Chrysler Poised To Cut Off Orders for 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8
Date posted: 12-11-2007

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Chrysler has confirmed for Inside Line that the order cutoff for the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 could come before the end of December.

"The order cutoff may happen sometime relatively soon," said Kathy Graham, Dodge Challenger public relations specialist, on Tuesday. "It could happen before the end of the year. That is something [executives] are talking about now — what to do when we reach the limit of the number of cars we will have in 2008."

Graham said as of Monday, Dodge dealers had taken more than 7,000 orders for the retro muscle car in just a single week; Dodge dealers began taking orders for the car on December 3. The automaker also reported that at least 85 percent of Chrysler dealers had taken an order for the Challenger SRT8 in the first week it was available. Graham describes that occurrence as "unusual this early in the order process." She also characterized the second week of ordering as moving into "a steady, normal order process."

"The people who really wanted it made the big rush in the first couple of days," Graham said.

She also noted that there was no magic cutoff number in terms of orders at this point. She would not say specifically how many Challengers Dodge intends to build in 2008. Last week, Chrysler told Inside Line that it has not yet decided how many Challengers it will build. "It will be less than 10,000," Graham said a week ago.

Dodge has priced the Challenger SRT8 at $37,995, including a $675 destination charge. However, real-world pricing is said to hover close to the $60,000 mark for some buyers. Dodge has said it cannot control what dealers will charge for the Challenger.

What this means to you: Your chance for getting your hands on a new Challenger may be running out if you don't act quickly. At least, that's the word from Dodge. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent