The 2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat and its four-door littermate the Charger Hellcat sound amazing on paper, (707 horsepower!) are apparently even nuttier in real life (825 horsepower?!), and can even carve corners. So why does Dodge need this dorky cartoon to sell them?
You might be thinking "this ain't news, cartoons and muscle cars go together like an upstate liquor store and the smell of tepid urine." Well, you're not wrong– but this new robotronic catbeast is nothing like the irreverent Rumble Bee, or even the growling cat-badge stamped on the sheet metal of the new Hellcat's fenders.
This is a face-slapping demand for attention designed specifically because Dodge didn't think 650 foot-pounds of awesomeness pumping from the Hellcat cars would be enough to pry both your eyes off your phone and onto the other screen this ad is meant to be digested on.
The worst part is they're probably right. Nobody's expected to watch football without CGI robots ripping each other apart between plays, so what hope do a couple absurdly powerful, cool looking, and relatively affordable muscle cars have?
"Car people" will be inherently interested in pretty much anything making 707 horsepower, but does the public need a light show like this to give a crap about a car, even if it's completely over-the-top on its own?