Dodge Challenger 'Fury' Is an AI-Generated Nameplate Meant To Replace 'Hellcat'

But naming a car can sometimes prove just as much of a test as it is building the vehicle itself. Apart from being clear of all copyright infringements, the name should tell something (relevant) about the car's personality, hint at its specs or performance, or have some meaning. In short, tell a story. Preferably a good one.

Talking about good stories and car names, Dodge Challenger is a name that needs no introduction to the four-stroke universe. It is one of the best monikers a muscle car could have ever carried. And its varieties, the R/T, SRT, Hellcat, or Demon, tear off the veil on inconspicuousness from the roaring Dodge. The name tells precisely what the car does – not a single person on Planet Piston would fathom a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat to be a family station wagon. Or an eight-by-four-hauling pick-up.

The name stirs the imagination, shakes the blandness off the hood, and floors the accelerator pedal of the blood pump. It bears historical resonances of ultimate bravery and bullet-spitting menace and trembles Heaven and Earth alike. And no, we are not discussing the biblical innuendo about the capital sins IRS.

The name "Hellcat" on the Challenger draws its roots from the fighter plane that ultimately grounded the Japanese air force in the Pacific during WWII. As its name implies, the Grumman F6F Hellcat was a feline that jumped from the devil's lap straight into a dog fight with the Land of the Rising Sun aviators. It tore havoc and ripped the Asian foes to shreds. Like some of the most extreme Dodges of the same baptism did on the drag strips.

But all this is in the past, and 2022 is the Artificial Intelligence era. With the fire-breathing Challenger about to go down in history and get an electric sequel, we asked ChatGPT to suggest a new name for the Dodge Challenger Hellcat. ChatGPT is a dialog-capable OpenAI system able to "answer follow-up questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests."

Unfortunately, here's where AI hell broke loose – as the gallery demonstrates, "artificial" is right about the intelligence of this bot. The computerized naming algorithm dropped these gems onto our curious inquiry: Demon, Fury, and Thunderbolt.

If I seemed harsh on the binary brain a few sentences ago, the "Demon" proposition should stand by my argument. Because there is a Dodge Challenger Demon already – but probably artificial intelligence isn't a gearhead. So we'll strike this choice of the registry and move to the second.

Fury. Granted, it has all the attributes to inspire action, latent danger, contained aggressivity, and tire-shredding muscle. But it is simply too down-to-Earth, too human-emotion-derived to stack against the Tartarus echoes erupting from the core of a Hellcat. It's not sinful enough.

Also, it's a Plymouth name. Mopar family ties aside, it would be like putting the Judge badge on a Corvette. Even the devil has his manners, and he wouldn't be pleased with a car not worthy of his fame. Or name.

Lastly, the Thunderbolt is a strong nudge at the aviation bonds of the particular Dodge Challenger. There is one such formidable airplane, the A-10 Warthog. My colleague Daniel Patrascu is a major warbird fan and shared a list of fine stories starring the demon-powered flying Apocalypse.

Aviation-wise, the "Thunderbolt" name would tick every box: annihilating firepower, unmistakable looks, battle-scarred demeanor, and deterring capabilities. Also, it can strike twice (or more!) in the same spot until the target is no more.

However, automotive-wise, it's also been used by Ford and Chrysler themselves. In all fairness, one land speed record machine from the late 30s also bore the Thunderbolt name (the video tells its brief story), so this last ChatGPT proposal might not appear as far-fetched as the others. But it still feels like it got hold of the wrong end of the stick, be it the gear shifter or not.