The federal government may now be happy to let automakers pollute as much as they want, but at least for now, California's emissions rules still apply in California, as well as in the other states that follow CARB. For most automakers, that isn't a problem, but that is a problem for the Dodge Durango Hellcat. Its 710-horsepower, supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine doesn't meet the latest CARB requirements, which means it couldn't be sold in 17 states. But as the Drive reports, 10 states have now apparently decided to allow the Durango Hellcat after all.
In a recent statement, Stellantis said:
In October, the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat was approved to open for orders in 10 additional CARB states, including Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Virginia. It is still currently prohibited for sale in 7 states, down from 17 in August 2025. We will continue to work through policy changes and anticipate approval to open for orders in all 50 states by the end of this year. We plan to open for orders of the Durango R/T 392 in Q1 of 2026.
So if you live in one of those states and need a 6,000-pound SUV that gets 13 mpg, then congratulations. You're free to buy yourself a brand new 15-year-old Dodge Durango Hellcat. And from the sound of it, Dodge thinks it will be allowed to sell the Durango Hellcat in all 50 states in less than six weeks.
Dodge
Does that mean those 10 states are abandoning CARB regulations? At a time when everyone else seems to be giving in to Republicans' demands, it wouldn't be surprising, but I'm not seeing anything officially confirming that. And when the Drive tried to ask about it, they apparently couldn't get a clear answer as to what had changed. Did they change the Durango Hellcat itself, or did they secure some kind of legal exception? Are all states abandoning CARB, including California? No one can say, apparently.
For now, though, the only states that still won't let Dodge sell the Durango Hellcat are California, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington. How long that will last and whether they'll change their minds by the end of the year remains to be seen. And even if they hold the line and refuse to work with Dodge on the Durango Hellcat, it's not like those residents will be forced to suffer through only being able to buy a V6-powered Durango, since the 5.7-liter V8 is already available in the Durango nationwide. And if 360 hp isn't enough raw V8 power, there's also the 6.4-liter R/T version that makes 475 hp.
Of course, neither of those V8-powered Durangos is the Hellcat, and for some people, if it's not a Hellcat, it just won't do. They need that supercharger and the knowledge that their three-row family SUV is the most powerful three-row family SUV in the Dodge lineup. Do you not care about those people, Gavin Newsom? Do you?
