How Many 2008s?

[Cuda340]

Yesterday, I received an e-mail from Dodge promoting the 2008 Challenger. The web page advertised that the 2008 SRTs are now on sale for $40,095 and urged buyers to "see their local dealer."

I find this interesting, because the advertisement was sent our 15 days after the Challenger went on sale on December 3. Since dealers took over 6,000 orders in the first day, the rumors must be true that Dodge will be producting up to 10,000 Challengers for 2008- not the 5,000 that was originally discussed. Otherwise, if the entire 2008 allocation has been sold, why is Dodge now advertising them for sale?

See:

http://www.dodge.com/en/2008/challenger/

[ChuckG]

Chrysler needs the sales now. They aren't even close to being profitable. It wouldn't surprise me at all if there really is no limit as to the number of 2008's they'll build.

If you think about it, Chrysler is in a bad position with this car. On the one hand they need the money the car will generate. On the other hand they know that the greedy dealers are holding down sales. And this may continue into the 2009 model year.

Most people on this board have to wait, and wait, for dealer pricing to become reasonable. While we're waiting Chrysler is losing sales and money. Chrysler knows that, the dealers know that, and we know that. The only way I see to get out of this log jam is for Chrysler to make more cars available for their customers.

So when will that happen? Who knows! But it sure does seem like I've been waiting years for this car to come out. Now that I think about it, I have been waiting for years. And you know what? I've probably got another year to go. Pretty depressing thought.

Maybe it's time to start looking at other cars. What a bummer.

[JonW]

I'm not loyal to any carmaker. My choice is between a Shelby GT 500 and the Challenger. I'd love to have both, but that's not gonna happen. There are still $10K ADMs on Shelbys in my neck of the woods. I've been promised an '09 Chally at MSRP. We'll see how it goes. I'll buy one or the other.

[Rallye72]

Originally Posted by ChuckG

Chrysler needs the sales now. They aren't even close to being profitable. It wouldn't surprise me at all if there really is no limit as to the number of 2008's they'll build.

If you think about it, Chrysler is in a bad position with this car. On the one hand they need the money the car will generate. On the other hand they know that the greedy dealers are holding down sales. And this may continue into the 2009 model year.

Most people on this board have to wait, and wait, for dealer pricing to become reasonable. While we're waiting Chrysler is losing sales and money. Chrysler knows that, the dealers know that, and we know that. The only way I see to get out of this log jam is for Chrysler to make more cars available for their customers.

So when will that happen? Who knows! But it sure does seem like I've been waiting years for this car to come out. Now that I think about it, I have been waiting for years. And you know what? I've probably got another year to go. Pretty depressing thought.

Maybe it's time to start looking at other cars. What a bummer.

Look at it this way: the econmy is in a slump with no end in sight for the housing mess. People aren't spending money. The price of oil is hovering near 100 bucks a barrell. Barring some econmic miracle come back between now and late next year couldn't be a worse time to wage a "muscle car war". The guys wiith money to burn will get theirs first. After that it'll be up to the average consumer to weigh in. If the dealers don't wake up after the intial binge for the 08's they'll have plenty of product on their hands. Also consider that both GM and Ford typically cost less to buy and I think that'll be the case for the new Camaro and the continued Mustang - hence stiff competition for scarce consumers.

So, cheer up. The econmmy going to **** may work in your favor. Hang in there and don't settle for something you really don't want.