Brampton to build 30,000 cars yearly.

[DubleDex]

They have to "test the waters" with this car. Sure, there's a ton of enthusiasm on this site, and the with the Car & Driver poll - but like someone else said, enthusiasm doesn't buy cars.

There are obviously going to be a lot of people that rush out and buy this car. But at the same time, 2-doors are notoriously poor sellers and gas prices are killer. Which means that this thing may not be as hot as they'd like it to be.

They've been very careful about this car (announcements and information) so far, they're not about to just fly off the deep end and go crazy. The vehicle still has to be profitable for the company.

As for dealer mark ups, DCX doesn't really reap those benefits. Once the car is on the dealer lot, DCX has already been paid (as far as I understand the automotive sales industry). The dealership then owns that vehicle, and what they sell it for is their business. (It sure would be nice is automakers had "Factory Direct" sales!)

Of course, everything about cost and collectibility and desireability is all speculation for another 2 years... Guess we'll have to wait and see what happens. (They'd better have some badass colors!)

[allhemi]

Originally Posted by DubleDex

They have to "test the waters" with this car. Sure, there's a ton of enthusiasm on this site, and the with the Car & Driver poll - but like someone else said, enthusiasm doesn't buy cars.

There are obviously going to be a lot of people that rush out and buy this car. But at the same time, 2-doors are notoriously poor sellers and gas prices are killer. Which means that this thing may not be as hot as they'd like it to be.

They've been very careful about this car (announcements and information) so far, they're not about to just fly off the deep end and go crazy. The vehicle still has to be profitable for the company.

As for dealer mark ups, DCX doesn't really reap those benefits. Once the car is on the dealer lot, DCX has already been paid (as far as I understand the automotive sales industry). The dealership then owns that vehicle, and what they sell it for is their business. (It sure would be nice is automakers had "Factory Direct" sales!)

Of course, everything about cost and collectibility and desireability is all speculation for another 2 years... Guess we'll have to wait and see what happens. (They'd better have some badass colors!)

I dont like the 'test the water' thing because it does nothing for price and you know thats whats going to help this car sale. The dealer markup is going to hurt sales the first year but like you said there will be some people that will go buy one no matter the price. And you hit the nail on the head when you said 'enthusiasm doesn't buy cars'....Price sales cars and I hope DC finds this out before the challenger comes out.

[allhemi]

Originally Posted by Rallye72

Someone already stated that with 30K /year with 1300+ dealers it works out to about 23 / dealer (or 600 cars/state). Now, assuming you can even get one, dealer mark up will drive the price - at least in the first year - to at or near the 40k mark. I don't realistically expect these to be any less than 35k to start with and if anyone seriously thinks these will be sub 30k they need to think again. But, in the end there's a difference between "can afford" and "will afford". For me there's a limit to "will afford".
It's clear from the posts here that some folks can and will purchase this car at any price point and others are simply kidding themselves with wishful thinking. We'll see how this shakes out over the next several months but I sense another Viper in the offing...

Ok I got the true number from DC yesterday on how many dealers......There are 2832 dealers in the US so that makes it only about 10 cars per dealer and as hot as this car is ever dealer will want there alotment and then some. All this is going to do is make the price so high the avarge joe will not get on in the firs 1-2 years. I just hope DC finds a way to make more to drive the price down.

[Challenger4-TheWin]

probably true, but dealers in rural areas don't get as much as in bigger cities and theirs a lot of diff factors that determine it. Plus i'm hoping deposits will contribute to actually getting the car.

[Ragamuffin]

Originally Posted by allhemi

Ok I got the true number from DC yesterday on how many dealers......There are 2832 dealers in the US so that makes it only about 10 cars per dealer and as hot as this car is ever dealer will want there alotment and then some. All this is going to do is make the price so high the avarge joe will not get on in the firs 1-2 years. I just hope DC finds a way to make more to drive the price down.

