Dallas Auto Show

[boogieman]

Went to the show. A few general thoughts:
The new Shelby Cobra is very nice.
The new Camaro is no-where near what it could/should be. Rather gaudy as presented.
I'd give-up a testicle for the Aston Martin V-8 Vantage.
The Masserati Coupe is a smartly styled, nice car.
The Lamborghini is, well, a Lamborghini
The Cadi-vette is fairly plain.
Almost everything else shown falls into the "yawner" catagory.
The Challenger is a BIG car. Proportions are right, except the rocker panel is too thick. The up-swept package tray, and the small rear window will make for some limitations in rear sight. A Chrysler spokes-person suggested a full line of cars, including a V-6 model , a 345hp R/T model, and the SRT-8, as seen at the show. He also hinted at a price "in the low 40's" for the SRT-8. He cited the need to compete with the Mustang, volume-wise, to make a "business case" for production. Makes sense to me. But the Challenger is a BIG car!

[BigDaddyWiz]

man i hope low 40's price range for the 6.1 is wrong. 35-40k would be a lot nicer. i figure if i'm gonna buy this car new, i'm gonna get the near top, if not THE top of the line model and i dont want to pay that much.

[wirewilly]

Well, you know what they say; "If you want to drive a 425hp HEMI, you've gotta pay". Or something like that.

[BigDaddyWiz]

Originally Posted by wirewilly

Well, you know what they say; "If you want to drive a 425hp HEMI, you've gotta pay". Or something like that.

yeah, i guess you're right.

[Challenger_Nut]

Originally Posted by boogieman

The Challenger is a BIG car. Proportions are right, except the rocker panel is too thick. The up-swept package tray, and the small rear window will make for some limitations in rear sight. A Chrysler spokes-person suggested a full line of cars, including a V-6 model , a 345hp R/T model, and the SRT-8, as seen at the show. He also hinted at a price "in the low 40's" for the SRT-8. He cited the need to compete with the Mustang, volume-wise, to make a "business case" for production. Makes sense to me. But the Challenger is a BIG car!

I agree with your obsevations of the Challenger. The car is extremely large for what it is supposed to be. Did you notice that they even painted an inch or two of the bottom of the rocker to make it not appear as thick. It didn't help much, however could you imagine if they didn't. From the S-curve down is where the car needs to lose it's height, without those big tires it would really show up. The size of this car is a dumb decision on DCX's part!

P.S. Don't question this car or it's size around here some members don't like that. I believe they are part of the design team.

[Mr.DJ]

Originally Posted by Challenger_Nut

I agree with your obsevations of the Challenger. The car is extremely large for what it is supposed to be. Did you notice that they even painted an inch or two of the bottom of the rocker to make it not appear as thick. It didn't help much, however could you imagine if they didn't. From the S-curve down is where the car needs to lose it's height, without those big tires it would really show up. The size of this car is a dumb decision on DCX's part!

P.S. Don't question this car or it's size around here some members don't like that. I believe they are part of the design team.

It's not that some of us are on the DCX 'Challenger Design Team' , it's just that many of us own/have owned the original 'Challenger' at one time or another and prefer that the new 'Challenger' retain most of it's heritage...including its size. It was never a small car, unless you take in consideration the Mitsubishi version...which I too had once owned.

[Challenger_Nut]

Originally Posted by Mr.DJ

It's not that some of us are on the DCX 'Challenger Design Team' , it's just that many of us own/have owned the original 'Challenger' at one time or another and prefer that the new 'Challenger' retain most of it's heritage...including its size. It was never a small car, unless you take in consideration the Mitsubishi version...which I too had once owned.

Heck, I would be very happy if they would at least retain it's original size! Not six inches taller, six inches longer and 700 lbs heavier. I know that it will inherently be heavier due to safety and gadgetry but it I hope it don't come in at the 4160 lbs of the 300C SRT.

[426Hemi]

The weight and transmission will be deciding factors for me. Too heavy or lack of a M6 will have me looking at the Camaro.

[Challenger_Nut]

Originally Posted by 426Hemi

The weight and transmission will be deciding factors for me. Too heavy or lack of a M6 will have me looking at the Camaro.

Same here!

[wirewilly]

If DCX stops at the 425hp 6.1 AND GM offers the new Camaro in ZL-1 trim, I may concider the Camaro. Here is how it could happen: By the time GM builds the Camaro it will be around 2009 model. Now, they produce it for the first two years with a V6 and the C-6 vette motor as the only motor options. Now, the new Z06 will be coming out in around 2010 (Dave Hill said that the C-6 will have a shorter life than the C-5). Let's just say that now the Z06 will need at least 575 hp to compete at its level. It gets the new LS8 motor and the Camaro ZL-1 gets a 5 year proven- 505 hp engine. No $$$$ spent on r&d for the motor. It's already been done by the C-6 Z06 for quite a few million miles!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry, but true. This could happen. No, I don't know a few people at GM that get info. way before anyone else does?!@#$%&