1971Chall

The R/T looks to be the best value for the money. This is the car I will get for myself. The HP difference between it and the SRT-8 can be made up with some bolt ons. The other thing is the R/T would be eligible for employee pricing where SRT cars are not. If the warranty means anything to you the R/T will have the lifetime warranty on the powertrain, SRT-8 will not. Fuel economy is better also. I'm not beating up on the SRT-8 even if it seems like it but for a gearhead like myself I can take a portion of the extra 10K or so and bring the R/T up to the mark. If you want ultimate out of the box performance or want more collector value then the SRT-8 is still the one to have. Now all that's missing is to have them at the dealers!

Axel

Well, I was able to kick my 2000 Dodge Dakota up to 115, straight highway. The problem is that you may never be able to max the speedomete, unless you are going downhill maybe, due to the fact that they have govenors on them. I may not ever use it, but I do like the fact that the speedometer does say that it can go that fast, in theory. Now if it can't, then really there is no point. Tires however, you pay the extra price for them to say that they can go that fast.

As for snow tires, oh yeah. You may not see them that much in TX, obvious reasons, but come on up here, they are all over the place. They even have snow tires now for 20" rims, though you pay dearly for them.

I'm hoping for a better price on the R/T. They are saying under 6s 0-60 times and low 20s for the SE so I'm hoping that the R/T stays around $25k. As for the manual helping, that usually only cuts about one to two thousand. Helps, but not a huge difference. Definitely more that can be put towards the down payment at least.

tdub2112

Would the R/T have lifetime powertrain warranty? or would they have a hemi in it?

WhiteHeat

Just a heads up for anybody who didn't know, the '09 Challenger is officially up at the Dodge.com site.

You can see trim levels and colors, but no prices yet.

Make my R/T Inferno Red with Leather, please!

It's a shame there aren't more bold color choices. I guess they're gonna dole them out one-a-year like the Daytona Charger. [:@]

Looking forward to seeing Mopar cosmetic options.

Yankee

I agree, but that's hardly the most ridiculous overly-optimistic speedometer I've ever seen. I remember renting a Ford Focus once a few years back (on the company's nickel, didn't have a choice), it was the base 4-door sedan and it had a 150 MPH speedo... I think Honda Odyssey minivan takes the cake for having a 160 MPH speedo... in a minivan!

WhiteHeat

Either one is still better than the government-mandated 85mph maximum speedometers of the '80s.

Did they really think we'd drive slower if we didn't know how fast we were going?

I remember test driving an '84 Dodge Daytona Turbo and an '84 Plymouth Laser Turbo. They were virtually the same car, but the Laser had an electronic speedometer. With the Daytona, you could guesstimate your speed past 85 'cause the needle would keep going to about 105 or so, but with the Laser the digital numbers would just stick at 85. Any faster and you had no clue. Yeah, that's a great idea.

RLSH700

If they keep the Lifetime Powertrain Warranty going, then yes. The only thing that is excluded are SRT models. The R/T has a 5.7L Hemi, the SRT-8 has a 6.1L Hemi. Both are Hemis, the difference is the 6.1L is a higher output engine.

Yankee, I noticed that as well. The only question is can that speedometer be switched over to KMPH with a button. The reason why I ask this is that the Chrysler Pacifica has a 160 speedometer but the reason behind this is that they have a switch that will adjust the system to transfer over to KMPH which 160 KMPH equals a more realistic 100 MPH.

WhiteHeat, I hear you on that. The funny thing is when I was younger and we got our first minivan I actually thought it was fast because it was our first car I could remember to have a speedometer that read over 85mph, though I question if that NA 100hp 2.5L I4 could actually hit 100 MPH. I believe you mean an 1984 Chrysler Laser Turbo, the Plymouth Laser was a Mitsubishi Eclipse/Eagle Talon clone.

Yankee

Same reason my 04 GTO had a 200 MPH speedo - it also could be switched to KPH, which translated into 120 MPH when switched over.

RLSH700

Okay, that's what I thought.

WhiteHeat

Oops, you're right. I bought the Dodge!

Later, I bought an Eclipse, so I guess I was thinking of that Plymouth Laser.