http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23354519/
Good article!
[quote]Dodge’s Challenge: Win back America
Automaker aims to boost sales with revamped iconic muscle car
Dodge Challenger
The new Dodge Challenger
Chrysler
Chrysler moved to kick start its failing fortunes at the Chicago auto show earlier this month when it unveiled the production version of a much-anticipated retro muscle car, the Dodge Challenger SRT8.
A car with an EPA rating of 13 mpg in city driving (18 mpg highway) might seem retro in more than its styling, the throwback that Chrysler is really looking for is a return to profitability, and the Challenger is likely to be the car that’s going to bring in much-needed cash.
Thousands of interested customers have already put down deposits on 2008 Challenger SRT8s at their local dealers and the company has announced that the 2008 production run will be limited to 6,400 of the SRT8 maximum performance variants of the Challenger, each with a numbered dash plaque.
Joining the Challenger later this year will be Chevrolet’s resurrected Camaro, another so-called “heritage design,” and both cars will take on Ford’s Mustang which created the “pony” car muscle coupe segment in 1964. The question is which of the three cars consumers will prefer. It’s not clear whether the market, which has seen boom and bust cycles over the years, will support three contenders for the segment.
Michelle Wingard, an Amherst, Ohio mom and drag racer likes the Challenger: “I think the Challenger is pretty much the only one that hit the mark in terms of nostalgia,” she said.
Camaro partisans will surely argue their case, but the Mustang has one significant, objective handicap and that is the current car’s age.
“I think when you get into the battle of the pony car buyers, the Mustang [is] more than likely to be the loser,” said Phillippi. “That’s the problem historically with coupes — their half-life is two years because somebody else comes out with something newer.”
Ford’s strategy so far has been to issue special editions of the Mustang, such as the Cobra, Bullitt, Mach I and other variations.
“It is really getting stale,” Joe Phillippi, president of AutoTrends Consulting. “I don’t know how many Cobras and GT500s you can do before people say, ‘That’s nice, but I want something really new.’”
Another advantage for car-enthusiast families is the size of the Challenger’s back seat, which can more realistically be used for school pick-ups and drop-offs.
“The back seat looked quite spacious,” said Wingard, who cited that as a significant advantage over her current Mustang.
With a starting price of $37,995, the Challenger SRT8 includes a 425-horsepower, 6.1-liter Hemi V8 engine that’s good for a 0-60 acceleration time of around five seconds. The big 20-inch forged aluminum wheels are wrapped in fat tires that combine with the independent rear suspension to produce 0.88g cornering force, and a standard electronic stability control system helps keep everything pointed in the right direction.
Given the Challenger’s combination of muscular looks and real muscle under the hood, it’s selling at a bargain. But while this is real value, there are nevertheless shoppers for whom that price is unattainable. For them, Chrysler will announce the slate of 2009 Challenger models at the New York auto show in early March. While specific details are not yet available, the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300, upon which the Challenger is based, feature an array of V6 and V8 models for nearly every budget.
Just as the original Charger was available with six-cylinder engine, so is the neo-Challenger. The Charger line starts with a 190 horsepower 2.7-liter V6, and includes 250-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 and 340-horsepower 5.7-liter Hemi V8. Whether all of these engines will be available in the Challenger will be announced in New York, but “look to the other LX platform vehicles [such as the