Dodge’s entry pulls a fast one.

Plum Crazy Dodge Challenger — Dodge Challenge sales are plum crazy!

The Dodge Challenger is No. 1. Or at least it was in June 2017. In the annual battle for pony car supremacy, the Ford Mustang continues to lead the Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger in US auto sales, but last month the Challenger overtook the two to finish first.

And that’s no small feat for Dodge’s sport coupe. Long a distant third-place finisher, the Challenger is living up to its name and is within striking distance of overtaking the second-place Camaro.

Pony Car Sales Through June 2017

What’s especially significant here is this Challenger is the same generation model released in 2008. Moreover, both of its American competitors are newer, with the most recent Mustang released in 2015 and an all-new Camaro in 2016.

The Dodge Challenger is the lone car bright spot among the major brands in the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles portfolio. Specifically, sales are up 4 percent through the first six months of 2017, while sales of the similar Dodge Charger sedan are down 11 percent.

Mustang sales are plunging, dropping 29.2 percent through June. Comparatively, Camaro sales are nearly flat, slipping just 0.7 percent during that time. There’s an opportunity here for both Mustang foes to pick up sales this year, but we’ll see how Ford chooses to respond before making predictions.

Pony Car Sales Breakdown

June 2017 Pony Car Sales

New and Specialty Models

So, how is Dodge managing to wring out sales from the Challenger, now in its 10th year of production? By releasing a slew of new and speciality models.

In 2008 — its first model year since the 1970-1974 pony car run (let’s never mention the heretical Mitsubishi model of the late 1970s and early 1980s) — Dodge limited production to 6,400 units and nearly all sold in advance of production.

Throughout the intervening years, Dodge expanded the Challenger product line as new engines joined the portfolio. Special package options, including Drag Race, Rallye, and Rallye Redline joined in, giving shoppers even more reason to consider this model.

And Along Comes the SRT Demon

Even as its competitors prepared and released new models, Dodge kept the pedal to the metal with the Challenger. Notably, in 2015 Challenger sales reached a record 66,365 units as a special edition Hellcat variant making 707 horsepower rolled out. The novelty of this before-unheard-of model sparked sales. Also, Dodge’s decision not to limit production fueled interest.

Earlier this year, Dodge threw new attention on the Challenger as it announced an SRT Demon wide-body variant. The specialty model comes packed with a 6.2-liter V8 engine outfitted with a 2.7-liter supercharger with an output of 808 horsepower. Fill this machine with 100 octane racing fuel and 840 horsepower is at the ready.

The interesting thing here is that the first Demons have yet to arrive at Dodge dealers. That’ll happen in the fall and the allotment of 3,000 2018 models should add further impetus to Challenger sales.

Meanwhile, Dodge continues to enjoy outstanding buzz based on its latest super model, no doubt a contributing factor in its sales increase so far this year. Another factor is the Challenger GT, the model’s first-ever all-wheel drive variant.

2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon — 2018 Challenger SRT Demon sales begin this fall.

Ford, Chevrolet Respond

Neither Ford nor Chevrolet is likely to allow Dodge to steal their thunder without putting up a fight.

For one thing, the 2018 Mustang gains a Pony Package, offering 19-inch polished wheels, side stripes, and other embellishments. Other yet-to-be-determined changes will have to await the release of the 2018 Mustang product sheet in the coming weeks.

As for the Camaro, a high-performance ZL1 1LE Extreme Track package debuts, outfitted with a racing-based suspension and aero technologies, while delivering a blistering 650 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. Importantly, Chevrolet matches this engine with a six-speed manual gearbox only.

It may be a few more years before we see an all-new Challenger, bringing the current-generation model run to at least 12 years. That’s long for any car, but still a few years short of the 15-year model run (1979-1993) of the third-generation Fox-body Ford Mustang.

Sales statistics verified with each manufacturer.

Sales are down, but a few manufacturers are enjoying success.

June’s auto sales figures came out today and for people taking an extended four-day weekend to celebrate America’s Independence Day, poolside chatter may have silenced the news.

Nevertheless, some of us are on duty — including yours truly — tracking certain auto trends or should I say sales trends, which we’ll amplify here.

To that end, the following are the chief takeaways for the first six months of the year as well as my guess on what the remainder of the year may look like.

