DodgeThere aren't many vehicles on sale in the U.S. that are older than the Dodge Durango, but despite its age, the big SUV just had its best half-year of sales since before Barack Obama announced he was running for President. That's right, Dodge pushed 38,575 Durangos out the door in the first half of the year, despite the fact its current body style has been on sale since 2011. A huge reason for this jump? The Hemi V8, baby.This is the clearest example yet of whatever the opposite of "Go Woke, Go Broke" is. As we previously reported, Dodge resurrected the 475-horsepower 6.4-liter Hemi V8 earlier this year, but instead of putting it behind the SRT badge, Dodge decided to democratize it with the Durango R/T 392 and its somewhat affordable sub-$52,000 starting price. Its 5.7-liter Hemi starts at just $46,670, and the recently reintroduced base-level V6 starts at a more reasonable $40,990. Of course, at the opposite end of the spectrum is the 710-hp $81,990 Durango SRT Hellcat. God bless America.All of this has led to a 12.1% jump over 2025's first-half sales. It's also the third-generation Durango's best start to a year since it was launched 16 years ago and the best first-half for any Durango since 2006, according to CarBuzz. That's damn impressive.AdvertisementAdvertisementRead more: 11 Of The Biggest V8 Engines Ever Put In Production CarsDodge's gamble pays offDodgeDodge — if you didn't notice — has been very slow to embrace electrification. Yeah, there's the all-electric Charger Daytona, but that's hardly been a roaring success. Now, it seems Dodge has put an even bigger emphasis on gas-powered vehicles and affordable performance.In many ways, Dodge has always had the midsize V8 crossover market to itself. Even its sister company Jeep dropped the V8 Grand Cherokee, but these moves to add back V8s reaffirm the automaker's commitment. I mean, look at the rest of the Durango's competition. Imagine a Telluride, Atlas or Pilot with a 6.4-liter V8 in it? Those SUVs would get twisted in half.It'll be interesting to see where Dodge takes the Durango next. The company is slated to redesign the 'Rango sometime around 2029, according to CarBuzz. Obviously, it's hard to say where the automotive market will be in three years. Hell, if you asked me three years ago where it would be now, I'd have been very wrong, but it's probably a good idea for Dodge to stay the course. Don't mess with a good thing, ya know? It's incredibly rare for a vehicle this old to still be setting sales records, and that's not something that should be taken lightly.AdvertisementAdvertisementWant more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox, and follow us or add us as a preferred search source on Google.Read the original article on Jalopnik.
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