Video: 2008 Dodge Challenger Designers, Part 2
Mar 3, 2008 at 1:38PMHere’s our second installation of the discussion with Jeff Gale and Brian Nielander, the guys who took the Dodge Challenger concept from dream to reality with their 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 design.
In this episode, we ask:
–How did you manage to convince management to drop the traditional crosshair from the grille?
–What are some other major differences between the concept and the production version?
Enjoy…
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74 Comments
So where is it? Was told March, then April and now May !!!! give us the car..
i wish they’d build some already, i have a terminal illness and will probably be dead by the time any of them arrive at a dealership without already being sold. sold my ‘68 gtx and my ‘99 ram pickup so i could be ready to get the challenger and will now have to look for a used one or something. anyway, i’ll take mine plain. no options, no power anything. just the hemi, 3.91 gears, and a set of sticky tires. no frilly junk. ordered my ‘93 Dakota that way with the 5.2 magnum and it ran 13s with nothing more than aftermarket exhaust. was spanking new mustangs, camaros, and the occaisional vette at the dragstrip and ultimately ended up with a 12-second truck…for less than $18,000. c’mon Dodge, gimme something to get excited about again without getting into a bidding war over the price.
Cant forget to give credit to:
ontariostreetcar.com for the great pics of the contrat’s in color from dark to lighter in color.
kudo’s to all of us die hard mopar fans who drempt of this day,not often this happens to a car guy that he gets to see a rebirth of such a well known and feared classic.
PUMPED ISNT THE WORD!
typo I ment black makes the car look like a cuda.Not easy typing in the dark.
The lighter color reallys make it look like the old challenger wow what a great job dodge.
here is a link to a few pics.
The back makes the car look for cuda like IMO.
http://www.ontariostreetcar.com/showthread.php?p=5500#post5500
It would be nice to see.
This is a big one,Metallic flake offered for paint on rts.Nothing screams retro than a cool paint job and metal flake was the order of the day back then and still looks stunning.
6 speed with mds.
Like the factory rear window louvers idea.
Tint windows darker.
A few styles of rims offerd for the RT.
A interior trim package.
Limited edition models.
Do all the old colors and a few new.
Pro shop parts bolt-ons right from dodge you buy a car you get a speacil acessory catalouge with all the goodies to add to your car at delivery or when built,
so to make your car more unique and for future value if the is gas then.
re: brake upgrades,exhaust,intake,rims have several too choose from,custom matts and seat covers,all in a very nice accessories catalouge to pick from before we actually order the car.
This would be like the old DODGE days load up on options we can choose from.
You cant buy brand loyality like that anymore Dodge would be a house hold word again,and your well on the way that is for sure.
It is one of those gotta have it cars ,and what comes along with it is many long talks with the wife justifing the purchase,like a kid conning his folks for his first bee bee gun..
Ill most likely buy two one hard top(now) and one convert in a few years.
Shaker hood and supercharger option.
Keep those comments coming– Dodge is listening!!!!! I have a few requests of my own! How about Rear Window Louvers right from the factory? Factory Hood Pins?? Shaker hood?? All as options of course!
All the Hi-Impact Colors,like DodgeBoy says- a few at a time, phased in and out all the time on all models!!!!
Convertible?? Dodge hasn’t had an everyday guy’s Convertible in years.
Wife said no to white she picked black..
I have to agree the car looks mean as hell in black.
Damn this has been one hard job picking the color.This has been tougher than picking the kids names..
dodgeboy you rock!
After seeing that video Im leaning toward a white challenger seeing how much they really look like the real deal.
I was shocked how much they look like the 70’s real deal…..
I wonder if theyll offer the option of remote start with a stick?
Ill kick myself for years if i dont get a vanishing point chally.
Dodgeboy thankyou for the tip in ,I cant wait to get in the dealership to put my order in I stopped in last week and put 1000.00 down to put things into motion on a 09.
Now when is the question Ill be able to put my order in,the sales manager who Im dealing with direct.
Funny thing is I need this car before sept 10th.
Im going out to the silver state race sept 15th to work as a coarse worker,and I want to take this new chally with me out west.
I hope it happens,seems like it should be a reality if there are no hold ups.
