Dodge recently released a video where they conspiratorially claim “they” are out to take away your V8 engines.
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Transcript:
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:22:16
Bennett Tomlin
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to my personal channel where we remember at the rich and powerful are to blame. Today we're talking about how they took your Dodge hemi V8 charger from you. Dodge, for anyone who doesn't know, is a car maker that used to be based out of America but is now owned by Stellantis, headquartered out of Amsterdam.
00:00:22:16 - 00:00:36:09
Bennett Tomlin
despite the fact that this is now nominally a European car company, they recently unveiled their newest chargers and in the course of the ten minute ad, they made themselves seem more conspiratorial than your grandpa, who only watches Fox News.
00:00:36:09 - 00:00:42:20
Bennett Tomlin
Seriously, the language used in this advertisement is wild. Let's just watch a few parts of it together.
00:00:42:22 - 00:00:51:08
Bennett Tomlin
It opens with a silhouette of the CEO and then graphics from a C-list sci fi movie with time travel before we're introduced to the Dodge Brothers.
00:00:51:08 - 00:01:07:08
Bennett Tomlin
the Dodge Brothers, obviously founded Dodge. And after the CEO of Dodge ditches his cool guy shades. The brothers ask about the car he was driving and the current CEO takes a moment to encourage them to keep making cars and then says this,
00:01:07:08 - 00:01:17:07
Speaker 1
But right now we're under attack. Your legacy is under attack. We need your help spiritually, of course, to fight the system, not to comply, but to compete.
00:01:17:07 - 00:01:20:16
Bennett Tomlin
This is what I'm talking about with the conspiracy stuff.
00:01:20:18 - 00:01:23:04
Bennett Tomlin
And he doubles down on it immediately.
00:01:23:04 - 00:01:35:04
Speaker 1
But most people think electric cars are supposed to save the planet. Electric cars are supposed to be green and politically correct. So this thing must be super efficient and environmentally friendly, right? I don't know.
00:01:35:04 - 00:01:49:19
Bennett Tomlin
Bragging that your car is bad for the environment is certainly a muscle car marketing tactic, I guess. But like strangely and hilarious for me is we immediately launch back into the tirade about them and what they took from you.
00:01:49:19 - 00:01:55:00
Speaker 1
they told us we couldn't sell Hemis, but they never told us that we had to be boring and slow.
00:01:55:02 - 00:02:08:20
Speaker 1
So we took through, found the gray areas and used them, use them against them to build a muscle car, to build a Dodge muscle car, and slide it under the wire that the regulators threw down in front of us like spike strips on the highway.
00:02:08:20 - 00:02:18:12
Bennett Tomlin
To be clear, other brands are still selling V8 because they also sell other cars that are electric or hybrid and offset those V8.
00:02:18:14 - 00:02:40:01
Bennett Tomlin
The reason Dodge has to give up on the V8 is because they insisted on it for so long. But watch out because they are out to get you. Also, I know I'm supposed to be talking about the message, but also these effects are so fucked up. What is going on with this face?
00:02:40:01 - 00:02:43:04
Bennett Tomlin
Also, the writing in this ad, the humor.
00:02:43:04 - 00:02:46:18
Bennett Tomlin
It's like really bad SNL jokes from a decade ago.
00:02:46:18 - 00:02:53:23
Speaker 1
It will make the rule makers, the suits and the lawyers wish they hadn’t had a kale smoothie for lunch when they launched this thing.
00:02:54:01 - 00:02:59:17
Speaker 1
What's a kale smoothie? I don't really know. But you don't want one.
00:02:59:17 - 00:03:02:21
Bennett Tomlin
Kale smoothies. Come on.
00:03:02:21 - 00:03:10:10
Bennett Tomlin
Also, in case you were worried these cars would be quiet when annoying people from your neighborhood inevitably bought them. Think again.
00:03:10:10 - 00:03:13:05
Speaker 1
is our sonic chambered exhaust system.
00:03:13:07 - 00:03:17:09
Speaker 1
It screams as loud as today's supercharged V8.
00:03:17:09 - 00:03:26:08
Bennett Tomlin
That's right. They strapped speakers to fake metal exhaust to make your quiet car loud. Just like a toy car for the kid who wants to be just like his dad.
00:03:26:10 - 00:03:43:22
Bennett Tomlin
Also, yes, it's literally called frat-zonic. Like the name a drunk college student would give to their rented house. Finally, we get back to the history of Dodge. I mean, if you're going to drag the Dodge Brothers over 100 years into the future, the least you can do is talk about the history.
00:03:43:22 - 00:03:56:15
Speaker 1
They don't know that there actually were electric cars before gas cars and don't know that you guys dedicated your lives to coming up with something better than battery electric vehicles over 100 years ago.
00:03:56:17 - 00:04:00:09
Speaker 1
So you've got to be wondering why we've come full circle.
00:04:00:09 - 00:04:11:04
Bennett Tomlin
However, this feels like revisionism. My understanding is that the Dodge Brothers initial cars primarily competed with the Model T, which was not an electric powered car.
00:04:11:04 - 00:04:19:17
Bennett Tomlin
Finally, after all the conspiracies and all the historical rewriting about how they took away your engines, we get this reveal.
00:04:19:17 - 00:04:32:13
Speaker 1
That was the scream of the most power dense internal combustion engine ever installed in a muscle car in 2025. The all new charger will also be available as a six pack with the twin turbo hurricane.
00:04:32:13 - 00:04:52:16
Bennett Tomlin
Yep. An engine six cylinder instead of eight. Guess they didn't take on six cylinders yet. The entire ad is just absolute nonsense. That is attempting to market against some vague they who just doesn't exist in order to appeal to some of the worst people.
00:04:52:18 - 00:05:10:16
Bennett Tomlin
The last time carmakers were this conspiratorial in public, we ended up with Hitler putting the portrait of one of them on his wall. So yeah, I'm a little worried about this ad, but mostly I'm worried about the people it appeals to. Anyways, Dodge is deranged, and so is this ad.
