Challenger does not yet have green light

[sniper226]

Fresh from Auto Blog:

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/05/16/d...e-green-light/

Dodge insists Challenger does not yet have green light

In a questionable Page Ranking move, Chrysler's VP of Communications Jason Vines told Inside Line that despite internet reports of a supplier already working on components for the production version of the Dodge Challenger Concept the company has not yet given the pony project a green light. Vines, who is on the product strategy team for the Challenger, says a business case is being produced "fast" and a decision should be reached by the end of the year. We already know Chevy needs to produce 100,000 Camaros annually for its pony car to turn a profit, so it would stand to reason Dodge is considering how it's going to move that many Challengers. Currently the Mustang is capable of 160,000 sales per year, so the big question is whether or not the market can sustain the sale of 300,000-plus muscle cars per year.

[Source: Inside Line]

[HEMEEE]

Thanks Doug... I posted the Inside Line release on this on the front page yesterday, you can read it here: http://www.challengertalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=582

[tramp]

if mopar lets gm get the camero out first,stupid them

[allhemi]

Why do I think that DCX is going to drop the ball on the challenger???

[Afterburner]

Originally Posted by allhemi

Why do I think that DCX is going to drop the ball on the challenger???

Allhemi,

I don't know, perhaps because they did it the first time too? Let me see, the first 'Stangs left the barn in 1964 1/2, right? The first Challenger was right on its hoofs about 5-6 years later. And it wasn't as if the ponies sold like hotcakes, it was a veritable stampede! According to Vines, they are producing a business case "fast". Like by the end of the year. Now let me see if I can count that fast. Hmmm, that would be about 7 months from now. That would be a lot of meetings, right? And the one thing that is true about meetings is that the minutes are kept and the hours are lost. Anybody care to hazard a guess as to how many MORE 'Stangs will leave the barn in the next 7 months?

[allhemi]

Originally Posted by Afterburner

Allhemi,

I don't know, perhaps because they did it the first time too? Let me see, the first 'Stangs left the barn in 1964 1/2, right? The first Challenger was right on its hoofs about 5-6 years later. And it wasn't as if the ponies sold like hotcakes, it was a veritable stampede! According to Vines, they are producing a business case "fast". Like by the end of the year. Now let me see if I can count that fast. Hmmm, that would be about 7 months from now. That would be a lot of meetings, right? And the one thing that is true about meetings is that the minutes are kept and the hours are lost. Anybody care to hazard a guess as to how many MORE 'Stangs will leave the barn in the next 7 months?

Thats why I dont understand why DCX does not put the challenger on a ''faster track'' then what there on. The longer they wait the more mustangs ford is going to sale and the more DCX is loosing I just hope they dont wait to long.......You know..To little to late.

[Vanishing Point]

Originally Posted by allhemi

Thats why I dont understand why DCX does not put the challenger on a ''faster track'' then what there on. The longer they wait the more mustangs ford is going to sale and the more DCX is loosing I just hope they dont wait to long.......You know..To little to late.

Seems like its already starting?!

[ChuckG]

Originally Posted by From an interview with Jason Vines

In a questionable Page Ranking move, Chrysler's VP of Communications Jason Vines told Inside Line that despite internet reports of a supplier already working on components for the production version of the Dodge Challenger Concept the company has not yet given the pony project a green light. Vines, who is on the product strategy team for the Challenger, says a business case is being produced "fast" and a decision should be reached by the end of the year.

So let us see what we have here:

DCX starts designing a Challenger in January of 2004.
DCX approves the design and has a concept produced.
DCX unveils their concept at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show. The car wins best concept of the show.
The car is then trotted around to various auto shows around the country and attracts crowds and wins awards.
DCX asks potential buyers their opinions on the engine/transmission combination. Response is overwhelming.
A couple of weeks ago, DCX releases the car to Edmunds for a media event and the car draws crowds.

Jason Vines is part of the bureaucracy that is the Chrysler Group. He is one of several individuals involved with the Challenger project that are bickering over how to make this thing. The safe decision here is to make a limited edition model and squeeze it into Brampton. This would be the least expensive way to do it. However, Chrysler would lose much of their market and make a whole lot of people mad. The other decision is to make the Challenger a full production vehicle and build it in another plant, possibly Newark. This would be more costly and it scares these guys knowing they could get burnt. It's the full capacity thing at Brampton that is holding back a final decision. I can't see Chrysler moving production of LX cars out of Brampton. It would be too costly.

People's response to the Challenger is really putting the heat on Chrysler to do the right thing. They even drove the thing around the LA area a couple of weeks ago just to make sure people were still crazy about the car. And they are.

Just a prediction. The Challenger has to be a full production car. There are just to many consequences not to do it this way. The real question here is, "where are we going to build this thing?"

It's been five months now since the Challenger was introduced. And based on Jason's comments we have a while to go before the project team makes their decision. Yeah, Chrysler is going to make the Challenger. Unfortunately we have to wait for the project team to decide where to build it.

That's how I see it.

[l3it3r@gmail.com]

moving lx cars out of brampton wouldn't be too costly, they're planning to make all of their plants flexible enough to produce whatever they need it to do within a couple months time. Look at the belvedere plant (neon and now caliber) they shut it down for neon production and within a couple-few months, had calibers on full production status.

[Honda2Mopar]

Originally Posted by l3it3r@gmail.com

moving lx cars out of brampton wouldn't be too costly, they're planning to make all of their plants flexible enough to produce whatever they need it to do within a couple months time. Look at the belvedere plant (neon and now caliber) they shut it down for neon production and within a couple-few months, had calibers on full production status.

That is because the caliber's design and production costs are shared with mitsubishi. Joint ventures and cost sharing still exist just not as in your face as it once was.... I would rather them build no challenger then to release some japan ape model remember the conquest/starion or the stealth/3000gt --great cars but not the old school american car the challenger is meant to be.....