Why all the American performance cars are being discontinued

At the end of 2023, many companies including Chevy, Dodge, and Corvette, announced plans to discontinue their popular lines of cars including the Camaro, Corvette, Charger, and Challenger.
At first glance, this decision seems weird and out of the blue, but I decided to look further into it. I found that these brands are not so much discontinuing the cars, but more rebranding them to newer electric and hybrid-based models.
This may be because high-performance cars can have a large carbon footprint. For example, Dodge’s popular Hellcat can be fitted with 6.2L V8s that use a lot of gas to turn out the 700+ Horsepower. With all the gas used, the car’s emissions are exceptionally high, something mitigated with an electric motor engine.
The topic of electric cars versus gas cars is a controversial and divisive topic, so I went out to get a few student opinions on the decision.
Senior Liam Cornwell said, “I like the switch to electric cars, they’re much better for the environment.” Conversely, Junior Greyson Ogden, specifically on the topic of Hellcats switch, said, “I think it’s stupid how the Hellcats are switching over to electric vehicles, they’re watering down the most red-blooded American vehicle.” It’s good to know some people still care about the state of American cars.
Back to the positives of electric cars, Senior David Millision said, “[It] Makes sense, electric motors can reach their top speeds far faster than traditional gas engines,” and in all fairness, that is a solid point. My only problem is how am I supposed to intimidate the family of four in a Honda Civic if my car sounds like a vacuum?
But all jokes aside, the opinion on the change from gas to electric cars is a topic that everyone has a different opinion about, and whether you hate the new electric models or love them, the popular cars will stick around just in a different form.
It is important to note General Motors has teased the idea of discontinuing their popular Camaros and Corvette more than once, although they have never come out and stated what the replacement would be in this case.
Ford’s CEO stated on X (formerly Twitter) that they will continue their Mustang cars even if they are “the last company making V8s.”
The new electric models of Challengers have already been spotted in some places across the US, but most are expected to debut sometime in 2024 or early 2025.