I sat in that red ‘09 R/T from that video. Not to take anything away from the ‘08 SRT8’s-They are incredible and will always have their own appeal(Look how fast they sold out). I think we’re all going to be very happy with the ’09’s. “notsure” is right(I have the video too), the ‘09 R/T looks awesome with the body-colored deck spoiler and chrome 20’s. No stripes were on the car and it totally looked like a ‘70 that way. The most important thing about it was the Pistol Grip Shifter sticking out of the console- I ran it through all the gears(sitting still)and it couldn’t have felt better! the second greatest thing about it was the interior- the seats were all leather and had “Rolled Pleats” that looked way retro and perfect in the car! All it needed was a”Tuff Steering Wheel” (3-Spoke).We’ll keep hammering them about that until we get one. It was a Pre-Production model but it clearly showed where they’re going in ‘09. These 3 cars were out on the road together in January with no disguise on them at all. I mention this because that was prior to the Feb.6th Reveal Date of the First Edition Challengers- Interesting that Dodge wasn’t hiding them more than that.
Got that right, dodgeboy thankyou you are our “ear to the rail”.
It is most appretitated.
Hey guys I stumbled onto some video of 3 09 challenger’s.
I bought a video off ebay a few weeks back of 3 challengers fueling up at a car wash ,one was a sxt(gun metal metallic)with only one pipe out the back ,the others two where red rt’s with chrome 20″s .
Wow is all I can say the chrome rims looked great..The car looked great,chunky like the old challengers !
I also got to see the new 09 interior it has been changed slightly from what I can see the gauge bezel is all silver now and looks a bit cooler,it cover it outside more looks retro.I bet there is gonna be a ton of cool after market stuff for this car .
The seats look great like the srt but more rounded like the originals,and I thnk had piping on them and the radio changed abit I think,it looked more compact.
The video was only 3 mins and very crappy but what I could make out is the door hands looked more shaved and the color matched spoiler on the rt look great.
The car looked much bigger than I thought it to be and looked mean in red.
The rt also was sporting the front spoiler in black as was the sxt which didnt have a chrome gas cap,only a door.
The sxt was in a funky metalic gun metal,dont know if I cared for it much looked way to plain and almost lookedlike a old duster in that paint..
I feel blessed in a way to have had a peek and thought to pass the info allpar is right on .
This video confirms that .
Oh one thing I noticed was the hemi badge was on the hood intake scoop and not a decal it looked like the old hemi badge however the rams heads is still there billet will have a killer gril insert asap you know that.Pop that rams head off no problem.
SOUNDS LIKE ALLPAR GOOFED AND MEANT 2008 PRODUCTION BEGINS APRIL 14!
Thanks DODGEBOY, great information.
Update: Scheduled 1st day of Retail ‘08 Production has been tentatively moved up by one week to April 14th. Good news.
You can count on it. Unless there is some sort of an unforeseen delay, those dates are 100% accurate. Many of you guys are asking when the ‘09 ordering info will be into Dealer’s hands,and of course when we can order them.This typically happens in June but there is a chance it will come out a little early for Challenger. I’ll keep you guys posted.
dodgeboy, This is the info we’ve been trying to get for weeks. Is your source reliable?
Incredible car Dodge! Can we please get a 3-Spoke Steering Wheel? Like a Tuff Wheel or something similar? It would totally make the interior look like it should. How about Factory Hood Pins? The exact reproductions of the originals are available from lots of vendors. Installed at the factory as an option would be awesome. How about a Shaker Hood option? I realize ‘08 is in the bag but all these things would be great for ‘09.
Here’s the bottom line– Chrysler has been building some Pre-Production Challengers since mid-February. They are NOT production cars for sale to the public. Production for Retail Sale cars is scheduled to begin April 21st. These are ‘08 models. Production for the ’08’s will run through the end of the model year which is approximately mid-July. That will complete the estimated 6400 unit total for ‘08. ‘09 production will start after changeover which is roughly late-July or the first of August.
This car looks like the concept Im selling my car now to get rady for this baby .
One thing I was wundering.
has anyone given thought to the sun roof option and what they are offering.
The sun roof can really be for a black challenger only unless they make them with a color matching shell.
I have seen what one looks like with a sunroof and it wasnt black and with that black glass sunroof right in the middle of the rood it looks bad.It tottaly broke up the cars lines and was very noticeable..
Im thinking I may want a sun roof and it may have to be black for me I notice the black hides that black trim strip along the bottom not to mention the be pillar area and rear window glass.
The car is almost made for the color black.
These things matter to anyone else.
The black glass sunroof looks funky on almost any color but black.
Wish they would do something to make the appearence of the car stay true to form and well all know a sun roof back then was a laughable leaker every time.
No one had a true muscle car with a sunroof not until the camaro came out in big numbers.
