While it did get beat out by the vette, I would hardly call it 'creamed'. The reason it doesn't have independ rear suspension is that the wheel hop and lack of traction + broken parts on a GT500 would be counter to the cars origional form (Muscle Car) The vette is considered a sports car thus it's priced 20K more than a GT500. Most of that engineering was put into the chassis and suspension of the vette, thus lighter weight and independent suspension. The only real negative of the GT500 is the weight.

yeah I agree on the whole charger thing though..a 4-door muscle car [:'(] It shoulda been called a 4 door go-go grocery getter.

 

New Charger you say?

::yawn::

maybe Dodge can get it right this time, the Hemi ones are nice but the v6 is a 4k lb paperweight. Also putting a retro nameplate on a not retro looking car was and is stupid.

 

Kind of like the Monte Carlos, Malibus, Impalas, and GTOs.

The HHR's old panel-truck styling and the posibility of a new Firebird/Trans-Am are the only things that keep me interested in GM.

The Challenger is quite an awesome machine, if it's not a tub of lard like the Charger, then it really will be a force to be reckoned with. But don't hold your breath. I've been watching car companies screw up for years.

 

Death to Malibu's!!!!!!!

 

[:'(]

 

I assume you're talking about the Challenger because Dodge ALREADY makes a 420 hp Charger (it's called the SRT8). Guess what, it's hardly a threat to Ford in Challenger or Charger format. It's so pig-heavy that the current Charger SRT8 will just barely hang with a stock GT. Put an intake and tune on a GT and it will walk the SRT8. The new Challenger will be built on the Chrysler 300 chassis, same as the Charger. Even though it's a two door, it's going to be a BIG car. I saw it at the Dallas Auto Show, and it is indeed BIG. The base model will probably get a 6 cylinder, then the next model up will probably by the Daytona R/T Hemi and the upper end model will be the 425 hp hemi. The upper model will have trouble with lightly modded GTs and will not come anywhere close to the performance of the Shelby.

By the way, you guys that don't think the Shelby performs have been reading too many Motor Trends. Lethal swapped the pulley and tires and tossed a tune on theirs and they're running low 11's. LOW 11'S. AS IN A HAIR FROM 10'S! Forget the Challenger, it's not a contender. I would love to see it be a contender, but it's on the wrong chassis. They should have designed it from the ground up, but I can certainly understand them not wanting to spend the development money to do so.

 

Evolution performance just ran a 11.06 at 128 on drag radials with thier shelby.....bring on the Vettes

 

wait until the Boss comes out...everyone will be saying "challenger who?" Plus i read in my new modified mustangs mag that the SHINDORA Boss(i dont know about the spelling,sorry if i messed it up) that it puts out around 600 hp. so 400hp hemi? who cares it will probably be a fat *** like the charger is.

 

I think the challenger is a good lookin car, wonder what the final product would look like.

 

Any projected price point on the 400+hp HEMI version? That might be the biggest challenge the Challenger has to taking market share away from Ford or Chevy (Vet).