Yeah. well maybe us Challengertalk.comers might just have to march up to Brampton and block the gates . . ..maybe do some test drives ! !!

[Manic]

Allocation plays a big part of the game for any dealer.

I will end up going to a larger dealer in Winnipeg to get mine, or if I am real lucky, order one from a car salesperson in Toronto as they are building it to have it redirected to my local dealer to avoid additional shipping costs.

Even though my local dealership is a 'five star' rating, I am still worried that they will be able to fix it...

Btw, in Canada, dealers are not allowed to charge over MSRP.

Will

[FreebirdSRT]

The low production numbers for the Challenger will probably stay the same and not increase, from year to year. This is a Brand Imaging vehichle for DCX.

Since 1981. The Bowling Green Kentucky factory, has been cranking out roughly 30,000 Corvettes each year.

They are profitable, but barely. To GM the Corvette is there Brand Imaging vehichle.

Just like the Viper is and Prowler was.

Ford's Mustang is there Brand Imaging but they have over produced it to the point that sales are sluggish, too many on the lot's, etc.

It is true the enthusiast's like ourselves who will be first in line to get the Challenger. Plus all of the old Mopar collecters will come out of the wood work to add the modern muscle Challenger to there already orig. Challengers, Road Runners, etc.

Just my .02

[firstmethod]

After much thought I disagree. I believe the Challenger is destined to become a high production car with semi-boutique pricing. Car collectors who are hoping this will turn into an ultra rare collectable are going to be disappointed when DCX continues to produce the car year after year after year if demand doesn't let up. Even at 30k per year (a number I believe they will increase if demand is there, as has been noted in a variety of other threads) that's still a LOT of hemi-powered challengers. Ultimately I think they will produce the car for as long as it flies off the lot (or until some other catastrophic event kills the car, like what happened in the 1970s), even if it means a 20 year run. If this happens, kiss your ultra low numbers goodbye even for the "special editions" mentioned by wirewilly in his Carlisle thread.

I for one hate the idea of a low production car. Everyone should have a chance to buy and own any type of Challenger they can afford. Give the public a large number of interior/exterior colors and mix/match options to help differentiate the cars. And let time and attrition pare back the number of cars - as inevidably happens.

[Challenger4-TheWin]

dang the prowler was sweet when it was produced.

[Manic]

Originally Posted by firstmethod

After much thought I disagree. I believe the Challenger is destined to become a high production car with semi-boutique pricing. Car collectors who are hoping this will turn into an ultra rare collectable are going to be disappointed when DCX continues to produce the car year after year after year if demand doesn't let up. Even at 30k per year (a number I believe they will increase if demand is there, as has been noted in a variety of other threads) that's still a LOT of hemi-powered challengers. Ultimately I think they will produce the car for as long as it flies off the lot (or until some other catastrophic event kills the car, like what happened in the 1970s), even if it means a 20 year run. If this happens, kiss your ultra low numbers goodbye even for the "special editions" mentioned by wirewilly in his Carlisle thread.

The Charger was developed as a high production car and seems to be taking off from the production numbers Hemi Dakota has produced.

The Challenger has been developed as a specialty car. Otherwise, there would be a V6 in production from the beginning like the Mustang. A 2 door vehicle has a limiting appeal in today's market.

I would probably go one step further to say that if it wasn't for the demand for the Charger and the out cry of 2 door zealots, that there probably wouldn't be the Challenger. Not too mention, the sales figures of the Magnum have probably been pretty disappointing for Daimler. The Challenger's timing is perfect.

Nothing is really collectable in this day and age. The only way you will almost garantee that is by waiting until the the model has been discontinued or close to it and buy a limited version of it. A good example would be the last special editions of the Camaro and Tran Am. They have done a real good job keeping there value. It will be interesting to see if they will when the new camaro is produced. Interesting note... The original charger increased in value from the interest generated from the new Charger.

my 2 cents... sorry for the essay...