Im too old school I guess but a sunroof in a car like this kills it for me unless you cant see it and it does not break up the lines like the black glass ones do.
Anyone else consider this option and descision?
This all came about after I had seen the cars at the chicago auto show,and my son noticed it immediately that the car in black looked different.
possible the 09’s
may follow fast may=ish into June.
Thankyou for all the info I know this is the place to get things straight the deaker I called was clueless but did let me know each dealer is getting one for floor sales.
Im glad Im not gonna be that guy paying the mark up just to get first one.Ill wait till i can get one with out al the hassle of a preminum just to be the first guy with one.Your gonna feel like a fool in 6 months having paid 20k more.
The way the gas is going up there may be alot of rts on the lots over the next 2 years.This is what killed it before for us here we go again this may very well be one of the only new retro muscle cars built for a long time guys..
The mustang is and always will be a pony car.
Mopar= muscle been that way for ever ,thank god its all new tech and I bet they fixed those dash rattles.
I cant wait! Im calling my sales guy weekly now till I get at least a broshure and a build list for a 09 rt loaded.
almost forgot. my source tells me production for 2008 begins in april. my dealer (i can’t believe i am going to reference my dealer, yikes!)tells me 2008 cars will be delivered in april. if all this is accurate, this spring is gonna rock!
fyi, i simply cut and pasted info off the allpar site. it is still there just as i pasted it here. no changes. no reference to autonews just thanks to oh20. here it is again this time in entirety.,
The 2008-2009 Dodge Challenger cars (and the 2006 Challenger concept car) Updated March 11, 2008 (updates). Many thanks to oh20 for the past two years!
2009 Challenger news and rumors are after the 2008 SRT8 release
2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8
UPDATES: We were just informed that the interior for 2009 will be black only; the seats in the R/T and the base model are the same, both offered in both cloth and leather (and they look similar). The design is a ribbing in the seat area with bolsters similar to the R/T package on the Charger. The cluster trim panels and center stack trim have been updated for the 2009 model year, and R/T models have Hemi badging on the side of the hood (in the same style as the SRT’s 6.1L HEMI writing). A few R/Ts have regular round exhaust pipes; others are squarish. Meanwhile, the manual shifter has a pistol-grip design as in the concept, with teh boot taking up the same space as the automatic; Reverse is all the way to the right, above sixth, with a gate from sixth gear so you go into sixth and then up to get to Reverse (it uses a modified Viper-style Tremec manual transmission). The first 2009s will apparently be built on April 14.
how do i know the cars haven’t been built yet? i got a contact. do a little research and make a few calls. thats what i did.
RE:UPDATES posted by FRONTYARDRESTOGUY: The Allpar site names Automotive News as a reference with regards to the 09 production information. I just read the article and it does not specifically state that the 09’s start on April 14. It reads, “The first production Challenger will be built April 14″. This means either the 08’s or 09’s start in April which is the closest thing to actual information that we have recieved in a while.
Frontyard,
How do you you know that the ’08s are definitely not in production? I’ve been trying to find any information and the Chrysler people won’t tell you a thing.
Do you know when the ’08s are supposed to start production?
THE DEALER NEVER DOES.
FACT: 2008 CHALLENGERS ARE NOT CURRENTLY IN PRODUCTION.
I wonder if it was a typo april 14th for the 09’s.
allpar has been right all this time,that means the 08 srt’s must be being made as we speak of this if they are to start the 09’s in a month.
Why dosnt the dealers know anything?
your dealer won’t know anything.
however, allpar.com has consistently been right since day 1 with their info.
Oh man. I hope this update from allpar is true! I’m going to call my dealer tomorrow to see if they’ve heard anything new.
If there is a produciton date of april 15th that must mean the 08’s wil be out of the way by then or built along side the 09’s.
DODGE HOW CAN WE BUY A CAR IF YOUR DEALERS HAVE NOT A SHREAD OF INFO ON IT??
I WANT TO BUY A 09 AND MY DEALER HAS NO CLUE OF OPTIONS OR ANY OTHER INFO FOR THAT MATTER PLEASE LET US KNOW WHEN WE CAN ORDER 09 MODELS,PLEASE.
I figure after the NYC show ,and esspecially on the 16th there may be answers to all my questions..
I just read unless it was a typo they are starting 2009 production on april 15th.
anyone else hear that I though that was the date for the 08 srt’s to strat hitting lots.
These guys better get some info to the dealers they are really blowing this as many have deposits on car they cant event get a damn broshure for.
