Mopar Nats

[DubleDex]

Well, like always, Mopar Nats was packed with great old and new muscle. Tons of beautifully restored cars, custom jobs and "survivors." I excpected to see the Challenger concept there, but I really didn't expect that it would be the Super Stock 392. So pretty.





Now that I've seen both cars in person -- I really wish I was independently wealthy and ready to buy one the instant they hit the show rooms! It's truly amazing how much the new Challenger DIDN'T stand out at Nats - it really had the feel of an old muscle car. Which in my mind truly indicates that, with the concepts at least, they nailed it.

[DartSportDude]

That was my impression, too. You look at the concept, and your mind refuses to acknowledge that this is a new car -- not a classic Challenger. I think this car will blow the lid off the American performance car market. Unfortunately, unlike the old muscle car days, the new Challenger will likely be outside the price range for many true enthusiasts. I'm afraid we'll see a lot of clueless rich guys buying these things, and then ruining them with silly bling-bling and "pimp my ride" accessories.

Oh well, there's always the lottery!

[DubleDex]

Originally Posted by DartSportDude

That was my impression, too. You look at the concept, and your mind refuses to acknowledge that this is a new car -- not a classic Challenger.

That was exactly it. It was almost strange. Because it was Nats most people there were aware of exactly what it was. But I have to imagine that some people walked past it without giving it a second glance... thinking it was just another flat black Challenger with a big scoop, prepped for drag.

Admittedly, we walked by it at around 5pm or so. But there was no huge crowd around. Not a lot of gawkers. Just a couple people giving it a throrough look over.

Such a sweet ride.

[sniper226]

I wrote this at some point a while back before it was officially announced it was going into production. This car is perfect for me in my stage of life.

I missed the whole muscle car era as I was only 4-8 years old at the time. Growing up I mainly just drove family hand me downs. Including a Ford Country Squire station wagon. (Hey, at least it had a V8)

As I grew up it really was not until I bought my current car (98 Pont Grand Prix GTP) did I really begin to appreciate fast cars. I was involved in a car club for a while and my eyes were opened to modding and the addiction involved in that. It was then when I began to truly appreciate mucle cars.

I had always toyed with getting a classic mucle car but I was afraid of buying a money pit of something that was not dependable. Plus I like to do more than drive straight really fast. I found from driving a buddys old GTO and Challenger that neither can perform like modern cars with new suspension technology. (Boy parking a manual 69 GTO with no power steering is a bitch!)

So fast forward today and here comes this *new* classic muscle car that has all the grunt of the old school cars as well as the looks plus the performance of modern day technology all wrapped up in one package that I can now afford in my early 40's.

I plan to get one asap and for the first year keeping it out of the rain and showing it and hooking of the the local Dodge crew.

[Big Country]

I don't know about you but I think Mopar made a big mistake by not having the Challenger prototype at Mopar Nats. Yeah, the Super Stock was cool, but when you are expecting to see the new Challenger, it was a let down. Mopar missed an opportunity to hit a HUGE number of diehard Mopar fans by not taking it to that event.

[DubleDex]

Originally Posted by Big Country

I don't know about you but I think Mopar made a big mistake by not having the Challenger prototype at Mopar Nats. Yeah, the Super Stock was cool, but when you are expecting to see the new Challenger, it was a let down. Mopar missed an opportunity to hit a HUGE number of diehard Mopar fans by not taking it to that event.

I don't know. I've already seen the orange concept at the Detroit auto show. So I personally thought it was cool seeing a different one. Alghouth, if you hadn't seen it, I agree it would've been nice for people to get a better idea of what the inside was like and what the actual production car may end up being.

Maybe they were thinking that, because the orange concept has been covered so thoroughly in the press, that most MOPAR fans were already very familiar with it (even if they hadn't actually seen it in person) and were more interested in seeing different possibilities with the vehicle.

I can see pros and cons to both sides.

[Big Country]

Originally Posted by DubleDex

I don't know. I've already seen the orange concept at the Detroit auto show. So I personally thought it was cool seeing a different one. Alghouth, if you hadn't seen it, I agree it would've been nice for people to get a better idea of what the inside was like and what the actual production car may end up being.

Maybe they were thinking that, because the orange concept has been covered so thoroughly in the press, that most MOPAR fans were already very familiar with it (even if they hadn't actually seen it in person) and were more interested in seeing different possibilities with the vehicle.

I can see pros and cons to both sides.

There is a simple way to answer your dilemma, and Dodge's too for that matter. Which one of those two vehicles (Challenger and the SS) do you think will sell more? That right there should be all you need to answer your question. Not to mention, the SS didn't draw that many people the entire weekend...I guarantee you the prototype Challenger would have had crowds around it all weekend long. I've known all along what it's going to look like, but I wanted to see it in person, and considering they advertised it was going to be at Nats and then had the SS instead....huge disappointment.