Is it true only 1200 hellcats being made??

[Bruzilla]

Keep in mind the Hellcat is more of a marketing concept than a viable product. The Hellcat generates interest and gets ups (walk-up customers) to the dealerships. Dodge doesn't expect a lot of these folks to drop $60+k on a Hellcat, but once you get them through your door you can sell them on a milder Challenger. That's where Dodge is going to make their money.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Imagine that this was 1967 and everyone was jazzed about the upcoming 1968 road runner having the Hemi. And then hearing a rumour that Hemi production would be limited to only 3000 road runners. Would it have mattered? There was no limit, but only 1009 of them ended up being sold.

I think more people are willing to spend 65K Mopar today than would spend 4K on one back then.

 

[Budnicks]

Keep in mind the Hellcat is more of a marketing concept than a viable product. The Hellcat generates interest and gets ups (walk-up customers) to the dealerships. Dodge doesn't expect a lot of these folks to drop $60+k on a Hellcat, but once you get them through your door you can sell them on a milder Challenger. That's where Dodge is going to make their money.

yep kind of a classic bait & switch, normal dealership & automotive marketing ploy,
you gotta' get the customers in the doors,
{I'm sure the Hemi cars of old, did the same thing, the Hemi "option" was an added 25%-35% of the cars price too}
it's marketing 101, but in a good way thou, especially if it sells more Challengers

 

[the mississippi madman]

I heard 1400 originally but that was a while ago

 

[Bruzilla]

yep kind of a classic bait & switch, normal dealership & automotive marketing ploy,
you gotta' get the customers in the doors,
{I'm sure the Hemi cars of old, did the same thing, the Hemi "option" was an added 25%-35% of the cars price too}
it's marketing 101, but in a good way thou, especially if it sells more Challengers

It's not a bait & switch tactic. Bait & Switch is when you offer a car you have no intention of selling (like a car with an unrealistically low price) to get the ups in and then switch them to another car. This is all about meeting a customer's needs. We dropped close to $60k on a 2004 Mustang GT convertible with a special chameleon paint job and parked it square in the middle of the showroom. It wasn't there to sell, but to place the idea of "I want a Mustang!" into the mind of every up who walked in the door. Up until just recently, St. Augustine Chrysler-(formerly)Plymouth-Dodge had a Tor Red Superbird sitting in their front window. They had gotten the car in 1970 and it didn't sell but it sure drew attention, so it sat in that window for decades doing nothing but drawing people in to check it out.

It's like what Jack Smith said about the Roadrunner: "In 1968 the industry-wide numbers for sales volume were up 3.5% from the previous year, Plymouth’s volume was up 18% from the previous year. That represents a lot of success and a lot of money. Part of it was the fact that the new cars were styled better than those of previous years. I’m not saying it was all Road Runner, but Road Runner had made the showroom a swinging, desirable and interesting place to be. Now when a kid would say, “Daddy, buy a Road Runner when you get that new car,” the guy may say, ’’I’m not going to buy a Road Runner, son, but I’ll at least buy a Plymouth.” That’s how it would work."

Same deal with this. Get the dreamers in who would love to get a Hellcat but can't afford one, and while their mind is open to buying a Challenger offer them a car that better fits their needs.