4100lbs !!!!??? Why is this thing so damn heavy??

[TriShield]

They made it out of a fullsize car they're already building to keep the costs down.

Vehicles must meet federal safety requirements. Mainstream vehicles are also expected to be extremely rigid for durability, handling, ride comfort and overall quality. A rigid structure made to be sold at an affordable price at a large volume is going to be heavy. That is why all vehicles weigh more now than they did.

If Chrysler and other automakers making muscle cars for us had to engineer a clean-sheet structure from scratch and retool an entire plant dedicated to building it we'd have an extremely expensive muscle car on our hands. One that few of us could afford to buy and that couldn't be priced into the mainstream without the automaker losing money.

This is why these muscle cars are made out of existing V8 RWD structures like the LX for the Challenger. Or the Holden Commodore/Pontiac G8 for the upcoming Camaro. It's not really possible to magically make the weight of these structures disappear and I doubt many would be willing to pay for more lighter and expensive materials like aluminum, titanium and magnesium if used to make the car. We would not be able or willing to buy these cars at the prices that would need to be charged if that were the case.

This is why dedicated sports cars like the Corvette, Viper and Lotus Elise cost so much and sell at low volumes. The cost of development, the plants, materials, all that work is passed directly onto the consumer.

Be happy you're getting this car at all and enjoy it while it lasts before government regulation, the environmental movement, our endlessly truck-thing obsessed automakers and fuel prices conspire to kill it again.

[TBONE24]

Originally Posted by TriShield

They made it out of a fullsize car they're already building to keep the costs down.

Vehicles must meet federal safety requirements. Mainstream vehicles are also expected to be extremely rigid for durability, handling, ride comfort and overall quality. A rigid structure made to be sold at an affordable price at a large volume is going to be heavy. That is why all vehicles weigh more now than they did.

If Chrysler and other automakers making muscle cars for us had to engineer a clean-sheet structure from scratch and retool an entire plant dedicated to building it we'd have an extremely expensive muscle car on our hands. One that few of us could afford to buy and that couldn't be priced into the mainstream without the automaker losing money.

This is why these muscle cars are made out of existing V8 RWD structures like the LX for the Challenger. Or the Holden Commodore/Pontiac G8 for the upcoming Camaro. It's not really possible to magically make the weight of these structures disappear and I doubt many would be willing to pay for more lighter and expensive materials like aluminum, titanium and magnesium if used to make the car. We would not be able or willing to buy these cars at the prices that would need to be charged if that were the case.

This is why dedicated sports cars like the Corvette, Viper and Lotus Elise cost so much and sell at low volumes. The cost of development, the plants, materials, all that work is passed directly onto the consumer.

Be happy you're getting this car at all and enjoy it while it lasts before government regulation, the environmental movement, our endlessly truck-thing obsessed automakers and fuel prices conspire to kill it again.

Well said. I was thinking the same thing.

[M3SMG02]

Well Said, Tri-Shield...

Weight in Cars doesn't bother Me. Mine are all heavy cruisers anyway:

'02 M3 Cabriolet, fully loaded, fast, quick.

'06 300C/SRT8, fully loaded, fast, dances well for a Big Gurl.

1958 Plymouth Fury, fast, heavy, beautiful.

...oh, and the '06 Ducati Monster S2R.

I'm not married, My GF understands the Madness.

LJB

[s420merc]

I would have expected them to give us a 6.4L in the SRT8 with at least 475hp with the weight of this car. THE 6.1L is a bit long in the tooth the new 5.7L is 350hp so this car should have gotten the 6.4L for 2008 and then have that engine trickle down into the 2009 Charger and 300C SRT models.

[MuscleMan305]

Originally Posted by American Muscle

4100 isn't that bad. What about the 454 1973 Impala. That was huge but was still very fast.

yeah but what isnt going to be fast with 454 cubic inches, put a 6.1 in that thing and all that weights gona make it feel like a garbage truck.

[TBONE24]

Originally Posted by MuscleMan305

yeah but what isnt going to be fast with 454 cubic inches, put a 6.1 in that thing and all that weights gona make it feel like a garbage truck.

How many garbage trucks can you slide sideways? I don't know of any.

[Cuda340]

Originally Posted by s420merc

I would have expected them to give us a 6.4L in the SRT8 with at least 475hp with the weight of this car. THE 6.1L is a bit long in the tooth the new 5.7L is 350hp so this car should have gotten the 6.4L for 2008 and then have that engine trickle down into the 2009 Charger and 300C SRT models.

The 6.4 Hemi was not ready. Remember, only a short while ago it was strictly a crate engine. It is currently being tested and certified for emissions. We should see it late in 2009 or early 2010.

[Vanishing Point]

Originally Posted by Cuda340

The 6.4 Hemi was not ready. Remember, only a short while ago it was strictly a crate engine. It is currently being tested and certified for emissions. We should see it late in 2009 or early 2010.

Until the lie-berals soon finish taking control of the last branches of the government coming up here in November, and pentilize heavily the auto manufacturers for not having 40 miles a gallon soon,.....say goodbye to our current american muscle cars (pt 2),... that run on fuel only! Mark my words,...i feel it coming down the road. Better get,...while the gettin is good! Otherwise you might be pluggin in, and/or alternatively fueling the next generation of performance cars. Lutz over at Gm,.is already talking about a hybrid powered new Camaro (as one of the top engine models) in the works with the new model. Its already starting,...yikes! Not to mention a "GREEN" NAISA auto show this year.

[MoJo]

From Car and Driver....

Still, you might wonder why the smaller coupe—at 197.7 inches it’s 2.5 inches shorter than a Charger and almost an inch lower—is nearly as heavy as the sedan.
Eric Heuschele, manager of vehicle development at Chrysler’s Street and Racing Technology (SRT) skunkworks, says there’s no mystery. “For one thing, side-impact standards keep getting tougher all the time, and we had to compensate for losing that beefy Charger B-pillar,” says Heuschele. “But the real answer is that when you chop the wheelbase on a Charger you still have a Charger.”

[Jace1283]

It's heavy because Mercedes helped design it, haha. The Charger is essentially a Mercedes E-Class without the electronic gadgets.