sambo77

You can a put any Buzz sounding sewer piped sized tail pipe/mufflers you want on a V6 car,
BUT, it never has the same musical note of a good performance V8.......And thats a fact!!!

sambo77

I was taught that it was BETTER economics to sell say 150,000-200,000 units @ a $2500-$3500 profit/unit ratio than to sell 15,000 units @ a $5000-$7000 profit/unit ratio....

THATS what Ford is doing with the Mustang / Mustang-GT / Mustang-GT 500 and the can't sell them fast enough!

I THOUGHT that Dodge was in the business to MAKE money and sell cars to the masses...:[&:]

NOT to sell limited production high-end high-priced enthusiast cars ala-Ferari/Porche....[:@]

When the Viper first was seen as a concept, we were told that DODGE would make it affordable and in the same price range/volume as the CORVETTE...

THAT NEVER HAPPENED! [:@]

And Dodge has never sold the numbers that they originally hoped for or could have realized, nor have they realized the over-all profits that they could have if they would have reduced the price & maximized production volume of the Viper...

It looks as if they are going to do the same again with a limited production Challenger... [&:]

THAT IS TOO BAD! [:'(]

Someone at Dodge's management needs to wrestle control of these marketing descisions from the clutches of silly myopic narrow visioned BEAN COUNTERS!!!

[:@][:@][:@]

RoswellGrey

First of all, I'm new, so hi everyone.

Personally, I hope the new Challenger is available with a V-6 automatic. I am going to have to put my car into regular daily use in a large city (San Antonio, Texas) with lots of stop-and-go driving, gas prices already on the road back up (from $1.97 in late December to $2.14 last night to $2.25 tonight) and already ghastly insurance costs (being 150 miles from the Mexican border, lots and lots and lots of cars here get stolen, chopped and the parts shipped south).

Between 1974 and 2001 when it got totaled (by of all things a '98 Avenger), I owned a 1970 Challenger with a 318. The reason I bought it was (a) Vanishing Point came out the year I took driver's ed, (b) I had exactly $1,600 in the bank and that's what they wanted for it and (c) the fact that I consider the '70 Challenger the best-looking car ever built. Believe me, you get the R/T insignia and put it on a '70 Challenger (which, of course, I did) and people don't even want to run you -- unless you happen to pull up alongside a REAL R/T.

Also now, at age 50, I doubt I'll be in many races. I just want the new Challenger because it's so beautiful.

TeeWJay426

And I have a feeling you are certainly not alone. There's a lot of folks who would be sold on the style alone, that just don't want a high performance V8 or a 6-speed manual tranny. In fact, I'm sure that there are more people nowadays who would prefer the automatic, and will want the economy of an entry level engine, that would buy the car based on style alone. If DCX only makes it with a 6.4L 6-spped, they are ignoring too big a piece of the market.... a market that will otherwise be driving V6 powered Mustangs!!! Big mistake, IMHO.

sambo77

He's not the only one, and you are right about the V6...
There, like wise, will be alot of people driving base model smaller V8 Mustangs too, meaning that there would be even more of the potiential buyers out there that Dodge will be loosing if they opt to make the Challenger a 6.1-Hemi V8, 6 speed mannual model only, and do not build a base 5.7-Hemi model, AND a V6 Challenger model....

purple1

Sambo77 I could not have said it better myself. [sm=exactly.gif]


Great topic here. DCX do you hear us???

B00SS

I think Sambo77 has hit it on the head in his comments. If DCX really does want to compete with the Mustang and the Camaro (which I currently drive).

sambo77

THANKS...

I JUST HOPE THE TOP-DOGS IN MANAGEMENT @ DODGE ARE LISTENING...[&:]

HEY, DO YOU HEAR US UP THERE IN YOUR NICE CORPERATE OFFICE???[&:][&:][&:]

RLSH700

Look sambo77, I am agreeing with you. I'm just saying here is what Dodge has been doing in the last few years. I'm just pointing out what I think Dodge is going to do based on their current behavior, which I question. I agree it would be a wise idea to mass produce this car, with multiple engine options including the 5.7L and a V6. I disagree with much of Dodge's strategies and have tons of ideas how they can fix this problem.

You are right that it is wiser to mass produce this car and I don't know why they didn't mass produce other past cars (like the Prowler). I doubt that if they do everything correctly that they will be able to sell as many as Ford because the Mustang is more well known. Does this mean I believe they should make it a limited production car? NO!!! I believe they should at least produce some where around 100,000 units or more, pricing them comparatively to Ford. The problem is if they produce too much, then they're screwed. They made that mistake back in the 70s and it just about put them under. They need to test the market with somewhere close to 100,000 units for the first year, priced competitively, and see how they sell.

The thing you need to understand is how marketing works. Dodge wants to uphold their "superior product" image. The problem is they are wanting to do this at a cost of auto sales. Now back when they had Plymouth, this was okay because Plymouth was the bargin breaking brand. Now that Plymouth is gone, they can't do this as effectively but they still want to do this. It is a mistake, but they do it anyways.

I can't stress enough how much I want Dodge to

sambo77

Look sambo77, I am agreeing with you. I'm just saying here is what Dodge has been doing in the last few years. I'm just pointing out what I think Dodge is going to do based on their current behavior, which I question. I agree it would be a wise idea to mass produce this car, with multiple engine options including the 5.7L and a V6. I disagree with much of Dodge's strategies and have tons of ideas how they can fix this problem.

You are right that it is wiser to mass produce this car and I don't know why they didn't mass produce other past cars (like the Prowler). I doubt that if they do everything correctly that they will be able to sell as many as Ford because the Mustang is more well known. Does this mean I believe they should make it a limited production car? NO!!! I believe they should at least produce some where around 100,000 units or more, pricing them comparatively to Ford. The problem is if they produce too much, then they're screwed. They made that mistake back in the 70s and it just about put them under. They need to test the market with somewhere close to 100,000 units for the first year, priced competitively, and see how they sell.

The thing you need to understand is how marketing works. Dodge wants to uphold their "superior product" image. The problem is they are wanting to do this at a cost of auto sales. Now back when they had Plymouth, this was okay because Plymouth was the bargin breaking brand. Now that Plymouth is gone, they can't do this as effectively but they still want to do this. It is a mistake, but they do it anyways.

I can't stress enough how much I want Dodge to mass produce the Challenger for everyone's benefit, including their own; however, they might not do it because they want to uphold this image, and that is a problem. They have done so well in the Sedan market by selling cars with excellent preformance for a price that blows their competition away. They should do the same with the coupe market, and loose their obession with offering luxury options and let the Challenger be purely about brute performance at a competitive price.
[/quote]

THANK YOU....

I see what you are saying now...

I , like you, THINK that this approach by Dodge is a problem and could end up being a very huge mistake for them...

I seriously hope & PRAY that maybe, JUST maybe that someone from management will read our words and GET A CLUE as to how to make this AWESOME car the Challenger the RIGHT way....

The Challenger is a very AWESOME concept, bigger than I think many realize and could end up being the new segment leader & trend setter for the next 10-15 years of coupes & pony/muscle/ cars to come to market....