingo BEV vans it already sells overseas for an easy R&D lift. The e-Partner and Berlingo twins are the right size (if a touch longer), and with up to 213 miles of WLTP range from a relatively small 56 kWh battery back, it feels like they’d be more than up to the task of around-town driving and club soccer car pools.

With something more energy dense — say, the solid-state batteries Stellantis is promising to start rolling out with next year — that could put a 75 kWh capacity into the same relative space, bumping range to a much more US-friendly 285-ish miles with ultra fast, 300+ kW charging getting you from 10-80% SOC in about the time it will take your brood to go potty and cry about whatever snack they want from the convenience store.

Keep it simple

If the marketers and brand managers at Dodge manage to get this right and keep the interior simple, with easy to read apps and the right mix of physical buttons, limit the ADAS and the temptation to keep piling on costs and features that don’t add value (I’m looking at you, Fartzonic Chambered Exhaust), they could maybe make this thing profitable at the same $29K number they’re being forced to sell their electric Chargers at.

The key difference, of course, will be that these are vehicles that actual humans and their families could use, in sharp contrast to the laughable “Badassadors” Dodge thinks its buyers want to be associated with. (No, thanks.)

That’s my take, anyway. What’s yours? Do you yearn for Dodge Badassador swag? Do you think the Harley guys that rumble past the park on Sunday mornings are like, the coolest? Did you watch American Chopper and think, “they should film me at my job!” Head down to the comments and let us know.

Original content from Electrek.

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