00:00Hey, it's Meltdown here along with Dodge CEO Matt McAleer.
00:03Matt, good to see you again.
00:04Thanks so much for having me. It's great to see you again.
00:06Yeah, coming up on August 8th, of course, Roadkill Nights.
00:09I mean, this has really become kind of a staple event for you guys, hasn't it?
00:14It has. We're in our 11th year, 12th if you count COVID year,
00:19that we had to take a year off, but we love it.
00:22It's a kickoff to Dream Cruise.
00:23It's the unofficial start of summer and cruising in Michigan in August.
00:28Yeah, no doubt. And of course, I mean, you know, it's funny because this thing just doesn't do the same
00:34thing every year.
00:35There's different things. So you guys have a lot of new things coming up this year as well.
00:38Tell us what's new at Roadkill Nights.
00:40It's always a challenge to up the ante, but we're back at M1 this year, inside and outside M1.
00:46We've got drag racing back on Iconic Woodward.
00:49For the first time ever, we're bringing racing into M1 on the road track as well.
00:53We're going to have a time attack competition for those that aren't behind the wheel of the drag cars.
00:58We've got Microsoft and Forza teamed up with some incredible new race simulators.
01:02We're teaming up with M1.
01:04They're going to be offering their new go-kart and their go-kart track available for those that want to
01:09jump on there.
01:10We've got an anniversary show with the new Chargers.
01:14This is the 60th anniversary of the Dodge Charger.
01:16So we're going to have some going back to 1966 on display, a car show, something for everybody.
01:21Yeah, of course, Chargers, close to my heart.
01:23I was a Charger fan all grown up, and still am, as a matter of fact.
01:26But you've got some awesome celebrities coming out as well.
01:29Who's going to be there?
01:30We've got the NHRA team from Tony Stewart Racing with Tony himself.
01:34We've got Leah Pruitt, Matt Hagen, Ida Zetterstorm.
01:37We've got Corey LaJoy and some of the drivers from the Ram NASCAR truck series that will be there as
01:43well to sign autographs and throughout the day.
01:47Yeah, lots happening.
01:48So tell me the thing that you look forward to the most out there, because you've done this a few
01:53years now.
01:54Well, the thing that excites me this year is we obviously are to market now with our Dodge Charger RT
02:00with 420 horsepower, our inline-six twin-turbo Monster.
02:05We topped that with the Scat Pack with 550 horsepower.
02:08But we're unveiling a new model this year on Friday, and we'll have it on display Saturday for everybody to
02:13see.
02:13But it'll be the highest horsepower yet in our inline twin-turbo inline-six motor that we're excited and can't
02:20wait to show people.
02:21Yeah, you're talking about Friday, August 7th.
02:23And, of course, the event takes place on August 8th.
02:26So when people come out there, I mean, this has been a gigantic event.
02:30I mean, what time does the racing begin?
02:33I believe racing is mid-morning around 10 o'clock.
02:37Tickets are $25 per person.
02:39Kids 12 and under get in free.
02:40If you're a Stellantis employee, bring your badge.
02:42You and a guest get in free.
02:44We're hoping to top 40,000, maybe 50,000 people this year.
02:49M1 is a fantastic venue.
02:50We're excited to be back, and it's going to be a fantastic day.
02:53Other than let's just hope the rain holds off.
02:55Yeah, for sure.
02:56And you just talked about a lot of horsepower stuff.
02:58Do the Dodge folk, do the diehard Dodge people tell you they're looking for horsepower?
03:05They always want us to push the limits as far as we can.
03:08And we brought back the grudge match again this year.
03:11We gave out eight inline six, 550-horsepower chargers to these professional builders,
03:18and we're going to be seeing eight, 900, maybe 1,000-plus horsepower to the wheels.
03:22They'll be racing on Saturday, showing off their cars.
03:25It's a celebration of everything muscle, everything horsepower, everything Dodge,
03:28and quite frankly, the entire industry.
03:30Yeah, and I mean, it's right here in the city of muscle cars, right?
03:34It doesn't get any better.
03:36It's one heck of a day, and I look forward to it every year.
03:39So are you telling me that these six-cylinder cars are pushing out 550 horsepower?
03:44550 from the factory, and then we're getting ready to up that ante that we are going to launch again
03:49Friday
03:50and have on display Saturday.
03:51So we're continuing to push the boundaries, and then with the aftermarket support that we're bringing
03:56from Direct Connection, and the team from SRT hasn't even got a hold of the engine yet.
04:01So there's a lot more power coming to the streets from Dodge.
04:03Wow, that's unbelievable.
04:05Yeah, Dodge really has always been at the forefront of muscle car ingenuity, haven't they?
04:10We do.
04:11We love pushing it, and the Durango is the perfect epitome of that.
04:14We just brought back our Durango RT 392, the first time we've put the 6.4-liter 392 in the
04:20RT model,
04:21offering the most horsepower on the streets for under $50,000.
04:25You can still get the 5,000 or the 5.7-liter, and you can get the 6.2-liter
04:30supercharged Hellcat with 710 horsepower.
04:33So if you want V8s, we've got them.
04:35If you want high-horsepower twin-turbo inline-sixes, we've got them.
04:38We've got your back, and we've got you covered.
04:40It's funny because those Dodge Durangos are so, I'm not going to say unassuming,
04:43but can be a little bit of a sleeper, and all of a sudden they take off and they are
04:47gone.
04:48They are fantastic.
04:49They continue to make people happy.
04:52We just had our best year last year in 2025, and we're looking forward to topping that this year in
04:582026,
04:59best year in 20 years, and it continues to garner fans around the country.
05:04In fact, I was driving over the weekend, and I saw a white one with red stripes.
05:08I don't know if she's listening, but the license plate said, Fast Mom.
05:11It was fantastic.
05:12There you go.
05:13All right, Roadkill Nights, that's happening, like you said, your 11th year, and that's on August 8th.
05:18Anything else that we missed?
05:19Anything else you want to plug?
05:20Anything else we need to touch on?
05:22Come on out.
05:22It's open to everyone.
05:23You don't have to be a Dodge driver.
05:26You just have to want to have fun on a Saturday and come out and enjoy the day.
05:30Well, I'm hoping everything's going to be great for you.
05:32Thanks so much for the time, and of course, thanks for always working with WRIF.
05:37Absolutely.
05:37Look forward to seeing you there.
05:38We'll see you there.
05:38We'll see you there.
05:38We'll see you there.
05:38We'll see you there.
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