There has been a battle on the interwebs for the past year about newer Challenger and Charger owners, who are reluctant to take off their yellow splitter guards after purchasing their new vehicles. Several designers at the FCA Product Design Office (PDO) in Auburn Hills, Michigan, including Head of Ram Truck and Mopar Exterior Design, Mark Trostle, have taken to the internet to educate people about the purpose of the guards and why to dispose of them. The PDO most recently changed the color of the guards on the new 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody models from yellow to bright pink, in a hope to have people remove them.
You might have seen some of our recent videos on our YouTube channel, of Co-Editor Jared Balfour, rocking a t-shirt from Grime Industries “Hey Pal, You Forgot To Take Your Splitter Guards Off” Challenger t-shirt at our friend Dave Hayes’ drag racing event in Grand Bend, Ontario (and yes, we know he drag raced a viewer’s 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 with the splitter guards on in a previous video as some have pointed out).
Well yesterday, Head of FCA Design, Ralph Gilles decided to join in on the fun on Instagram. Gilles went on to say, “We are still having virtual design reviews while we self isolate & work from home… While we are NEVER to show future product on social media. I have made an exception this time as this experimental design of a #Dodge of the future fell on the cutting room floor…because the designer decided to make the yellow spoiler guards a permanent part of the theme. We had a really good laugh about it though! #fcadesign“. It’s good to know that despite all that is going on in the world, the FCA PDO team can still have fun while working on the next generation of Mopar products.
So are you one of those who are for or against leaving the splitter guards on your Challenger or Charger? Leave a comment below.
