#2019DodgeCharger

While the Dodge Challenger is hardly a subtle-looking vehicle, enough exist on the road to allow them to blend in with traffic a bit. But what if you plan to purchase America’s final incarnation of the muscle car not just because you like burning rubber, but because you want to make a statement?

Dodge has you covered for 2019. Provided you buy one with a V8, the automaker will hook you up with some factory racing stripes.

Black stripes, which were previously available on SRT models, are being extended to the Charger R/T Scat Pack and R/T. Similarly, the 707 hp-Hellcat has some all new banded color options of its own. Red, blue, and silver stripes have been added to complement the preexisting black and gray lines.

While Fiat Chrysler may share its bed with the Italians and has factories all over the planet, it maintains several of the most unapologetically American brands in existence. It’s difficult to imagine someone purchasing Ram or Jeep products without having a soft spot for the United States and it’s flat-out impossible to envision a Dodge owner who doesn’t have a glovebox full of American flags and a handgun.

Whether or not that represents reality (it doesn’t) is irrelevant, because purchasing these brands means buying into that image to some degree — unless you bought a Dodge Journey.

A large part of the American experience, at least historically, is excess. In the car world that means size, which is everything. Bigger cars, bigger engines, bigger numbers, bigger noises. While most domestic manufacturers followed this recipe fairly closely over the last 10 years, Dodge seems obsessed with it. The company keeping the muscle car legacy alive and continues attempting to raise the bar beyond what seems sane. It’s absolutely wonderful.