Dodge Challenger Is A Go!!

[JayC]

http://www.challengertalk.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=1005&size=1 (http://javascript<b></b>:;)

Via live webcast from Florida at 1244 hrs EDT/0944 hrs PST, during the press conference, Mr. Tom LaSorda of DCX, with green flag in-hand and accompanied by Richard Petty and Kasey Kahne, announced that the 'Challenger Project' is 'a definite go'! Although no additional information was released, it was announced that the 'Challenger' will be available next year as a 2008 model. :cool: (webcast screenshot captured by ChallengerTalk.com (http://www.challengertalk.com) member xs29j8)

Additional information to follow as soon as it's released...

Update:

http://www.edmunds.com//media/il/news/2006/0630/dodge.challenger.500.jpg

It's a Go: Dodge Challenger Will Debut in 2008

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Dodge Challenger Concept (http://www.challengertalk.com), unveiled at the North American International Auto Show, will go into production in calendar 2008 as an '08 model.

The announcement was made before the Pepsi 400 NASCAR race here at Daytona International Speedway by Chrysler Group President Tom LaSorda and Chief Operating Officer Eric Ridenour.

The concept vehicle was inspired by the 1970 Dodge Challenger, a companion to the Plymouth Barracuda and one of the last of Detroit's original muscle cars. In its heyday, Challenger went toe to toe with the Chevrolet Camaro and the Ford Mustang — a battle that is sure to be re-enacted with the latter-day Mustang (http://www.fordgt500.com) and the just-as-eagerly awaited reincarnation of the Chevy Camaro.

While Chrysler declined to reveal many more details, it is expected that the production '08 Challenger will be built on a shortened version of the rear-wheel-drive LX platform that underpins the Dodge Charger (http://www.chargerforums.com) and the Chrysler 300 (http://www.300cforums.com). A Hemi V8 will be stuffed under the hood, and there is almost certain to be a performance-oriented SRT8 edition with a large-displacement, high-output Hemi.
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Source: Edmunds.com - Inside Line (http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=115971#2)
Saturday, July 01, 2006

[Klavier]

Good news, glad to see DCX didn't quite drop the ball on this one.

[HKLEVI]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060701/bs_nm/autos_chrysler_challenger_dc

[Feros]

AWESOME! As long as they don't change the look of it from the concept, I already got the go ahead from the wife to get one! I will trade in my TB for a Challenger SRT-8 or bigger!

[Klavier]

AWESOME! As long as they don't change the look of it from the concept, I already got the go ahead from the wife to get one! I will trade in my TB for a Challenger SRT-8 or bigger!
Shouldn't you trade in your wife's car and let her have the TB and get the Challenger?

[idontdirveitbutican13]

i hope they don't dumb it down

[Feros]

Shouldn't you trade in your wife's car and let her have the TB and get the Challenger?

She won't let her car go for nothing. Plus she would never use the power of the Hemi, and she hates Yellow.

[TNCHARGER]

Yeah, heard this morning....my dealer took 2 deposits today for the SRT Challengers...:knockout:

[GeekGrl]

She won't let her car go for nothing. Plus she would never use the power of the Hemi, and she hates Yellow.

Feros knows me too well - I do not like the yellow - and I am adult enough to admit that a Hemi would be wasted on me.

And most importantly mine is the prettiest car ever :grin:

[tlrpunk]

I bet they are going to make it look a lot like a 2-door charger.

[Feros]

I bet they are going to make it look a lot like a 2-door charger.

That would be ok, not great but ok, as long as the front end looks like the Concept, that really makes that car!

[idontdirveitbutican13]

GRRR why can't they show us the REAL car before they start asking for deposits!! GRRR

[SRT8U]

official site....
http://www.dodge.com/en/challenger/index.html

[TNCHARGER]

GRRR why can't they show us the REAL car before they start asking for deposits!! GRRR


My dealer did not ask for these deposits...customers insisted even though he told them he probably would not get allocated...these guys are going around putting deposits at every local dealer...this dealer told me up front last Sept he would probaly not get allocated a Charger SRT..he handled the one i got from an out of state dealer...:)

[NECharger]

My R/T will be my beater in about a year and 1/2.

[TNCHARGER]

I welcome the Challenger back but have no intentions of (ever) trading the Charger...:smoke:

[NECharger]

I welcome the Challenger back but have no intentions of (ever) trading the Charger...:smoke:

You already traded one traitor. :lol:

[a14umbra]

You already traded one traitor. :lol:
Beat me to it.

[TNCHARGER]

You already traded one traitor. :lol:


?????.........:knockout:

[TorRed]

Yeah! I'm putting my order in as soon as they can order an SRT (or whatever they decide to call it). Then I can sell my Crown Vic and be a 2-Dodge kind of guy :)

[Johnman]

I bet they are going to make it look a lot like a 2-door charger.
No, I think it's going to look very close to the concept car. After all, it was the concept car's retro looks that resulted in nearly unprecedented positive public reaction and led to it's green-lighting by DCX. And DCX's press release announcing it's production mentioned that it was "inspired by the 1970 Challenger". No way they would then just give us a short-wheelbase 2-door Charger.:awkward:

[TorRed]

From what I've read, the bumpers may have to be changed and the door sills will not be as tucked in as the concept car. And they will probably tone down the interior some. Otherwise, what you see is what we'll get. It will not bear any resemblence to the Charger. I'm ready!!!

