All I gotta say is, "The New Chrysler" knows how to throw a party...after this event, I'm eyeing my Camaros in the driveway and wondering if I should become a Mopar convert, selling both of them for a black Challenger....

Eh, maybe not

To fill people in, Chrysler is hosting this week in Las Vegas 2 different dealer shows...basically a pep rally for the 4,500 dealers nationwide. Anyway, highlights of the show for me personally was being able to see the production 2009 Ram, Challenger and the new crossover, the Journey. First off, I have to say the Challenger is, for a hater of all that is retro, absolutely stunning in person. I saw it first in Detroit, but up on a turntable with oversized wheels, it was really hard to get a feel for it. The one they let us sit in was a TorRed production-spec '09 Challenger R/T (5,500 will be produced for '08, all SRT spec with an AT, priced around $38 even) with a pistol grip 6 speed...I was dumbstruck. Considering how lukewarm I felt towards the car, I was awed. It has a whole different presence than the Mustang. Its definitely a retro look, but they pulled it off better than expected for me. I love it because its the size of a GTO, and looks completely badass. Its a genuine 5 passenger coupe, with MUCH easier seating in the rear to get in and out of than GTO. The dash, while having retro cues, feels completely modern and far less gauche than the Mustang's over-the-top retroness. The seats are well bolstered and SOFT. You sit in them, not on them...as a lover of soft third gen seats, I am really impressed. The door panels are a little cheap, but as a Chrysler engineer pointed out, the soft materials are where the customer touches the panel, like where the armrest is. From behind the wheel, it gives off such a badass aura to it, its amazing. It doesn't feel chintzy or overwrought to me, like the Mustang does. Its big, its comfortable, and it has that "abuse me" feeling all my '02 Firebirds gave me when I was selling them. In a word, its absolutely everything the GTO woulda/coulda/shoulda been. The GTO I'm sure is every bit as competent in performance, but never had that aura or panache around it...

The second significant surprise is the '09 Ram. It will be out by September next year. If you like the current Ram, you'll love the new one. In Sport and Laramie trim levels, it even has a stitched dash that you'd swear is leather!! Think new Super Duty in terms of style and sophistication. It has a coil sprung rear axle for a better ride with the same payload capacity. 375hp from the new 5.7 Hemi, with better MPG. And get this...you thought the Ridgerunt's trunk was cool? The Ram goes one better. In the Crew Cab's (no more Mega Cab...traditional regular, Quad, and 4 door crews now...) 5 foot 3 inch bed, built into the sides and accessed from outside the bed are 2 locking, waterproof, hinged access doors to 8 cubic feet of storage on each side of the bed. Its hard to explain, but the openings don't wreck the look of the truck, and if you have a load in the bed its WAY better than the Ridgerunts idea...

The look is very evolutionary...same big crosshair grill, but canted inwards toward the bottom like the Charger. The hood bows down towards the headlights more now, so its more sleek but still has the unmistakeable Ram-ness to it. With a better ride, more power and an interior nicer than the LS Chevy (but, admittedly, not as posh as the LT2 or LTZ), I think this truck will kick some ***. It looks way better than a Silverado IMO....

Enough for now...I need sleep. It took me 19 hours to get home yesterday...LONG story...

 

Methinks the Challenger is going to be tough to avoid.

This is the 2nd year in a row I had to miss a preview show in Vegas because it's impossible to take the time off.

 

What did you think of the Journey? How does its interior look up close?

 

Nice write-up and I'm too looking forward to the Challenger I can get a employee discount for GM or Chrysler, so if the Camaro takes too long... j/k I think..

 

Excellent read.

 

Very interesting, especially since our family consists of five passengers. The Camaro is going to be a tough sell in our household now.

 

I want to see the new ram too!!!

 

3v heads??? The new Ram sounds awesome, between the new GM twins, '09 Ram, and all new '09 F-150, and $4 gas coming I don't think Toyota will be getting many new truck buyers or hitting their 300,000+ goal.

 

VVT like the Viper's system, I think.

 

I'm totally buying one, but y'all knew that.

 

Is there an SRT planned for the Ram. I need to replace my truck, I depreciated it for the last five years, and my tax deduction is about to run out. Hopefully Cerebus will throw in a 6.4 and a tremec six speed into that short bed QC. Is there any announcement of the 6.4 in the Challenger?

 

Insiders have said that the 6.4 will hit the Challenger in MY2010.

I have heard rumors of a Hemi SRT Ram, but nothing firm. Insiders have said that Cerberus has boosted SRT's budget and is looking to expand the program, so a next-gen SRT Ram seems like a very good bet, but details are really thin.

You can probably find a leftover current-generation SRT-10 sitting on a dealer lot for cheap if you look around a little, for what that's worth. I've heard of them selling for huge, huge discounts.

 

Man that Challenger is shaping up to be an awesome ride. I am getting stoked about a 6.4 challenger. I think that's cool that it is only as big as a GTO. That to me is a perfect size.

 

Dodge's fullsized, 5 passenger coupe is the size of a GTO. Chevy's little sporty ponycar will be the size of the GTO.


Something wrong with this picture?

 

Yes...everything.....