joeyr

There is another car that helped bring life back the retro theme... The Bettle. My sister has had her since for 5 or six years. I can only hope I will love the challenger as much as she loves her volkswagon.

Blu Angel

Here are the October Sales and 2006 Year to Date Sales for the combined LX Platform.

The factory build shows over 20,000 LX vehicles built in October totalling over 248,000 for the 10 months of 2006. At this rate, DCX should sell close to 300,000. That is a spectacular number and may be close to the factory max.

Could anyone shed some light on what the maximum factory build is at the LX plant in Brampton, Ontario?

My thinking, and perhaps also DCX rationale is, lets add the prestigeous Challenger car to the future LY platform, to fill in any downfall in the production of the 300, Charger, or Magnum models. By adding 20,000 to 30,000 Challengers per year, DCX would be able to keep the factory at its maximum output.
By keeping the Challenger build limited, then DCX can charge a premium price and maximize its profits. Therefore, I believe that DCX will view the Challenger as the top of the LY heap thus occupying a prestige, exclusive placement. This is not the case with the Mustang and Camaro brands. Mustang sales are appoximately 150,000 per year with the Shelby Mustang being the possible Challenger competitor in the marketplace and price bracket. GM, I believe has prognosticated sales of 100,000 Camaros per year.


DaimlerChrysler Corporation U.S. Sales Summary Thru October 2006

Month Sales DR % Vol %
Model Curr Yr Pr Yr Change Change

300 10,518 12,835 -15% -18%

Charger 8,619 7,119 26% 21%

Magnum 2,576 2,966 -10% -13%

Total October 21,713 22,920 -5%


TOTAL CHRYSLER 159,586 164,814 1% -3%

TOTAL CG CAR 32,369 48,276 -30% -33%
TOTAL CG TRUCK 127,217 116,538 14% 9%

Sales CYTD DR % Vol %
Model Curr Yr Pr Yr Change Change

300 116,625 119,219 -2% -2%

Charger 96,387 30,840 213% 213%

Magnum 35,222 45,637 -23% -23%


Total CYTD 248,234 195,696 +27%

TOTAL CHRYSLER GRP 1,787,534 1,955,486 -9% -9%

TOTAL CG CAR 426,776 452,114 -6% -6%
TOTAL CG TRUCK 1,360,758 1,503,372 -9% -9%

blueshawk

One thing about limiting the Challenger production...

I and alot of guys can't afford the mark-up prices (~$60K) on a Shelby Mustang so I and I'm sure alot of people have looked at the Mustang GT with the intent of modding it. There is a huge aftermarket industry for the Mustangs. There is also the Roush 427R (and others) which can get you a 400+ hp car for about $47K, which is about the MSRP of a Shelby (including the guzzler tax). Either way you go, Ford gets a sale!

If I can't get the Challenger because of limited production, DCX will NOT get a sale from me and I'm sure alot of guys who want a manual transmission muscle car. If DCX wants to play the game that Ford does with the Shelby, then they also need to have a Challenger model that the rest of us will settle for.

wirewilly

Never SETTLE!! Not when you're talkin' $35,000 or more.

blueshawk

I hate to use the word SETTLE but that would be one way to put it if you want a 6.1L, 6 speed Challenger and all you can hope to get is the 5.7L. Which I'm not sure I would go for yet. For me, I'm just going to have to see what there will be to offer when DCX finally starts taking orders.