Motor Trend- Jan. 2009 R/T Review
 

The January 2009 issue of Motor Trend magazine named the $77K Nissan GT-R as the Car of the Year (out of 17 contenders). For the Challenger R/T, the following comments were made:

"Comfortable ride, invigorating acceleration, stupendous styling inside and out
Creative anachronism.
This thing is more fun than a renaissance festival.
So faithful is the reinterpretation of nearly every character line and design flourish, even the interior looks period correct.
The Hemi's rumbly roar and the manual six-speed's pistol grip shifter are the best parts.
It really excels at the smoky burnout and the dragstrip hustle.
The 0-60 mph sprint takes 5.1 seconds and the quarter flashes by in 13.6 at 104.9 mph.
This niche player offers immense emotional appeal to those with fond memories of the original.
Authentic-looking pull-up door handles will have the fingernailed set relearning to open doors with their knuckles.
The sound made by closing the doors or trunklid is disconcertingly Nixon-era.
Access to the rear compartment is woefully inadequate.
Rear seats are cavelike on the visibility front.
Lifeless steering.
The Challenger looks, feels and drives big.
Loads of body motion and weight transfer.

Stars:

Engineering- 3
Design- 4
Interior-2
Performance- 4
Ease of Use- 2
Safety- 3
Value- 3

Miscellaneous Comments:

Originally, the plan was to have the body structure built by an outside supplier.
Chrysler designed the LX-based Challenger without planning for a convertible. That may be hard to believe, but it means reengineering the unibody Challenger as a convertible would take the kind of money that Chrysler doesn't have."