Where the hell is the Mopar muscle?

Like alot of people, the death of the f-body has put GM on my sh*t-list. But as much as I question the decision, what really makes me scratch my head is the way Mopar has missed this opportunity to score an unexpected hit. Less competition and a ready-made group of buyers (f-body guys) who are both into performance and mad at GM. Plus, they have the new Hemi, which sounds like a good engine (345 hp). So, find a good RWD platform (maybe get one from the Germans), slap some sexy long-hood/short-deck sheetmetal on it, call it Challenger or Charger, and price at Mustang range or a little higher. Do ya'll think that would work? Nothing would bring back the f-body quicker than a new Mopar muscle car and the new Mustang both selling in big numbers.

Note: I am aware of the existence of the Viper. I am also aware of it's price tag, so the Viper, while outstanding, has limited relevance for me and I'm sure many others.

SRT4. Like it or not car's like the SRT4 are the new "muscle" cars. RWD V8 cars have gone upscale unfortunatley. I beleive they are making the Magnum SRT 8 which is more of a station wagon then a muscle car, but it's still hemi powered and RWD. Also the LX cars are going RWD so there is a chance of them making a smaller rwd V8 powered car. If they were to make it I think it would be more in competition with the new GTO and cost over 30k.

I agree with you whole heatedly....I would love to see the hemi in a coupe body with a long hood and short rear deck.

It's too bad the only thing they have out there is the SRT-4. But even so, Mopar has a lot of heritage in Turbo 4's! And this car has to be the new bang for the buck king! Hopefully they built the engine with modding in mind...i.e. higher boost.

I loved my old Turbo 4 with only 150hp in a 2700lb body. 75 more horses is just awesome!

Dodge's version of the RWD LX sedan will have a SRT version, so just be patient.

The SRT-4 is one extremely quick piece of machinery, and like it or not, is more in tune with what cheap performance today is all about (though after renting a quick FWD 3.5 Maxima, personally I think they would be dangerous). The SRT-4 is exactly what the young tuner crowd (who really are the modern day Hot Rodders) want.

To directly answer your question, DCX is working on a V8 coupe, and I was told (indirectly) that nothing is going to touch it. It's likely to be the fastest "Mopar" ever made short of the Viper. The down side is that it won't be cheap! It won't be Corvette-BMW expensive, but it's extremely likely to cost more than a GTO. Also, comes the question as to when it will be out. Even if it debuts at this winter's auto show, it will still be at least 1 1/2 years afterwards before it hits the streets (2007 model year), roughly the same time as the next GTO & Chevy's performance coupe.

Pick up the August "Popular Hot Rodding" magazine next month. I think it might be mentioned in there. :)

yeah i was hoping Mopar would put a v8 coupe out as well. would be cool to see a new muscle car (even though they would be a little more expensive) war fire up between the Big 3 again.

I'd love to see the return of something like a Charger/Cuda/Challenger etec...

I think Mopar will have pretty much all bases of the performance market covered soon.

They already have an awesome turbo 4 for that end.

The Hemi V8 will soon be teamed with RWD passenger cars (of all things).

And of course their V10.

anybody got the production model specs/prices of the new SRT-8?? Though its a station wagon, I think this is the closest thing out there to muslce cars of the past. Could be pretty cool.

It seems almost certain Dodge will have a RWD Hemi muscle car soon. The LH platform (FWD Intrepid/Concorde/300M) is being replaced by the RWD LX platform. The 300M replacement, 300N, is RWD with the 5.7L Hemi. According to the rumor mill Dodge will make the Magnum (a weird superwagon) and an Intrepid replacement, which may be renamed Charger. If they don't screw it up, that could fill the gap between the SRT-4 and Viper quite nicely.

The biggest problem with the LX is that, like the Sigma, it is a mid-lux platform that doesn't lend itself well to a lower-end "affordable" sports car. Don't expect anything RWD and sub-$30K from the Auburn Hills boys unless they can figure out how to get the Razor into production (which would probably take some sort of Mitsubishi tie-in to work).

The cars that come off the LX platform will be rather nice, though :)

With 1.3billion dollar loss in the last quarter I think DC needs figure out how to pull out of that slump before working about a "muscle car."

If they do put one out, I look forward to beating up on it at the track. :D