The 2026 electric Dodge Charger's artificial engine rumble might sound like a leaf blower to some critics, but at least one Car & Driver reviewer deemed it authentic enough to earn the approval of men sporting mullets who also happen to drive muscle cars.
By equipping Chargers with artificial sound effects, Dodge hopes to make these electric hotrods more appealing to some drivers — whether or not they have mullets.
The pseudo rumble of a Charger EV or Ford’s Mustang Mach-E is evidence that the driving public’s affection for the experience of driving a gas-powered vehicle runs deep.
At the same time, demand for EVs continues to grow in Wyoming and neighboring states.
Colorado recently surged to lead the nation with 32.4% of new vehicle sales being electric in the third quarter of 2025. Third-quarter numbers aren’t available for Wyoming, but the Cowboy State is typically near the bottom of the list for EV sales.
A March industry report by Edmunds ranks Wyoming 44th of the 50 states for percentage of auto sales being electric. Overall, EVs make up about 8% of new car sales in the United States, the report says.
EVs are not zipping off the lots at Wyoming car dealerships as fast, but the state continues to attract and accommodate EV drivers.
Demand for EVs surged in the months leading up to Sept. 30, which marked the end of a $7,500 federal tax credit for new electric vehicles and a $4,000 credit for used EVs. Both incentives disappeared as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Demand for EVs remains, especially in states like Colorado where state tax incentives keep enticing buyers.
While at a slower pace, EV adoption also keeps on trucking in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, which are home to a set of potential customers who may find EVs like the Charger more appealing because it includes the satisfying sound of engine rumble.
Michael Kahn, publisher of The Weekly Driver automotive blog who has test-driven about 30 EVs in 2025 alone, experienced the Charger’s controversial "Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust" firsthand.
The term “Fratzonic” draws from Dodge’s historic Fratzog logo, which was a distinctive three-lobed emblem used on Dodge muscle cars in the past, lending a nostalgic connotation to the name.
“It has a couple different power modes. It has a track mode and race mode,” said Kahn, who drove a blue Charger.
“It has electronic sounds and the rumble,” he said. "When you hear about it you think it’s a little cheesy. Is it going to be that cool? And I'd say when you're inside the car it's a really fun car to drive.”
Car & Driver's review of the Dodge Charger Daytona EV's simulated engine rumble delivered a wider range of reactions.
While one reviewer called it "Mullettastic,” suggesting it will be met with approval by the mulleted masses of muscle car fans, others offered harsh criticisms.
One called the artificial exhaust noise "annoying" and "stupid," with another said it "sounded like a leaf blower that was recorded on a '90s phone."
Divided opinions don’t stop at the artificial engine noise.
The EV landscape is dotted with different camps and points of view, with Wyoming offering a mix of skepticism and commitment to supporting EV drivers on the state’s roads.
Charging Ahead
Kahn calls North Dakota and Wyoming "infrastructure pioneers" for their exceptional preparation despite lower numbers of EV drivers due to each state’s relatively low populations.
North Dakota leads nationally with 333.7 charging ports per 1,000 EVs, while Wyoming follows closely with 333.6 ports per 1,000 EVs — positioning both states as EV corridor leaders.
Jesse Therien, Montana project manager for Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities, pointed out this paradox: "In Wyoming, they have more DCFCs (DC fast chargers) per EV than anywhere else."
He said that while Colorado has “10 times the number of DCFC (Level 3 chargers), they have 100 times the number of EVs."
This infrastructure abundance in Wyoming serves a different purpose than Colorado's urban charging network.
Alicia Cox, executive director of Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities, explained that Wyoming's charging infrastructure development has been partly driven by tourism.
"What are those who are coming to our region needing?” she said about what drives those decisions. "And let's help provide that to our customers, our constituents, those that we want to be here and we want to have an enjoyable time."
Dealership Divide
"In Wyoming, they try and talk you out of buying an electric vehicle and they don't even know about their own incentives," said Patrick Lawson, an EV advocate from Riverton. "Whereas in Colorado, they know everything and they're ready to sell to you."
The contrast extends beyond dealership attitudes.
Cox explained a fundamental difference: "Colorado has a lot of EV owners because of those rebates that they offer at the state level."
She said that when reaching out to Colorado dealerships before they realize you're from Wyoming, “They would send like these incredible deals and then they're like, 'Oh, you're in Wyoming …”
For those considering an EV purchase, timing proved crucial in 2025.
The best window was early in the year when "there was enough inventory and the incentives were still there,” said Lawson.
As the Sept. 30 deadline approached for federal EV rebates worth thousands of dollars, "a lot of people marked up their stuff," Lawson said, explaining that buyers rushed to dealerships as "people are trying to get their purchases done before the end of the tax credit."
Now that the federal incentives have ended, the market has shifted again.
"They actually lowered them, so a lot of places are still offering similar cash discounts to what those tax credits were," Lawson said, explaining this was mainly because dealers had raised "their prices in July and August and September."
Muscle Car Holdouts
Not everyone in Wyoming is ready to embrace an electric future.
Arnie Zertuche, a Riverton muscle car enthusiast who races autocross, acknowledges the performance capabilities of EVs.
"They're like rocket ships," Zertuche said. "They have a ton of power, and they're just cool that way. And they do really good in autocross just the way their weight and balance and stuff."
In autocross, racers compete on a timed course, and EVs allow racers to accelerate quickly between the turns.
But he said there is a cultural divide.
"You get all these old-school people that are all about loud cars," said Zertuche, describing his own souped-up Mustang as "super loud."
When asked about electric equivalents to Wyoming's iconic jacked-up diesel trucks that can tackle any jeep trail, Zertuche was definitive: He's never seen a jacked-up EV pickup in the backcountry.
For traditional enthusiasts, nothing compares to "something out there that's blowing, you know, rolling coal and stuff. It doesn't get any better than that."
To “roll coal” or “blow coal” is to spew dark, totally real and unsimulated exhaust as you drive in a large diesel truck.
Rolling coal is also “mullettastic,” to some at least.
Not John Higham. That’s not his style, even though he calls himself “a car guy.”
Higham is vice president of media relations at the Electric Vehicle Association, which advocates for EV adoption.
He described the phony engine sound of the Dodge Charger EV as “cringey.”
Higham also said the torque and incredible acceleration of EV hotrods like the Charger qualify them as muscle cars, even if they are as silent as a golf cart.
"For me, it's all about the torque and being quote unquote ‘green’ is merely a happy coincidence,” he said.
“They have no visceral feedback,” he conceded. “They don't have that V-8 roar or scream. An EV is a completely different experience. Doesn't mean it’s bad, they're just different.”
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