[PBGas]

Aparently they are in fact being built in Brampton. I don't know if there was an official announcement as of yet on that but a friend of mine who is one of the plant managers let me know yesterday that they are getting it.

[grandpa-srt4]

Can't wait for the new Challenger. I have own 5 of the original Challengers.

[alber/t]

went to the state fair again yesterday and they had the challenger there. I must say, the car in person is just beautiful. kind of intimidating.

[DLE88]

The Challenger is such an awesome car. They really did a good job in the retro look.

[ThEsCoRpIoNkInG]

I welcome the Challenger back but have no intentions of (ever) trading the Charger...:smoke:


Amen!

TSK<>

[p_Town_10]

Challenger looks good but im going with the camaro. The charger will be my 4dr and the camaro well its just a camaro.

[afterburner]

I stopped in to my local Dodge dealer last Sunday. I parked beside a loaded Charger SRT8 (silver). This was the third time in 3 weeks I had stopped by a different Dodge dealer to ask, more or less, the same questions. When would the Chally be available, would it be available only in the 6-speed, pistol grip manual tranny? And, what did they have on the lot in the way of Charger SRT8's?

To a man they answered that the Chally would more than likely be available in the first quarter of 2008. Probably not before that. Two out of three said that they had been informed that at least the first year would be in limited quantities, and would only be available with the 6-speed, pistol grip manual.

I live in LA. We have zero traffic congestion. Ever. With 20 million people, somehow we never have a single traffic jam. Ever. DCX knows this, and they know that there would be no reason to offer an automatic in the Chally to cope with ever decreasing traffic in all of America's metropolitan areas. Such logic should really move them ahead of Toyota's 13% increase in US market share last year.

However, as much as I simply cannot get my little mind wrapped around such superior intelligentsia, I did manage Sunday to park my seriously breathed on silver BMW K1200S bullet bike right beside a fully loaded silver SRT8 Charger. Six hours later, I had managed to pull off a great deal on it, and for the past 5 days have been in automotive heaven.

The dealer that had ordered the Black one for me was so customer oriented that he even went the extra mile and never returned my phone calls or e-mails. I think this is how Chrysler has managed to hold onto 3rd of 3 US manufacturers for so long. I have been taking notes on this because knowing how to alienate customers is a good thing to add to your toolkit.

Having said that, the SRT8 is simply the most awesome machine I have ever driven and I am very proud of it. Although I think the Chally is the best looking car I have ever seen, including when it came out and I was sixteen, Chrysler seems not to have learned anything in between. There is more intelligence to marvel at here, but still, I cannot fathom it. Can anyone calculate the number of 'Stangs that will have escaped the Ford's family barn by the time the Chally becomes available in traffic friendly manual only?

Bloody bizarre business model. But it does make it easier to understand why horses have been escaping the Ford's family barn for over 40 years, while the Chrysler's have been able to keep theirs corraled for 7/8ths of that time. They have "keeping a good thing from going anywhere" down pat.

[BANANA2387]

afterburner,

i can sympathize with you regarding certain dealers in the OC. i got my daytona at one place beacuse of the price, but their customer service was horrible. i'm taking it to another place for service. by the way, what city was the dealership where you got such "great" service?

[mangocharger]

no, that is the new Avenger. :)

[innrkid]

This is the best news yet. I can't wait to buy one. This car will set the american muscle pace imho.

[555]

Highly contemplating this being the next car I get. They are friggin awesome looking, wonder how much the exterior will change from the concept...

[slvr06CHARGER]

Today i received a magazine chrysler sends to some of its customers here, and there was a note about the challenger mainly talkin about the 70's models and then at the end it said "next year the challenger srt-8 version will come equipped with the 6.1L hemi and a six speed manual tranny". nothing about the R/T version or the other engines.

:)

[H-Town_Charger]

damn, im feelin that car

[Whyteboi]

I thought it could only be built in brampton cause its on the same platform?

Anyway, I knew this quite a while ago, my dad works in centerline near detroit, and one of his coworker lives in brampton, and the plant spilled the beans to him I guess :)

Didnt think it was that special, im still waiting till I can customize the damn thing on dodge.com

[H-Town_Charger]

dat car is clean

[MOPAR31]

dat car is clean

fo' real!!! Looking forward to seen the final product..

[Phantom Hemi]

The General Sales Manager I'm buying my new R/T with R&T from said they will only be making 30,000 Challengers for '08. Dodge is not setting up any kind of waiting list system so dealers have no way of knowing what (how many) they can get. Thus dealers can't take deposits.:(

[Fmr9C1&GTO DRVR]

Anyone have a guess how much the dealers will tack on to the sticker price of the Challenger due to "limited quantities"? The dealer I got my RT w RT from in Colorado Springs was asking $6-8 K over for the SRT8 Chargers when they came out. Of course there is always someone with more money than sense who will pay to be the first owner, otherwise the dealers wouldn't keep doing this.

[wasnt ez]

This challenger has a great amount of potential. Let's hope they leave it as displayed in the san diego Auto Show.

[whoathere]

We were told (and I'm sure others have heard) that the Challenger will be priced to compete with the Mustangs. If I choose to get one, I don't have to pay for the dealer mark-ups. Being an employee definitely has its perks!

[TheBoyNextDoor]

hmmm makes me want to get one

[deadpossum]

Nice! Time to start up the savings account

[HELLRSR]

The Challenger is a nice ride, but I don't think it looks as menacing as a Charger SRT8! :grin:

[darsh39]

The Challenger is one helluva ride..

it can beat any other car of its range in market.