2008 Dodge Challenger

[PolkThug]

Looks like some competition. 6.1 Hemi

[MacLeod]

OMG!! That is freaking awesome!

The Magnum and Charger made me consider giving up driving a truck but this one may be too much to pass up!

Way to effing go Dodge for making bad ass looking cars! Right now theyre the only manufacturer doing it.

[disneyjoe7]

Looks like a blast to drive, would hate gas stations but......
































Then I could always build that Pontiac 428HO /7.4L engine sitting in my gargage would love to hear that B at 6 grand ;)

[ND13]

That's my next vehicle :D

[Tour2ma]

May be named Challenger, but it says, "Cuda", in my ear...

[cmy330go]

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Nothing personal against Dodge. Just my feelings towards American cars in general. Only american car right now that I would even slightly consider is the current Vette.

I will say that as far as retro styled cars are concerned, that is the best looking one I have seen. Kills the current style mustang!

[keith allen]

I said fifteen years ago,I would never own another American car,and have stuck to my word,but Dodge is making it very difficult these days.

[MrNightly]

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Nothing personal against Dodge. Just my feelings towards American cars in general. Only american car right now that I would even slightly consider is the current Vette.

I will say that as far as retro styled cars are concerned, that is the best looking one I have seen. Kills the current style mustang!

Hence, his 330 BMW. You have to give it to the man.. he has style. If i could afford it, I'd only be seen in the M3. What a car... Mmmm..

[aaharvel]

Looks like some competition. 6.1 Hemi

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[Josh]

I'll bet it will look completely different once it hits the market. It looks too good right now. They have to cheapen it down.

[bobman1235]

Ya never know. The new Mustang was pretty faithful to the concept design.

[ND13]

We're talking about Chrysler/Dodge here boys. They have been very faithful to the concepts for the last 15 years or so. Viper, Prowler, Pt Cruiser, 300c/Magnum, Intrepid/Concorde(original), Crossfire, Pacifica, and more have all been extremely close to the concepts.

For those that won't consider American cars...remember that this car, along with 300/Magnum/Charger, are approximately 30% E-class Benz. The rear suspension, auto trannies, interior switchgear, ESP, and more are straight from the E-class.

[mhardy6647]

I liked the original Challenger quite a bit. Almost bought one, at one point (a long, long time ago)...

[dragon1952]

The first decent car I bought was after I joined the A.F. and got to my first permanent duty station. It was a one year old 1973 Challenger with about 16K miles on it for $3200. A very neat car to drive. This new one looks extremely similar....even the steering wheel.

[michael_w]

That's very cool. I like it except for maybe the back end...

Here's a web site that has a few unofficial concepts. http://creatingthelie.com/

[BlueMDPicker]

Has a lot of the lines of the 1970-1974 Hemi 'Cuddas. Should sell well.

[Mike682]

Outstanding!!!!!

I love this car, all the way down to the retro ribbed steering column. To me, this car looks like a challenger/'cuda combo, which are two of my favorite muscle cars (along with the superbee)

I have no problem buying American cars today. I've had great experiences them..

Like I said in an earlier post, I would buy this car in a second.

[MacLeod]

We're talking about Chrysler/Dodge here boys. They have been very faithful to the concepts for the last 15 years or so. Viper, Prowler, Pt Cruiser, 300c/Magnum, Intrepid/Concorde(original), Crossfire, Pacifica, and more have all been extremely close to the concepts.

For those that won't consider American cars...remember that this car, along with 300/Magnum/Charger, are approximately 30% E-class Benz. The rear suspension, auto trannies, interior switchgear, ESP, and more are straight from the E-class.

Exactly, which is part of why Chrysler is the only Big 3 automakers that isnt going bankrupt! Theyre actually making great looking cars and well built too!

Go look at the new Chevy Cobalt or Impala or worse of all, the Ford 500.

[disneyjoe7]

Quote
>They’re actually making great looking cars and well built too! <


That maybe true with their cars (not sure, not that I'm rushing out to buy American car anything) but I was told to steer clear of their trucks.

[MacLeod]

Well, Im on my 2nd Dodge Ram. I had a 2000 model for 2 years and put 40,000 trouble free miles on it and Ive had my 2002 Ram for 4 years now with 70,000 trouble free miles.

Now granted I treat my truck like its made out of glass and obsessively maintain it but I would have no problem driving Dodge Rams for the rest of my life.

