At the annual auto show, I asked a dodge rep if the dodge charger concept was ever going to become a reality or if it was even being thought of anymore. The rep informed me that it would be coming out and they were shooting for an 05 model. I was wondering if any of yall have heard anything. If this thing is possibly coming out in 05 you would think we wouldve heard something by now.

 

No way in heck will there be a 2005 Dodge Charger, and if the rep had an honest understanding of the car business, they wouldn't have even said that. The cars Chrysler are showing now are for the 2005 model year, and factory transition to make these cars are already in motion.....plus, the fact we are already in the 2004 model year now!

The best you can hope for right now is the 2007 model (2006 calender) year.

Also, when the Charger does show up (note: I didn't say "if"), it won't be cheap. It's going to be very damn quick, very damn fast (in all likelihood, the quickest & fastest Chryslers ever made short of the Viper of that year), but the top models will be pushing near $40,000, with the starting price around or slightly above $30K.

A "hypothetical" coupe was used as an example when I was reserching an article, and this hypothetical car wouldn't have a low cost, high volume version like the Mustang. It would be more of a (to steal Ford's termenology) "Living Legend", that would serve as a car that got people talking, built showroom excitement, & lived up to Chrysler's performance heratage with a vengence.

Unfortunately, it would also tend to make GTOs look cheap.

I did a couple of threads about the direction of future RWD performance, in which I let everyone know most all the really hot RWD cars of the future would be well over $30,000. All 3 manufacturers feel this is affordable, and statisticly they're right.

 

If the Charger is supposed to replace the Intrepid, why on earth would they make it so expensive?

 

You're refering to 2 different cars.

The sedan that will replace the Intrepid is one vehicle, and it will be out as a 2005 model, some months after the 300 & the Magnum wagon.

The other vehicle (a 4 passenger RWD coupe) is what is likely to carry the Charger name. This is the car that won't be out till at least 2007. If you are refering to the Charger showcar from a few years ago, it's not comming to production as is.

All very high performance cars are going to be in the $30,000 range because that's where they need to be to be profitable. The average price of a new car is about $30,000 today, so it's traditionally where muscle cars were in price.

Mustang will be the exception, but Ford's case is different than where the other makers are taking their cars. Mustang's case is based on volume sales of V6s and the top end Cobras to make the line profitable.

Charger won't be sold in the volume of Mustang. Unless the coupe market suddenly explodes (re: the entire 2004 GTO line sells out in a matter of months), DCX will expect to recoupe their investment on few cars.

One very dirty little secret in the industry is that higher cost versions of cars tend to sell better than the lower cost versions. Camaro SSs had very little problem selling up till the last day, while base Z28s sat on lots. People with money or people with passion buy cars like these, and DCX is tapping into that.

Charger name could show up on the Intrepid replacement, but with a 4 passenger coupe under development for Dodge (hypothetically ), I believe they would save that name for that car instead.

 

What we know for certain is that the Intrepid replacement will follow the Chrysler 300 sedan and Dodge Magnum wagon by nearly a year. It probably will show up in calender year 2005.

The most important point is that it will not resemble the Chrysler and Dodge models we've already seen. Like the 1999 Charger concept, it will have a swoopier roofline and lower hoodline. In addition, there is a likelihood that D-C will leverage the Charger name.

As far as a coupe version, I've heard alternating news about a 300C style convertible and a true Charger coupe. The Chrysler 300C drop-top apparently was cancelled years ago, but nothing is certain other than an Intrepid replacement that will be different than the 300/Magnum.

As an aside, what exactly does this image show. Is this a heavily photoshopped version of the 300C convertible concept? (The tent backdrop would lead me to believe that the base image came from a Chrysler concept show back in 2000.)

http://thehollywoodextra.com/chrysler/newyorker.jpg

 

Dodge has pretty much thrown that '99 Charger concept in the crapper haven't they? I haven't seen it in any recent auto shows...

 

By the time all these RWD cars make it out, 30k for a coupe or RWD car wont be considered expensive bcuz of inflation. The GT is in the mid 25k and surly will go up with the redesign of the car. Remeber, you always get what you pay for, usualy. This is why the GT is usually cheaper then the f-bodies.

Though if Mother Mopar made a RWD Charger coupe you can definatly be assured that I will be the first in line

 

Ill be right behind you.

 

The new LX models will be replacing the LH models. The LX's wil all be RWD, DCX is planning to go upscale price wise with the LX cars. There will be a Charger model but, it won't be looking like the sleek show car of years ago. As a DCX employee I'm not really fired up as to how these new models look. The up tick is that the hemi will be an option. Which is what they should have done with the Crossfire!

 

Not sure where I read it but wont they be offering a V6 option, a 4.7L option, and an R/T with the hemi option with the Charger?

 

I have not seen any info indicating use of the 4.7 L in the LX line of cars, and I've seen quite a bit of info.

The 4-door Charger got nixed by German management, as they questioned the need to have two seperate four-door vehicles built off the same platform I highly suspect that they're capable of making a more-intelligent decision now, but I would not expect a Charger-type vehicle before '06.

 

If I cant wait for the Charger, I will get the next 300C with a HEMI. There is just something in me that makes me want a 4door that runs 13s with 4 people in the car. Anyways, by the time I get out of school will be able time for all the new RWD cars to show up.

Look, its 1964 all over again

 

The Charger is evidently going to be a beast and a half in it's top form, but mastrdrver, that $30-40K price I mentioned will be in today's dollars!

I don't know the details because the talk was about generalities, and only a "hypothetical" car could be used as an example, but it was made very clear that this coupe would be unbeatably quick and it would likely be up there in price to turn a profit.

As far as engines, no telling.

And like Ford and GM, the $30-38,000 range isn't considered very expensive.

 

That was a point that Autoextremist.com always brought up - it seems like the $35K price point is where all the activity is. Then again, with high-volume pickup trucks and SUVs falling solidly within that price range, there's obviously people willing to pay that much for a vehicle. Whom, I don't know - my wife and I are both engineers making decent money, and we're certainly as hell not able to throw down $70-80K for a pair of daily drivers.

 

http://www.motortrend.com/future/spi...vf/index1.html

OK I found it. Dont know how reliable that is but I think thats a pretty far off conclusion.