Paladin06

Supply and demand is not a game, it is capitalism at its finest.

lear4406

Price will mirror the Charger very closely. As far as engines that they will use? Anyones guess. But a V-6, 5.7 HEMI and a 6.1 would be an educated guess and follow the Charger mold. So expect the 5.7 as the smallest V-8 you will get. At 350HP and MDS system its the best choice. A V-6 with 265 HP is an obvious choice for the base package. The only trump card would be a mega HP engine to trump Ford and Chevy in HP arena. I think they would both have to pressurize their engines to beat out the HEMIs. LS1 are good and the LS2 are better. But it seems as though Dodge has their number cubic inch for cubic inch.

DSkippy

Paladin06, I think Davecpa was alluding to the high margin, low volume flavor of capitalism as opposed to the high volume, reasonable margin (which is the real winner I think most would agree).

Albeeno

Before it's even unvelied the question right now has got to be how long will the Challenger and the new Camaro even be in production for? Moreover, will GM even build the new Camaro now?

I ask this because the average price of gas throughout the US has now jumped almost 25 cents per gallon ($3.004) over the past 3 weeks alone!!! As of today, oil is now trading at $96.24 per barrel and I suspect in both GM and Chrysler's case it's going to be too little, too late. At this pace, gas prices will be ranging between $3.50 to $4.00 a gallon by summer 2008!

I think Chrysler is making a safe play here by only building a total of 35,000 Challengers (2008 & 2009). If you're patient enough to wait until some time in calendar year 2009, you probably won't be paying any dealer markups because I have to believe that not too many people will be buying 6.1 liter HEMIs when gas is at $4/gallon and climbing...

_R$_

People who want go-fast cars don't care about gas prices. They're already paying the price, because they're likely to be driving a truck anyways. (My dad for example, though he won't be getting a muscle car anytime soon. He wants a Honda for when he's not actually using the truck) Besides, we really need to stop whining about gas prices, or being worried at all about gas prices. You ever been to England? Gas is a freakin' joke over there!

I do see one problem: Look at the price range for the 2008 Charger. If Chrysler is going to keep the Challenger in that range, and (according to rumors) they're coming out with a Charger coupe, they're going to be doing some major competing with themselves. Look at the price range for the Magnum. It's basically a more expensive Charger. My point is this: The Challenger (As beautiful as it is) needs to fall below or above the Charger, OR they need to keep the Charger a 4 door. The latter of the two is what I think is going to happen, but what are yall thinking? You think they're going to raise the price or the demand for Dodge two doors?
- Rich

Paladin06

A reasonable assumption but, like the price of gas, if you are so intently focused on the cost, then you can not afford it. So what you want and what you can afford are two totally different things.

DSkippy

Umhh....interesting observation which has been somewhat oversimplified. You've forgotten the component of what you're willing to spend. I drive a very reasonably priced commuter car. I can afford a luxury car. I chose to leave my money in the bank for things that might come along (e.g. an SRT Challenger). I think Davecpa's point was that it would be nice if the highways were awash with Challengers and Chrysler made so much coin on these that it would draw new and more potent versions. As opposed to a run of 5000 in 08, 10000 in 09 and 10000 more in 10.

Remember the prowler? I thought it was a tight ride. Too bad it didn't last longer, right? If they made it more affordable (and not in orders of magnitude necessarily) it may have had a longer run. I'd like to see another golden age of muscle cars. That's not going to happen if there isn't a large market demand and that is largely predicated by some reasonable pricing.


As for gas, I travel 500 miles a week to work. This 500 miles costs me $50 bucks a week (@ approx 34 mpg). If I were to get a car that averaged 17 (for easy math) I could spend $100 for those 500 miles a week on the same commute. So, I work 45 weeks a year (vacation, holidays, I don't take sick days). Again, I can afford the $2750 extra every year, but over 10 years that $27500 (that's w/o accrued interest/roi etc, I'm not doing future value of that money but significantly more) but as person with a reasonable intellect why would I choose to squander my money in such folley. Hell, in ten years I'll have enough in savings for the next big Mopar toy.

Again not a question of CAN AFFORD, but a question of willing to squander away cash. The SRT8 for me will come to work on occasion, but will mostly be a weekend car for me. Little trips, car shows, a toy car.

lear4406

My 71 Challenger at best gets 14 mpg and my 88 Conquest gets 19, my 70 440-6 GTX gets 11 and my main daily driver 3.0 Stealth gets 23. So great gas mileage is not something I'm used to. I believe the SRT8 Challenger with a 6.1 will come close to my Stealth and far out mileage the others. But for those who look for great mileage then the SRT8 is not the car of choice. But a 6 cylinder Challenger would fit the bill. The right Challenger for the right conditions.

Paladin06

Well, I'm 52 and know that I've got more years behind me then I do in front of me. I will retire, again, retired from the military after 20 years at age 38, at 55 from Boeing and I intend to enjoy each and every penny I have. I can not take iot with me and insurance will take care of the wife and daughter. So my rule will be spend, spend spend before the closk runs out..

DSkippy

Paladin06, you got the right idea. Treat yourself. This will be my first impractical car and that's part of the lure. I'm getting the SRT8 and I know it will suck for mileage, but it will incur them slowly and mostly on weekends, so it's exactly the guilty pleasure I want it to be.

But speaking of mileage, anyone ever find any comparisons of these engines w/ and w/o the MDS system. I'd love to see the "difference", to me it smacks of Madison Ave more than MIT! :-)