ORIGINAL: sambo77
ORIGINAL: RLSH700
Well look at what they just did with the Charger. Their "Premium Leather" interior was standard as well as other premium options came standard with the HEMI in the Charger. I'm afraid they are going to do the same thing all over again if they offer a 5.7L model. I just have doubts that they will price them the same. In case you haven't noticed, since Plymouth was discontinued, Dodge has become more expensive and is more luxurious. The problem is the Dodge division is not made to compete with Ford, that was Plymouth's position. Ford is a budget brand, just like Plymouth and Chevrolet are. Dodge is a performance brand with an increasing level of luxury. Dodge is probably going to be more expensive no matter what in this case. I think Dodge will offer the 5.7L V8 in their line-up; however, I doubt the price will be around the same as the Mustang GT's price. I would like it if Dodge would, I just have my doubts.
BTW, have you ever heard a 3.5L powered Charger with an aftermarket exhaust? They sound very meaty.
I was taught that it was BETTER economics to sell say 150,000-200,000 units @ a $2500-$3500 profit/unit ratio than to sell 15,000 units @ a $5000-$7000 profit/unit ratio....
THATS what Ford is doing with the Mustang / Mustang-GT / Mustang-GT 500 and the can't sell them fast enough!
I THOUGHT that Dodge was in the business to MAKE money and sell cars to the masses...:[&:]
NOT to sell limited production high-end high-priced enthusiast cars ala-Ferari/Porche....[:@]
When the Viper first was seen as a concept, we were told that DODGE would make it affordable and in the same price range/volume as the CORVETTE...
THAT NEVER HAPPENED! [:@]
And Dodge has never sold the numbers that they originally hoped for or could have realized, nor have they realized the over-all profits that they could have if they would have reduced the price & maximized production volume of the Viper...
It looks as if they are going to do the same again with a limited production Challenger... [&:]
THAT IS TOO BAD! [:'(]
Someone at Dodge's management needs to wrestle control of these marketing descisions from the clutches of silly myopic narrow visioned BEAN COUNTERS!!!
[:@][:@][:@]
Look sambo77, I am agreeing with you. I'm just saying here is what Dodge has been doing in the last few years. I'm just pointing out what I think Dodge is going to do based on their current behavior, which I question. I agree it would be a wise idea to mass produce this car, with multiple engine options including the 5.7L and a V6. I disagree with much of Dodge's strategies and have tons of ideas how they can fix this problem.
You are right that it is wiser to mass produce this car and I don't know why they didn't mass produce other past cars (like the Prowler). I doubt that if they do everything correctly that they will be able to sell as many as Ford because the Mustang is more well known. Does this mean I believe they should make it a limited production car? NO!!! I believe they should at least produce some where around 100,000 units or more, pricing them comparatively to Ford. The problem is if they produce too much, then they're screwed. They made that mistake back in the 70s and it just about put them under. They need to test the market with somewhere close to 100,000 units for the first year, priced competitively, and see how they sell.
The thing you need to understand is how marketing works. Dodge wants to uphold their "superior product" image. The problem is they are wanting to do this at a cost of auto sales. Now back when they had Plymouth, this was okay because Plymouth was the bargin breaking brand. Now that Plymouth is gone, they can't do this as effectively but they still want to do this. It is a mistake, but they do it anyways.
I can't stress enough how much I want Dodge to