Challenger

Dodge Announces Pricing for All-new 2008 Challenger SRT8(R)

Auburn Hills, Mich., Thu, Nov 29, 2007 - Dodge announced pricing
today for the modern interpretation of the American muscle coupe. The
2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8(R) will arrive in showrooms next spring at a
Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $37,995 (which
includes $675 destination).

Due to unprecedented demand, Dodge dealers will begin taking orders on
Dec. 3 for the limited-edition 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 models. Each
will feature a numbered dash plaque and a 6.1-liter HEMI(R) V-8 engine.
2008 Challenger SRT8 models will be available in Black, Silver and
HEMI Orange. All will feature dual "carbon-fiber" hood stripes,
harkening back to the original Dodge Challenger.

"The 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 offers pure American pony-car muscle,"
said James Press, Vice Chairman & President - Chrysler LLC. "With
styling that stays true to Challenger's original heritage, an
abundance of modern amenities and cutting-edge technology, the 2008
Dodge Challenger SRT8 will deliver the SRT credo of benchmark
performance at a tremendous value.

"The Challenger SRT8 is only the beginning of the story, as we'll soon
follow with a complete lineup of Challenger models that will offer a
wide array of features and deliver outstanding value for our
customers," Press added.

Customers may begin placing orders at their Dodge dealer on Monday,
Dec. 3. They can expect to take delivery of their vehicle next
spring.

The all-new 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 will be built at the Chrysler
Canada Assembly Plant in Brampton, Ontario, on the same assembly line
with the Dodge Charger, Charger SRT8, Magnum, Magnum SRT8, Chrysler
300 and Chrysler 300 SRT8 vehicles.

Pricing for the complete all-new Dodge Challenger lineup will be
announced at a later date.

SRT performance vehicles - including the Dodge Viper SRT10, Dodge
Caliber SRT4, Dodge Magnum SRT8, Dodge Charger SRT8, Chrysler 300C
SRT8, Jeep(R) Grand Cherokee SRT8, and now, the Dodge Challenger SRT8 -
are engineered by Chrysler's in-house performance organization: Street
and Racing Technology.

The all-new 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 showcases the renowned, five
key aspects of every SRT vehicle: exterior styling that resonates with
the brand image; race-inspired interiors; world-class ride and
handling characteristics across a broad range; benchmark braking; and
standout powertrain. The all-new 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 will
unquestionably deliver in all five areas.

Dodge Brand
With a U.S. market share of 6.4 percent, Dodge is Chrysler LLC's best-
selling brand and the fifth largest nameplate in the U.S. automotive
market. In 2006, Dodge sold more than 1.3 million vehicles in the
global market. In the highly competitive truck market, Dodge has a 15
percent market share.

Recently, Dodge introduced the all-new 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan with
35 new or improved features including the newest innovation, the
Swivel 'n Go(tm) seating system. Dodge is entering key European volume
segments with Nitro, Caliber and Avenger. The all-new 2009 Dodge
Journey will debut in 2008 calendar year, and will be available
outside North America in both left- and right-hand drive in mid-2008.
Also in 2008, Dodge will introduce its modern muscle car the all-new
Dodge Challenger.

 

I guess gas is still two bucks where you live. Nice car. Bad timing.

 

Sales of limited edition specialty vehicles like this SRT8 aren't
impacted by the price of gas.

On another topic, my understanding is that this car was supposed to be
the Charger originally. But Dr. Z and company nixed it for the four
door version that went to production. The limited production
Challenger is the bone they threw to the car guys when the german
version of the Charger sold well enough. The Challenger is the
"American coupe" as opposed to the "German sedan". I don't think 2
doors were historically mass sellers. Haven't sedans always outsold
coupes?

I hope they don't offer a 2.7 v6 version )

I would _really_ like to see a convertible of this built.

 

That's interesting. Got a source?

Possibly, but the "mortal sin" that most people see Chrysler/Dodge
committing is that a muscle/pony/sporty car would never have 4 doors.
The Charger should have at least had a 2-door/4-door option.

Actually, having an entry-level 6 would be great for sales. The image
without the cost. Just like the V6 Mustang.

Agreed.

 

I heard it from a soon to be retired from DCX guy at a party around
Nov. 2004. Just a rumor, but it sounds plausible enough to me. I can't
find anything on the net that confirms it, however.

Bleah. If it keeps sales up, I guess it'd be ok. I'd call it
Challenged rather than Challenger, though )

 

I did find a site with pictures of the original Charger concept as a 2
door:

http://www.acarshow.com/chgcpt.html

 

That's been around since 1999; it was supposed to run on
compressed natural gas (CNG):
http://www.dodge.com/dodge_life/past_and_future/concept_cars/charger.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Charger_(1999_concept)

The '99 car is a much better looking one than the current
production Charger IMO. Shame nothing ever came of it.

 

Look real close. It's a four-door.

Larry

: >
: >
: >
: > > That's interesting. Got a source?
: >
: > I heard it from a soon to be retired from DCX guy at a party around
: > Nov. 2004. Just a rumor, but it sounds plausible enough to me. I can't
: > find anything on the net that confirms it, however.
: >
:
: I did find a site with pictures of the original Charger concept as a 2
: door:
:
: http://www.acarshow.com/chgcpt.html

 

Yep.

 

Must be my monitor. It looks like a two door here. The link Joe
provided to the dodge site definitely looks like a four door, though.
Thanks.

 

If gas were $10, the Challenger would be worth it.

Besides, its going to get rather good mileage for its performance level,
just like the Corvette, Charger, etc. do.

 

I think the mere presence of that V6 mustang (and the 2.7L Charger and
300 4-doors, for that matter) grossly cheapens the image of the entire
line. Whenever anyone gets a rental Mustang, Charger, or 300, it's
probably going to be the POS v6, and that's the image they're left with.
The 3.5 V6 is a very nice entry-level engine for the LX cars. Its almost
as economical as the 2.7, has a better reliability history, and has
enough power that its not an embarassment.

 

No, that's a 4-door with the rear door handles very neatly disguised in
the C-pillars. That styling trick made it a lot more palatable as a
4-door, but still drew a ton of criticism from the Charger purists. Yes,
that IS the Charger body they should have built, but it was a one-off
show-car based (very) loosely on the LH chassis not the LX, and powered
by a compressed-natural-gas version of the 4.7L SOHC v8. The LX has a
bit better rigidity and makes a better overall mechanical package.

 

Not everyone cares about the price of gas. Unless it's 5 bucks a gallon,
gas price won't bother me..... Sure I like it lower, we all want cheap gas,
but my spending and budgets are not affected until 5 bucks a gallon....

 

The lower end cars in the lineup make up the bulk of the sales. For
example, tons more V6 Mustangs are sold compared to V8s. Without the
low end cars, the V8s wouldn't exist.

 

No. There was a Charger show car, which was a beautiful modern
interpretation of the second generation Charger in spite of having too
many doors. It was never really nixed, as it was never really
anything other than a concept. If it had gone into production, I'd
have been saving my pennies for it.

The Challenger show car that led to this was several years later, and
IIRC was even after the current production Charger went into
production.

 

If you look very, very carefully at
http://www.acarshow.com/ychcptdr.jpg you can see the outline of the
left rear door. It had four.

 

It was already built - 8 years ago:

http://www.chrysler300site.com/cgibin/history.cgi?hemi

That car was shown at the 2000 Detroit auto show (January 2000) and
possibly also the New York auto show (March? April) but then it was
yanked from the show circuit that year.

Chrysler was ready to build this LH-based 300 as a RWD car, complete
with V-8.

The Germans nixed it - thinking it would compete too heavily with
their Merc's.

This car was exactly what Chrysler needed during the poor sales years
of 2003 - 2004. They would have wiped the floor with the competition.

Instead the Germans were too busy wasting time and money retooling for
the ulgy LX platform - as a way to move their shitty daimler
transmissions and suspension parts and stuff them into the LX
platform.

 

Yea?

So what's it gonna cost in Canada (where the damn thing is made) ?

$50k?

 

A source?

Like the defunct CarTruck website? (who here remembers that) ?

More like the Challenger is the bone thrown to Dodge dealers.

Like I said in a previous post, they already built it.