Chrysler sees niche for Challenger concept as it mulls production options

[Legion681]

Originally Posted by JeepnReb

Here is my simple business case -

If DCX wants to build a niche car that will allow dealers to price it out of the regular persons price range, I will enjoy driving around my 2009 Camaro or CTS-V.

In the 2008-2009 MY, I will be buying either a Challenger, Camaro or Cadilac CTS Super-V. I am pretty much platform independent and was planning on testing each of the above and take the best bang for the buck. A niche will pretty much remove the bang for the buck. I am pretty certain the Challenger will not top the Caddy Super-V in hp or cornering, but I was planning on the Caddy being $10-$15K more. If the CTS is $5K more, but has a LS7 505hp motor under the hood, why not.

I will never pay dealer greed!!!

Are you sure the CTS-V with the 505 hp LS7 will be a bit on the cheap side ?
I think that with the LS7 a CTS-V ought to be somewhere between 65 and 70k...If you think about it, the CTS-V with the 6.0L and 400 hp, starts at $51,395...not cheap for sure...

[Legion681]

Originally Posted by ErikM3

Well there goes alot of the mkt. They will try to squeeze every last dime out of these cars aka the Prowler. Look what happened to that, it became the foster child that no one wanted and bounced it from home to home, first Dodge, then Plymth, then killed it. Oh well.

I feel fortunate that I will be able to stand toe to toe w/ the big dog collectors in a financial sense but will I want to is another question. For the money what else will I be able to get. If they push this car in the low 50's I will just grab another E 92 M3 and be done w/it. Hell it is a 2 door V-8 too but w/ build quality miles above the Challenger.

I feel more or less the same...
If they try to get more than 47-50k for the top version of the Challenger (it's gotta be at least the 6.1), I will be looking at other vehicles...some definitely more expensive (new M3, RS4, Z06)...some around there (at least for what the forecast is supposed to be...the upcoming Lexus IS500 and Toyota Supra...V8 5.0L with 450 hp)...some even cheaper (the Camaro...the upcoming Mitsubishi Evo X).
Normally I wouldn't consider Japanese cars (no precise reason...they just get under my skin...), but if they produce something really really worthy of my attention, well they'll get my attention...

But if everyone gets greedy (and I mean dealerships and car manufacturers), I can always stick with my 05 Mustang GT...

[Polaris77]

since the first time i saw the challenger i knew i had to have one but there comes a point when you have to say no. If its even close to 50 grand then i might as well just go get the vette which you know the challenger won't be able to hold a torch too.

[BigDaddyWiz]

Originally Posted by Polaris77

since the first time i saw the challenger i knew i had to have one but there comes a point when you have to say no. If its even close to 50 grand then i might as well just go get the vette which you know the challenger won't be able to hold a torch too.

tell dodge that:

http://www-5.dodge.com/wccsapp/unive...ull&category=N

[Mike Penner]

Originally Posted by Polaris77

since the first time i saw the challenger i knew i had to have one but there comes a point when you have to say no. If its even close to 50 grand then i might as well just go get the vette which you know the challenger won't be able to hold a torch too.

I feel the same way. This should be a mass market car not a rich boys toy. My feelings of elation are slowly turning to disappointment and eventually will turn to disgust if they pursue this course of action. We don't need to turn the Dodge showroom into an auction house.

What I don't get is the Challenger is basically a reskinned Charger with the same foundations and same engine options. Yet they make the Charger a mass market vehicle and curse the Challenger - the best looking car they've created in 35 years - to the scrap heap by boutiquing it.

I can't believe they're even considering this. The price of gas should NOT factor into the equation since all their cars have SRT equivalents. If they're so concerned about $5 a gallon they should slash their V8s across the line - or offer a V6 option in the Challenger which makes much more sense (and is exactly what everyone has been arguing for).

This story pisses me off. Do they think every person who's wandered by the Dodge booth to ogle the car is an "enthusiast" or "collector"?? Get real. Probably 90% are working stiffs with mortgages and kids out for a weekend of fun.

And yes I already emailed them. If you value this car and want to see one in your garage for anything resembling a reasonable price you'd better do it to. Otherwise you'll be bidding for one against some very well heeled individuals.

