Coffin Corner
January 15, 2026
Alex KiersteinThe Dodge Hornet tried to wedge itself into a narrow corner of the crossover market. It turns out that market doesn’t actually exist.
There is probably a real-life coffin corner in the crossover space that the Dodge Hornet could have carefully, if precariously, flown into. If you don’t know the term, it’s aeronautical. Some airplanes, at some altitudes, had a stall speed (where the wings stop providing lift, which is Very Bad) that was very close to the maximum speed. Famously, the Lockheed U-2 spy plane’s coffin corner was unbelievably narrow. Less than 10 mph separated the stall speed from a speed at which buffeting started to hammer the aircraft. Too slow, and you lose altitude and perhaps a surface-to-air-missle BBQs your ass. Too fast, and what’s essentially massive turbulence puts serious stress on you and the highly specialized airframe.
The metaphor works if you consider that the Dodge Hornet was aiming at a very strange, very specific space in the crossover world. It would have to hit it perfectly, with just-right pricing, space, and features, to succeed. It did not. Recent regulatory changes to fuel economy standards appear to make this a convenient time to allow the Hornet to auger in.
Reverse engineer the basic compact crossover from the generally accepted consumer perspective. Buyers are sensitive to value, space, amenities, safety, and reliability. Value doesn’t necessarily mean cut-rate base models; but consumers do have to feel like the up-market trims they are buying are a good value.
The Italian-built Dodge Hornet’s appeal was, frankly, none of these things except perhaps amenities. The Hornet offered power and handling, and what some reviewers thought were sporty looks. (I am not among them.) And while there was some value in that, as equipped and with the performance it offered, the base MSRP was ok, it was just that—ok. Not exceptional. The small interior with its cheap-looking and -feeling pieces also undercut that argument.
While serious power is a nice upsell in, say, the Toyota RAV4 line, it is all the Hornet had to offer. Two flavors of power. You weren’t coming into the dealer on Dodge’s strong reputation for reliability and a low base MSRP and then being upsold into a Hornet R/T. And so, I think, in addition to Dodge’s positioning problem, there was also no secondary reason for foot traffic.
I don’t think the Hornet was very high on anyone’s list of comparables, and how far down do you expect a buyer to go to find out that they dig the Hornet’s unique skillset?
Not far enough. Dodge has confirmed to Alloy that the Hornet is done. Its flight envelope was simply too narrow, to draw the metaphor out to its tired conclusion. Here is Dodge’s official statement:
Production of the Dodge Hornet, built in Italy, has ended due to shifts in the policy environment. Dodge is committed to ensuring Dodge Hornet owners continue to receive customer support, service, warranty coverage and sustained parts supply. All Dodge Hornet models carry a 3-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper and 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty. Dodge Hornet R/T PHEV upgrades to 8-year/80,000-mile warranty on hybrid components and 8-year/100,000-mile warranty for battery.
Dodge remains focused on its core multi-energy muscle lineup, featuring the all-new 550-horsepower Dodge Charger Scat Pack and 420-horsepower Charger R/T powered by the 3.0L Twin Turbo SIXPACK H.O. and S.O. engines, available in both two and four doors, the Dodge Durango three-row muscle SUV, available with up to 710 horsepower, and the 670-horsepower Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack, the world’s quickest and most powerful muscle car.
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Peter Hughes
January 15, 2026
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