Thoughts?

 

Prediction:

Enthusiast minded folds will blast the looks of both cars, but choose Charger because of the RWD.

Then, the other 97% of the public will choose and actually buy the Impala, and it will continue to be a great selling vehicle.

 

Who knows, Chargers' sheetmetal may cancel out it's RWD advantage.

Unlike the 300...which may be polarizing, yet compelling...the Charger is just plain hard to look at.

 

Agreed on all counts.

 

100% agree. Perfect prediction.

 

I think dodge will sell just as many Chargers as they did what it replaces at first. Then I think the sales will increase quickly. Personally I think this car is bad *** looking and it reminds me of the 05 mustang in a way. When you get down to it, 4 doors dont mean a thing if the car is fun to drive and good quality at the proce they are coming in at.

 

I honestly think that some of the negative opinions of the car are based, at least unconciously on the fact that it really doesnt need to be carrying the Charger name. I think, and I bet a good deal would agree with me, that the car is actually pretty nice, and deserves more of a shot, but likely wont get one because of DCX's whoring of the nameplate.

 

Nope. See here's the thing. Charger name aside, the car really just looks like a quirky 300. They haven't done anything here with the LX platform that we hadn't seen before. The 300 is also a nice car, so why am I choosing the "Charger"? It all seems like just another LX iteration, and a rather uninspiring one at that....wearing a legendary Muscle Car name just makes matters worse.

Chevy won't need to apologize for it's upcoming Impala SS. Sure it isn't exactly what we as enthusiasts want, but we aren't what the car is trying to attract either. Impala SS will be MUCH more successful with its target audience than "Charger" will be to Dodge's. Ironically, you can probably blame that on Dodge's name choice.

 

So, someone up there said the public is buying the Impala. How many Impala SS's sell? I think I've seen one on the road. People may buy Impala, but not the SS.

I predict the Charger will sell well. People here complain on how ugly it is...it's a Magnum coupe. Magnum is selling plenty fine, and this is a coupe version of the same car and will probably cost a bit less. Why exactly is this all of the sudden sales failure?

I don't really love the new Impala or the new Charger, but I think Charger has more of an identity. It's also RWD and I'm sure will have the 340hp hemi available. One of these is a car I'd look at when car shopping. It isn't the 240hp FWD car.

Think about this for a second...Impala SS MSRPs at the same price as Magnum RT. For 100 less horsepower, and FWD. Charger RT should be even cheaper. Neither of these cars are winning beauty competitions, so why would people buy Impala SS again?

 

This Impala SS is different, since it has a V8.

Either way, it doesn't matter much.

TOTAL Impala sales will undoubtedly crush total Charger sales...

This goes back to the whole enthusiast point of view, and you summed up my predictioon to a tee...

 

Coupe? What coupe? Last time I checked, that bastardized Magnum had FOUR doors!

I'd be willing to bet a similarly optioned "Charger" and Impalla SS (the one with 303HP and DOD) will run about the same price...

 

I've come to grips with the Charger name on a 4 door. It's not the name that bothers me so much anymore. It's not the 4 doors that bother me so much either.
It's the odd sheetmetal that really bothers me.

So when comparing Charger R/T and Impala SS, for the same cost, you'll have your choice of: a great chassis and great motor with bizarre coachwork.........or a competent, if not world beating chassis, good motor and somewhat bland styling.

Thems your choices.

Somehow, for me, I wish someone could just hit the "sweetspot".

A 300C with less chrome and tortoise shell, and with a manual trans, comes pretty close.

 

I misspoke, I meant to say Sedan. Why is it the Charger is "bastardized" and awful for having 4 doors, but it's AOK on the Impala?

I imagine the 303hp Impala SS will run a similar price to the 340+ HP Charger RT when similarly equipped. The question is why is the Impala the better buy?

I don't think the general public is going to freak out as much about the name as the people on this board. Wow, it's a 4 door...so? Most people have no problem with a sporty 4 door, look at how many are out there selling well.

This will be a cheaper alternative to 300C and Magnum, both of which are selling very well. Magnum is styled very similarly and selling well. Impala is a great example to show this car is offering good value in it's segment.

For the enthusiast, it's RWD and has a high horsepower V8. The enthusiast would never pick the Impala. The average buyer doesn't care about the name, the styling is going over well and the car will over similar equipment at a similar price.

Why is this car a failure again?

 

Why is the Charger a better buy?

As Z284ever pointed out....for me, it is the awful aesthetics of the Charger. I can get past the fact that it is a sedan, but I cannot overlook it's odd exterior. That alone would convince me to buy the Impala (especially considering it would be my daily driver and I already have a RWD muscle car).

 

I never thought I'd see the day on an enthusiast forum where someone asks why the car with 350hp and RWD is a better buy than the 300hp FWD car.

If that point isn't obvious, then there's no point discussing it any more.