[BigDaddyWiz]

Originally Posted by Mike Penner

I feel the same way. This should be a mass market car not a rich boys toy. My feelings of elation are slowly turning to disappointment and eventually will turn to disgust if they pursue this course of action. We don't need to turn the Dodge showroom into an auction house.

What I don't get is the Challenger is basically a reskinned Charger with the same foundations and same engine options. Yet they make the Charger a mass market vehicle and curse the Challenger - the best looking car they've created in 35 years - to the scrap heap by boutiquing it.

I can't believe they're even considering this. The price of gas should NOT factor into the equation since all their cars have SRT equivalents. If they're so concerned about $5 a gallon they should slash their V8s across the line - or offer a V6 option in the Challenger which makes much more sense (and is exactly what everyone has been arguing for).

This story pisses me off. Do they think every person who's wandered by the Dodge booth to ogle the car is an "enthusiast" or "collector"?? Get real. Probably 90% are working stiffs with mortgages and kids out for a weekend of fun.

And yes I already emailed them. If you value this car and want to see one in your garage for anything resembling a reasonable price you'd better do it to. Otherwise you'll be bidding for one against some very well heeled individuals.

very well put. hopefully everyone who feels this way will email them about it too. i'm gonna try to spread the email link around to other forums, not just this one.

i hope you dont mind, but i quoted your reponse into other message boards to fire people up about this.

[Polaris77]

well i emailed dodge yet again about this car. let them know that this goes beyond this car. if they can screw this one up that bad i doubt i'll ever have another dodge vehicle sitting in my driveway again

[rcaponong]

I e-mailed this to Dodge:

If 160,000 redesigned Mustangs were driven off dealer lots in 2005, what message does that send? I think it's loud and clear that Americans have never lost their love affair with original muscle. It took 30 years to get a car to not only have a decent powertrain, but to back it up with the right look.
Now I hear this sexy, new Challenger will be build in limited production. Have you guys been reading all the comments that have been circulating on the Internet superhighway? People are salivating all over themselves over this concept. What else can we do to prove to you that there are thousands upon thousands of every day working men and women (the heart and soul of our economy) who are willing to part with hard earned cash for a car like this, but only if it's within a reasonable price range. Making it a limited run will put it out of that range for most of us.
By the way, I own one of those 160,000 Mustangs. I was hoping to have a Challenger parked right next to it.

[JeepnReb]

Originally Posted by Legion681

Are you sure the CTS-V with the 505 hp LS7 will be a bit on the cheap side ?
I think that with the LS7 a CTS-V ought to be somewhere between 65 and 70k...If you think about it, the CTS-V with the 6.0L and 400 hp, starts at $51,395...not cheap for sure...

It very well might cost that much, as we are talking 2008-2009 for the release. Since the inception of the CTS-V the price has only fluctated a couple of thousand $$$. They were competing with the 400HP M3, which just upgraded itself to 500HP. So the LS7 is the next logical choice right now. They cannot increase the cost too much, because then the BMW, Mercedes and Audis are not being undercut.

If a niche Challenger, with a 6.1 L (425hp), is being sold at the dealer for $45,000 - $50,000 and a CTS-V, with a 427ci (505hp), is being sold for $60,000 - I am going with the Cadillac. I cannot see them making the CTS a $65-$70k car, but I have been wrong before. I just know the CTS-V is quite the car in performance and handling and I doubt the Challenger is going to be tuned at the Nurburgring for left and right turns.

To put it another way - The Challenger will be similar to the Charger, 300 and Magnum. None of those cars are worth $45,000 - $50,000, so if the Challenger is priced that way - forget it.

My preference would be a fully loaded SRT Challenger for around $40,000. If they want to drop in a 500+hp 389 engine, then I will retract everything I said and entertain $50K for a DCX product.

[JeepnReb]

The 300/magnum/charger plant is full and that is one of their arguments. It just seems they could reduce the numbers of the other 3 and sqeeze in the Challenger with a full host of options like the others. I probably should look up the numbers that get posted here, but I just see the 300/magnum/charger cooling off anyway. The 300 and Magnum have been around and the market is getting saturated with them. The Charger is still picking up steam IMO, so they might not want to touch that one. I think the Charger might find itself in more fleet sales.