2018 Volkswagen Tiguan — New models such as the 2018 Tiguan should help Volkswagen finish strong this year.

1. The sky isn’t falling, but sales are slipping.

US auto sales are down 2.1 percent year-to-date through June 2017, what represents only a modest decline (8,456,896 v. 8,641,718). Still, experts now see yearly sales falling short of the 17 million mark and that concerns some.

One big concern doesn’t have much to do with sales numbers, but how those numbers come about. Specifically, customers are buying in part because of big, costly, profit-eating incentives. Coinciding with June’s sales release story, Automotive News reported that the average new car incentive offered by manufacturers was $3,550 in June, up slightly over the previous month, but 9.7 percent higher than a year earlier.

Price discipline is something automotive executives talk about and insist that they’ll follow as sales begin to slide. But, if the dam breaks, incentives may push ever higher — that’s terrific news for consumers, but not so much for each automaker’s bottom line.

2017 Lincoln Continental — Continental sales continue to power Lincoln’s renaissance.

2. Is Tesla on the brink?

Tesla Motors has long enjoyed out-sized news coverage despite its relatively minuscule sales. Indeed, for a company that recorded just 22,000 units sold in the second quarter, it is receiving a lot of press. As a point of comparison, Ford sells as many F-150s in about 10 days.

But Tesla is the darling of the stock market, environmentalists, and technology fans, so it merits attention. Moreover, CEO Elon Musk dropped a bomb today when he said that the Tesla 3 is ready for production, with the first model slated to roll off an assembly line this Friday according to Reuters. This means the $35,000 sedan has received federal approval and the first 30 people who ordered one will take delivery by the end of the month.

Importantly, this will be the first time Tesla released a model on time. Also of importance, the all-electric automaker anticipates production ramping up fairly quickly, hitting 20,000 units per month by December. Heck, this long-time doubter may soon become a true believer if Tesla pulls this off.

Tesla Model X sales may quickly fall behind Model 3
sales when the compact sedan debuts this month.

3. What’s up with Jeep?

Fiat Chrysler is not having a banner year. Sales are down 6.7 percent with only Ram (up 7.6 percent) showing an increase year to date. This also means Jeep is down and that brand’s 12.7 percent sales drop accounts for more than half of FCA’s first-half pull back.

That Jeep sales are down is a curiosity. Customers are shifting their purchases to SUVs and that’s all that Jeep makes. A new Compass is out, but sales are down by 49 percent. Patriot sales are also down by 49 percent, but that model is being phased out. Cherokee sales are down 19 percent and that represents yet another drag on the brand.

The good news for Jeep is that an all-new Wrangler is due by year-end. That release alone will begin to turn around sales, but it may not be enough to offset the earlier losses.

Two overarching concerns about the brands are as follows: 1), Jeep pricing is high on some models, such as the Cherokee. Customers are price sensitive and will look elsewhere if they find a better deal. 2), Jeep quality routinely trails nearly everyone. Although the quality wasn’t a factor when sales were robust, it may be a larger factor than before.

2016 Jeep Renegade — Renegade sales aren’t enough to offset Jeep’s decline this year.

4. Nissan may overtake Honda.

In most every other market in the world, Nissan outsells Honda. In the US, Honda almost always beats Nissan and in some years, decidedly so.

Nissan has started the year strong before, only to see Honda slip past them once summer ends and sales pick up steam in the fall. That happened last year, but this year things are looking up for Nissan. And we’re not including Mitsubishi sales in that number even though Nissan now has a controlling interest in the junior automaker.

Last year, Nissan had a 5,700-unit lead at the halfway mark. This year, its edge is almost 20,000 units. Rogue sales alone may give Nissan the victory as sales are up a whopping 31.4 percent to 195,689 units. There’s a very good chance Rogue sales will top 400,000 units, even dethroning the Toyota Camry as America’s best-selling “car” in the process.

2017 Nissan Rogue — This compact Rogue is helping Nissan to a greater share of the sales pie.

Moving Forward

My best guess is that sales will fall this year and could take a nasty tumble if the stock market has a major correction. Automakers say they always anticipate a drop, but until it happens, they plan for ever-increasing sales.

Nissan, Jaguar Land Rover, Subaru, and Volkswagen seem like the best bets to gain share this year, along with specific brands such as Ram, Buick, Lincoln, Audi, and Porsche also benefiting.

See Also — US Auto Trends: First Half 2016

US AUTO SALES

Pony Wars: Dodge Challenger Upends Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro