ORIGINAL: Jeremiah 29:11
You are again taking an old car, the Viper. 1st Production started in 1993
1992, actually
Again... from
strictly a business standpoint, your point has some merit. And again, if Dodge came up with some off-the-wall idea of making something like a sedan version of the car (or worse), believe me I'd be right there with you.
But come on... we all know that the Challenger is going to do battle mostly with the Mustang, which of course has a ragtop, and the new Camaro, which Chevy has paraded around a prototype convertible version of for the public to see and has certainly generated more interest in the car than there otherwise would be - would you not agree with that? (especially since they apparently won't have any competition from the Challenger...)
Cerebus is being financially very cautious and trying to make good business decisions for its stock or financial holders.
I agree that I think they could get more marketshare but they have to take everything into consideration such as financials, time to market, manufacturability, limited resources, etc.
You first have to build it and build it well and then grow. Crawl before you walk.
So, by that rationale, is GM being financially irresponsible or not making a good business decision by already stating that they are in fact making a Camaro convertible - even gone so far as to produce multiple prototypes of it? Or should they be "financially cautious" like Chrysler and tell their stockholders and fans alike that "there are no plans to produce one at this time" (even though there really are).
Does Chrysler know something that GM doesn't? I agree that Chrysler does need to be a bit more careful since it's now under new management, but the Challenger was a done deal long before Cerebrus took over, so I don't think that argument is valid.
The bottom line is... here are new 2 cars, the Camaro and Challenger, that will competing for largely the same market share. One company is willing to listen to its customers and not be shy about offering a convertible as well as its hardtop (GM HAS to know there'll be a sufficient market for it - they wouldn't build one otherwise, since they have their bureaucratic bean counters too). The other company, despite many fans saying they want one, gives a VERY left-handed (and VERY stubborn) "maybe-we-will-maybe-we-won't" attitude. I can't help but wonder if Dodge is being TOO cautious in this case for its own good.
Again, I will concede that maybe Dodge is doing the right thing here. I originally thought that a 4 door Charger would have been a laughing stock and I thought it was a dreadful mistake not to at least make a 2-door version... but I (thankfully) was proven very wrong on that one. I remember back in 1994 when Dodge debuted the new Ram pickup design - I was convinced that it wouldn't sell at first... boy was I wrong on that one too! Maybe I will be this time too... like I said before, only time will tell.
BTW, good debate [sm=icon_cheers.gif]