Originally Posted by MikeF
Thank you "GOD" for setting me straight with your condesending attitude! Understand?????????????
Did you ever consider that they should not have made the car so big that it has to weigh 4100lbs? Then the issue of exotic materials would not be a consederation!
Thank you Challenger Nut, this guy is too full of himself to listen or care about what anyone else thinks. It's all about him, perfection is tough for the rest of us to understand. It seems like the BMW drivers here think that they pretty much know everything and have the duty to enlighten us mere mortals.
I agree completely, drop the size some, cut off pounds and put a 6 speed in it. The original E-bodys weren't behind the times, this one shouldn't be either. I think that 3700-3800 pounds would be acceptable to me. The great part about losing weight will be the chance to design in some of the original cars' sleekness and get rid of the 4x4 look of the prototype.
MikeF...
some food for thought for you...
First read my reply to Challenger_Nut.
After that:
it is
NOT a matter of listening or caring for what other people say. I wish that DCX would produce a Challenger that would cost 20k, offer 600 hp, have a DSG gearbox, weigh 2000 lbs and handle like a Cayman S. Oh boy would I love that ! Wouldn't you ?
But then there is a little thing called
reality.
And the reality is that DCX, in order to make a business case for the Challenger (and therefore deciding to produce it), had to use a modified version of the LX platform and existing engines, transmissions, etc. etc so that they could cut costs dramatically...
If they had to produce a total new platform
only for the Challenger, do you think they would have decided to produce it ? I don't think so...
The platform used is not for a medium size vehicle, it's the one used for Chargers, Magnums and 300s: did you happen to notice that they range in lenght from 197 in to 200 in ? Did you notice that the most powerful models of these three cars weigh more than 4000 lbs ?
What in the world would make anyone even have the slightest hint of a belief that a Challenger would have weights and dimensions similar to a Mustang or a Camaro ?
In a dream, that might have been possible, in reality
NO. So why on earth some people that populate this forum are still busting chops about the weight ? Get with the program people, it was sure from the beginning that the Challenger would have not been a light car !
Now I don't pretend to be the "enlighted one" but for sure I can 1) use my brain 2) be quite logical about things.
"Drop the size some, cut off pounds and put a 6sp in it":
well besides the 6sp which I don't think ought to be a headache for DCX (but I repeat...in 99.99 % of the possible usage of a Challenger, it's not needed), for the rest, dropping the size and cutting off weight, I would like to know if you want to commit yourself to pay for the costs of developing a new, much shorter platform purely for the Challenger and pay as well the extra cost associated with using weight saving materials like aluminum, carbon fiber and titanium.
MikeF, we are not talking about peeling a banana here...
It's an investment of billions of dollars for DCX...can't "drop the size and cut off pounds" like you were peeling one of those delicious yellow fruits...
Doesn't this seem logical to you ?
Don't like it ? Don't wanna accept it ? Jump ship. No reason to whine now that finally DCX gave us the car we wanted.
Sometimes I think that for all the people that, now that we finally got the announcement that the Challenger will be produced, can't find anything but criticism for DCX and the Challenger, that DCX would have decided against producing it. You don't deserve it.
If weight is the issue, why aren't you posting at some Corvette forum ? Or some other exotics forum, anyway...
I think the Challenger is a great car (probably the one that is most true to the idea of a real muscle car), I am staying in and I am gonna buy one.
I have been one of those asking for it, sending emails all the time to DCX, defending the Challenger in various forums and car websites, participating in online polls: I knew what we were gonna get, the signs were absolutely clear.
Clear to probably the vaste majority of people, excepted a few...You seem to belong to those few. Now that I showed you my point of view, do you see what I mean ?
I hope so.
PS: also, what is this obsession with weight ? Sure it hinders acceleration and many other things, but are you a professional drag racer ? If so just buy one and gut it, you will surely drop the weight quite a lot. But if you aren't a pro, if you want to have ABS, Trac Control, A/C, and all those nice little things that improve your level of comfort and safety in a 197 in car, you are going to pay for it in some way. And that way is
WEIGHT.
PPS: the comment about BMWs is rather silly. The ones I owned (a couple of M3s) were great cars, like BMW many other manufacturers offer great vehicles. I had the luck to own cars of all sorts and all brands...and I enjoyed all those experiences...
You gotta a problem with that ? Bah...