Jeremiah 29:11

A muscle car for rich retro-geezers


Jeremy Cato, today at 3:49 PM EST



I am betting that the 2009 Dodge Challenger will be a hit, a certified hit, rather than a flash-in-the-pan muscle car for rich retro-geezers.

Take a long look at it down at the Canadian International Auto Show. It’s a Xerox of the 1970 original and that’s a good thing. Except, of course, for the huge Brembo disc brakes on all four corners – brakes designed to bring this car to a stop from 100 km/hour in just 33.5 metres, or about 110 feet.

What’s better is the drag-strip performance. Chrysler types are saying the 6.1-litre, 425-Horsepower Hemi V-8 will give you a 0-100 km/hour time of about five seconds. FIVE SECONDS?

So this growler will get into Audi R8 territory for about a third of the Audi’s $130,000 starting price tag. Fantastic.

At the show I have heard some criticism of this new Challenger, the one slated to roll of Chrysler’s assembly line in Brampton and go on sale in the spring.

Where is the originality? I’ve heard. Those are the same people who carped about the original Challenger design study in Detroit two years ago.

Those people don’t get it and will never get it and we shouldn’t worry about them.

And then there are the ones who complain about mega horsepower at a time when gas prices are surging and global warming is a topic overhead at every barbeque and cocktail party and energy security is a big campaign issue in the U.S. presidential election.

Well, Chrysler plans to sell about 6,400 Challenger SRT8s this year. It is a limited-production item and each gets a numbered plate on the dashboard. The V-6 and less potent V-8 Challengers coming in the fall will push total sales volume to about 30,000 a year.

Here is the point: from an environmental perspective, 30,000 cars will make absolutely no difference to the state of the planet, not with the low emissions of today’s new cars. The enviro argument is a non-starter. Really, if you want to help the planet, get rid of your old car and replace it with a vastly cleaner new one.

In any case, Chrysler will not be selling millions of new Challengers over the next 50 years. Not a chance. The days of these sorts of cars are coming to an end.

The original Challenger arrived in 1969 as a '70 model and production ended in 1974. Here’s betting the new Challenger will be phased out within four years, just the like original.

If you love these kinds of cars, enjoy them while you can; their days are numbered.