If you guys are worried about the power output and would like a heads up on your options... then go to a Charger Forum and read what they have available. Their are some real nice after market and Mopar Performance parts to help you in the HP department. But if you would, please wait until the actual Challenger hits the road and gets thrashed before you get all wound up about the 0-60 and 1/4 mile times. As far as Mustang vs Challenger... that will have to wait until they do a comparison. Then it should be R/T against GT. Automatic against automatic. I'm with you Jeremiah, read and have knowledge of your equipment. Knowledge is power How fast do you want to go. Is relevent to how much you want to spend

 

WOW! Thanks Lear! A 2fer!

School House Rocky quote and an homage to Mad Max, diggin' it, daddio!

 

I never said that the Mustang GT is better / faster than the SRT8 Challenger. NEVER! In fact, I seem to recall acknowledging in this very thread that the Challenger bests the GT in every performance category imaginable. But, the GT is close...and I'm willing to bet that it's certainly a helluva lot closer than many of us originally thought! In your comparison of the Cobra R to the Shelby GT500 all I have to say is this: The Cobra R stickered at $56-$57K back in 2000...it has no backseat, no radio, no soundproofing under the hood, etc.! It was built for two purposes - 1) To impress your buddies on Cruise Nights and 2) To be run on the track. Sorry, but it's not a street car. I would further argue that it weighs significantly less than the GT500. As for the `03 and `04 "terminator" Cobras...those things rule! No bout a doubt it. Personally, I'd love to see one go toe-to-toe with a GT500. My money would still be on the GT500.

On another note - I've been spending some time reflecting these past several days and have reached a very simple conclusion. People are going to buy a Challenger because they specifically want a Challenger. I know that sounds pretty elementary, but here's my point: You're not buying this car because it's a better value than a Mustang...it's certianly not a better "bang for your buck" either! You're not buying a Challenger because you want to own a new player in the muscle car segment and this looks like a good option. Again, you're buying a Challenger because this is the car you want...the car you have dreamed about taking your first road trip in since it debuted way back in January 2006...the car you've spent endless hours of your employer's time researching and chatting on line about; the car that even your closest buddies now joke you are addicted to (and they're scared); the car that somehow finds its way into every car-related discussion you partake in; the car that won't look like anything else out on the road; the car that will turn more heads than you could ever imagine. I could go on and on, but these are some of my primary justifications for why I still plan on being the proud new owner of a Challenger!

 

The prodigal son returns! Welcome home, boy!

 

Lol...it's good to be back Skip. All these recent pseudo comparisons were weighing heavily on me and I needed to take a few days off to catch my breath and collect my thoughts.

 

hahah i knew it wouldnt be long before my brotha from anotha motha came back.




dont you think im not going to respond , im late for class so ill respond later[8D]

 

Albeeno, you have hit on many good logical points in your post, but some of this might hit into the range of perspective and a person's point of view, so on some things we are going to have to agree to disagree. My criticism about the GT vs. Challenger comparison is to explain that whether or not they are or are not close they simply are not a logical match up. The issue is that although is some categories, the Challenger and the GT might be a little close, they still are farther away from each other than the GT500 and the Challenger. The Challenger on paper still out does the GT in so many categories that you can't logically compare the two when there is a better Mustang offering that is in the Challenger's price range.

The example of the Cobra R to me is a bench mark for the Mustang in performance. To me between the two nameplates, and considering the weight of the influence of Shelby, I expect more out of a car named GT500 between the Cobra R or the "Terminator" Cobra. Although I know that the weight is an issue with this, this does not excuse in my mind the fact that the Shelby influenced GT500 cannot destroy the "Terminator" Cobra, after the fact that the GT model not only beats the previous GT in the acceleration times by around a half second despite only having a 40hp increase and 13ft-lbs of tq increase, but it also manages to match if not beat the slightly more powerful NA Cobra/Mach1 (depending on the the article) which produced slightly more rated hp and tq (305-320hp & 317ft-lbs to 320ft-lbs of tq) despite the weight gain. The only explanation I can figure out is the VCT and a transmission improvements. Why then can't the GT500 that has a professional group working on it fail to blow the Terminator and Cobra R out of the water when they have 110-115hp and 90-95ft-lbs of tq advantage which is close to double the percentage improvement in hp over the previous models, an improved transmission, etc. over the other two models while costing close to $5-10K more than the Terminator. To me this is disgraceful.
[quote]
On another note - I've been spending some time reflecting these past several days and have reached a very simple conclusion. People are going to buy a Challenger because they specifically want a Challenger. I know that sounds pretty elementary, but here's my point: You're not buying this car because it's a better value than a Mustang...it's certianly not a better "bang for your buck" either! You're not buying a Challenger because you want to own a new player in the muscle car segment and this looks like a good option. Again, you're buying a Challenger because this is the car you want...the car you have dreamed about taking your first road trip in since it debuted way back in January 2006...the car you've spent endless hours of your employer's time researching and chatting on line about; the car that even your closest buddies now joke you are addicted to (and they're scared); the car that somehow finds

 

ok heres my dos centabos aka 2 cents.

people arent just going to buy the challenger because they have had theyre eye soely set on it and only that specific car. I for one went looking for a car that i would love for a long time. i went looking at the mustang, liked the look... didnt like the engine(plus too many of them in miami). then i was looking at the camaro and the challenger. i finally chose the challenger because not only did it have a big v8, it had the looks , the handling, and the quickness to keep up with other performance cars. the challenger has better suspension , handling and horsepower and drivetrain loss. i do not like what chevy is doing with the camaro style wise, love the ls engines though. all in all i wasnt that dissapointed that the challenger was built on a modified lx platform. i knew the performance was going to be as good or better than the 4 door charger. i chose the challenger because it corrects what they did by making the charger a 4 door sedan. this car to me has the overall package. if i wanted just performance or bang for the buck i would get the UGLYYYYYYYYYYY g8 or the evo or anything thats quick and ugly. you pay extra for uniqueness and im sure glad i put my 40k on the unique and powerfull dodge challenger.

 

I happen to own a 2003 Cobra and have dyno tested it and ran it in the quarter mile. Stock(completely) it laid down 367hp to the tires. On the stock F1 tires I ran 13.5@110mph with a 2.20 60ft time(no traction). With just an aircleaner, pulley, exhaust(X-pipe w cats/catback) and a tune it ran 12.23@117mph. I have NEVER seen a Shelby dyno at 335hp. Someone pulled a plug wire or took the supercharger belt off. Most stock Shelby's are dynoing in the 410 to 420hp range at the tires. I am in club where some of the guys have them. I'm not here to talk up the Mustang, just saying what I have personally witnessed and know to be true. That being said I think Jeremiah said it best: I hope all these cars find buyers or they WILL disappear. When I bought my Cobra there was no other game in town so I thank FORD for keeping it alive. The Mustang is one of the reasons the Challenger is coming back. That being said I am going to purchase the Challenger over the Mustang mostly due to the style. The Hemi runs great and an SRT-8 with a stick will run in the high 12's. We had a couple of STOCK Charger SRT-8's run a 12.96 and 12.97 respectively at Milan Dragway. I have already seen a 2009 SRT-8 pilot car running around here and it had the six speed trans(confirmed by VIN and visual) so I can at least say it looks like it's a reality in the Fall. I am just happy we have the choices to have these debates.

 

yea i didnt seem to believe the dyno sheet either... but everyone was like wow im glad to see a stang finally dynoing over 300 to the wheels stock and i was like what! how is the shelby dynoing with such bad numbers. maybe something happened.