Why The 7th Gen Dodge Charger Never Got A Manual Transmission

When we asked readers what cars should come with manual transmissions one of the first answers we got was the Dodge Charger, which is an objectively correct answer. The last year you could get a shift-it-yourself, three-pedal Dodge Charger was in 1987, the final year of its fifth generation, and the coolest, fastest version came with a turbocharged 4-cylinder driving the front wheels. 

So what gives? Sixth-gen Chargers and third-gen Challengers debuted on the same dang platform, and the Challenger got a manual while the Charger didn't. When Dodge updated the Charger's exterior and powertrain options for its seventh generation, that seemed like a perfect opportunity to give it an H-pattern manual transmission. However, when the redesigned Chargers debuted for 2011, the only H anyone saw was the first letter in the Hemi logo. 

The blame for self-shifting Chargers can be placed on three things – crash testing certification, the fact that manual transmissions are essentially a niche item these days, and the likely thinking that a three-pedal Charger would cost too much to develop for the number of people who'd want it. 

Honestly, that last point is all that really needs to be said, because when an automaker's pockets are deep enough, it can make any drivetrain it desires, no matter how few people buy it. You think Pagani was concerned with the general car market when it built a single Huayra Epitome with a manual gearbox? Nope. However, when you have to worry about volume sales, budget is everything.

Since the seventh generation Charger has the same platform as a 6th-gen Charger, we can go back to that 2006 model to see what's really going on. When DaimlerChrysler resurrected the Charger for the sixth generation, the car went through crash testing with a floorpan that accommodated two pedals, a 33.3% decrease from the correct number. Sure, Dodge designed a new floor pan for a three-pedal layout in 2008 for the then-new Challenger, but likely thought it'd be too pricey to redesign the Charger around it. This meant that the Charger marched into its 7th generation with that same floorpan.

It's hard to be too upset since every one of Chrysler's myriad owners (merger of equals, my eye, DaimlerChrysler) had the main goal of selling what people are buying, which is the goal of every company. Sedan sales in general have been tumbling down a hill for some time now. Pumping huge money into one by redesigning it and resubmitting it for crash tests to add a transmission that a small percentage of the public wants just doesn't make financial sense for the Charger. 

When the seventh generation Charger was entering the market in 2011, manuals were already a rarity and declining, even among performance cars. Look at Ferrari, for example. The company wanted to keep their traditional gated manual alive, so the California got one as an option starting in 2010. Ferrari expected five to ten percent of buyers would want the glorious gated shifter. Ferrari sold two. Not two percent — just two.

Correcting this mistake can be done, but be warned – it's a lot of work. First, there's the wiring harness, which will probably need to be rebuilt. Then there's cutting out and welding in a manual Challenger's transmission tunnel. If you're going the Hellcat route, which has been done, you'll appreciate the Challenger's TR-6060 transmission, which is a lot like the ubiquitous T-56 except it can handle way more torque. If you want to make the job easier, buy a donor Challenger. If you want to simplify it even further, win the lottery and pay someone else to do it.

The moral of the story is, market forces, floor pan design, and timing conspired to prevent manual seventh generation Chargers. Even though the model got an entirely new platform recently, don't go expecting a manual in the latest eight generation Charger, either. Of course, Dodge originally told us the new Charger wouldn't accept a V8, and that seems to be changing, so who knows? Cadillac brought back the manual for the CT5-V and CT4-V Blackwings after killing it for the third generation CTS-V, so maybe all it takes is to pinky promise we'll actually buy Chargers with three pedals.