[cmy330go]

I will say that as far as American nameplates are concerned.......Chrysler is the only company putting out even slightly attractive cars. Even though I dislike the 300's styling it is still way better than the offerings from Ford or GM. I have driven a 300C and I will admit that it is probably about the best driving American sedan ever, no doubt due to it's MB heritage.....but I still have serious doubts about overall build quality (they had to cut corners somewhere). That and I have a hard time believing that it won't just turn into another dime a dozen used car with really crappy resale value.

It seems that all of the "big 3" are making strides in the right direction. It's just that Chrysler is making bigger strides. Can't help but think those amazing Germans are to credit for it. If either of the other 2 were able to team up with BMW we might have a real race on our hands. But as long as they maintain their independence I would guess that Chrysler is going to run away with the show.

[MacLeod]

Its not that the Germans are better at building cars than us, theyre building more expensive cars than us.

I mean the $40,000 3 Series is about as big as a Chevy Cavalier. If Chevy wanted to build a $40,000 Cavalier Im sure it would be built superbly as well.

Let BMW come out with a car the size of the Impala and cost $25,000 and see how well its built.

[disneyjoe7]

Price and demand. If Chevy built a 40k Cavalier who would buy it, over a 40k BMW? They would need a track record first.

[MacLeod]

Thats not the point. The point was that GM, Ford or even Kia could build a bullet proof car if they could spend $40,000 on a Cavalier size car. Its not that the Germans are doing something magical, theyre just putting more money into the car.

Look at Cadilac. They make cars in the $40,000-$60,000 range and are routinely at the top of all the quality rankings in Consumer Reports, JD Power and so on.

Its the same way in audio. A $1000 CD player will be better built than a $100 CD player regardless the name brand.

[cmy330go]

Apple and Oranges. A BMW 3 and a Cavalier are not a fair comparison. The bimmer is significantly larger and due to better ergonomics is FAR more comfortable.

If you want to do a more fair America vs. German car comparison a cavalier (or cobalt) vs a VW Golf or Jetta would be a better example. When similarly equipped the two cars come very close in price. Now obviously styling is subjective, but in my opinion the VW is a much more attractive car. When it comes to interior the VW has much nicer materials, and everything fits tighter and cleaner, and after many miles will not rattle and squeak. When it comes to driving there is a night and day difference. I have never driven a German car that didn't far out "drive" its American competitor. I say drive because there is so much more to the way a car feels than the numbers it puts up.

Not only that but foreign cars in general seem to hold up better over time, and therefore typically have better resale values. For example not long ago I dropped off my wife's Lexus ES300 with 137k miles for an oil change. As a loaner I was given a newer Cadillac Seville with only 48k miles. I can honestly say that my wife's car still drove better, and everything still fit tighter. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying that American cars aren't capable of lasting a long time or achieving high mileage. But if you take two OLD equal age, equal mileage cars....one American and one foreign...the majority of the time the foreign car is going to be in better shape both mechanically and cosmetically. Foreign auto companies just seem to pay more attention to detail, and put more care into quality control. I believe this is much the reason why we see American car manufacturers struggling.

Just another $.02 worth.

[MacLeod]

I agere to a point. The older American cars did lag behind the Japanese models quite a bit but I believe that from the late 90's on, American cars were up to snuff.

Ill put a Chevy Silverado or Chrysler 300M up against an equal priced Benz or Toyota out there for the long haul.

[Mike682]

A friend of mine has a BMW for a car. He also has a Dodge Ram for his truck. He loves both autos.

I had heard many times that the newer VW, Honda, Nissan, etc. are "crap", I also heard the same about Chevy, Dodge, etc...

In the end, it's all about who you ask.

Personally, I prefer American cars because I had very good experiences with them.

I agree with MacLeod that the newer Amercan cars are very well built and will stand up mile for mile to any foreign car..

[ND13]

Edit....

[Mike682]

It's all in how you maintain the vehicle and how you drive it. Most people baby their forieng cars and beat the **** out of the domestics. I just sold a 270K mile 95 Chevy 1500 and would have driven it to California and back without hesitation. I just replaced it with a 94 mustang GT with over 160K one owner miles and it's solid as a rock....why????..because it was properly maintained and not abused.

Exactly. Equate owner maintenance on all vehicles and see what happens..

[disneyjoe7]

Well I think some need to do more research / reading, you don't read consumer reports.

I take a 25k Honda over a 25k Chevy anyday, I traded my wife's Chevy for an Acura due to our fear it would die on the road one day.. I never had that fear driving an Honda or Toyota and I drive HARD trust me.