Dodge has announced sweeping plans to whet the appetite of the gearbox in a program cheekily called “Never Lift.” It promises a new product or an enthusiast announcement every three months or less for the next two years, plus a roadmap known as “24 Months of Muscle.”
Kicking off are several programs, the most significant of which is the Direct Connection revival. The line of factory performance parts will be made available at select Dodge dealers called Power Brokers. These come with full OEM support which will not void your warranty if installed by Power Broker technicians.
Parts include complete kits for the Challenger, focusing on engine, drivetrain and suspension, with a Stage II kit offering a 100 horsepower increase. Dodge says it’s also working on a Stage III kit that will liberate even more. All kits are guaranteed to meet 50 state emissions standards. For professionals, Direct Connection supplies white bodies, crate engines and transmissions so that customers can build their own Drag Pak Challengers.
Direct Connection also offers customers a telephone hotline for technical questions, a throwback to the original Direct Connection launched in 1974. It offered similar services, including a factory parts catalog, upgrade recipes and a distribution network through Dodge dealers. In 2021 Direct Connection will also offer some of these services on a website. The program will be launched on December 15.
After that, Dodge is looking for a Never Lift brand ambassador who will be named Chief Donut Maker. Seriously. It’s a pretty nice deal (see what he did there? -Ed), as the title comes with a $150,000 salary, use of a Hellcat company, and even a wardrobe. The statement did not say official, but we suspect that social media knowledge is a must. More information about this will be announced on January 22, 2022.
Before these happen, though, Dodge is launching yet another program called 25/8 (you know, one more each than 24/7) to give away 25 cars. It is not yet clear which models and how gifted the cars will be, but Dodge says it will only enlist the help of “25 superstars from the worlds of sports, music and automotive” and Amazon. We will have more details about this program when it launches on November 12th.
The next two years sound like a happy time for Mopar heads, but the octane won’t flow forever. In two years, we’ll be just before 2024, when Dodge’s all-electric muscle car is expected to debut.