There once was a time when Californian enthusiasts had to endure not being able to order certain new vehicles due to emissions regulations. Today, this can hold true for 17 states, as certain Dodge Durango variants will not be available based on state regulations.
Seventeen states? That’s the number that are not allowed to sell the Durango R/T and Hellcat, according to Car and Driver.
Those states follow the CARB (California Air Resources Board) emissions standard, a piece of California regulation that appears to have proliferated to 16 other states, including Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
Dodge certainly could have made the 6.4-liter 392 Hemi and 6.2-liter Hellcat compliant with CARB, but the cost to do so possibly would have been greater than the profit potential. As such, consumers in CARB states are left with the Durango GT if a V8 is desired, in this case a 5.7-liter Hemi with 360 horsepower—a nice step up from the 295-horse V6 from previous GTs.
“As we prepare to begin production of the Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak later in Q4 and open for orders of the Durango R/T 392 by the end of the year, we continue to work with CARB on opportunities to sell these two powertrains in all states alongside the 5.7-liter Durango GT,” says a Dodge spokesperson.