Not to mention trickle some build info and dates to us on the 09’s.
This is really not cool to do to your customers…
UPDATES: We were just informed that the interior for 2009 will be black only; the seats in the R/T and the base model are the same, both offered in both cloth and leather (and they look similar). The design is a ribbing in the seat area with bolsters similar to the R/T package on the Charger. The cluster trim panels and center stack trim have been updated for the 2009 model year, and R/T models have Hemi badging on the side of the hood (in the same style as the SRT’s 6.1L HEMI writing). A few R/Ts have regular round exhaust pipes; others are squarish. Meanwhile, the manual shifter has a pistol-grip design as in the concept, with teh boot taking up the same space as the automatic; Reverse is all the way to the right, above sixth, with a gate from sixth gear so you go into sixth and then up to get to Reverse (it uses a modified Viper-style Tremec manual transmission). The first 2009s will apparently be built on April 14.
allpar.com
Hi Frontyardrestoguy: thanks again for the information. I just received an email from my sales person ( same dealership as yesterday ) who now says \”they are still getting 2 challengers\”. Which is a far cry from the guy yesterday, saying they are getting plenty. I have asked for a VON like you suggested, so lets see what the response is now.
citygirl ask your salesperson for the von )(vehicle order number) then follow up with chrysler canada 800-465-2001.here is a special # for you to call (only in ontario) 800-463-3558 good luck and i hope you get your car.
Challengerhopeful: I had a call from another sales person at my dealership yesterday… He said they were getting ‘plenty’ of the 2008’s as.. ‘DON’T I know that they are being built in Brampton’??? Of course I know that … I am so confused and darn right mad about the whole thing. I asked for MY saleslady to call me ( the one who took the money in December ) and will see what she says. At least your comments made me happy for the moment. I wanted a black one anyway. I hope you are correct. BTW, I am so glad you went and heard the same stuff at the Toronto show.
funny, back in 67 pontiac extolled the virtues of the firebird by saying “at least it’s not a camaro”
Hey Chally
You mention how much lighter the new camaro will be…last time I checked the pontiac G8 on that zeta platform weighs 3960 lbs with a V-6
Stuff a Hipower V-8 in the camaro with all the same bells and whistles as the new challenger, and bang you have a 2-ton+ GM muscle car!
To “citygirl”, I was at the Toronto car show as well and heard the sam story about 300 units for Canada orders. Since I am not enthused about the colours, I will wait even though I already bought the vanity plate for it. I have since heard that there will be a special edition of 500 units for Canada (black only). I have also heard that there should be some movement on the Canadian pricing issue around March 14th
Hey Chally…This muscle car weighs over 2 tons because it’s not built on the Pontiac platform. Frankly, I do not care of that goofy looking Camaro can jump off the line quicker. If you striclty want something fast then buy a friggin Ninja crotch rocket! Forget a car altogether.
Here’s the advantage of a Challenger over a Camaro…you ready? IT’S NOT A CAMARO!!!
Bottom line is you cannot have the styling and size of this car without having it weigh a bit more than the competition. You can go on & on about the weight. It’s not going to change.
Thanks frontyardrestoguy for the info. I will like to see how Dodge/Chry is going to backtrack on the press releases from December were they stated that Canada would get 500. And all the Auto show hipe here in Toronto, was a lot off Bull! I thought is funny how the production date was April and no price set for Canada and the Dodge Can website is not showing any information.
It’s Midway Dodge in Chicago. When I call him he is very rude. I will be going down there soon to sniff it out. No VON# on my paperwork however just order status BA. And on my deposit receipt is 36850.
sorry to be the one to break it to you ‘citygirl’ but canada will not see a single challenger for sale to the general public until the 2009 model. how ironic, seeing as the cars are being built in brampton. if you look hard enough, you can find the phone # listed on-line. give them a call directly. i have the # but i am certain they will block me if i try and post it.fyi, they answer the phone “security”.
‘newchallengerowner’ where is your printout of your purchase? it should have your von # in the upper right corner. call chrysler customer service and demand to know what the status of your car is.
can’t everyone see that dodge has handled the launch of this car extremely poorly.
customers getting lied to and screwed by their dealers? why do they allow it? why do they try and hide basic information?
it is a sad state of affairs.
newchallengerowner, why dont you post the name of the dealer and everyone on this blog can take turns jamming their phone lines until they come clean.
My dealer is being really shady. When I called about an update he told me that he didn’t know how cars he was getting and had no information on my order. He won give me a VON# and said he has no such information. I called Dodge to try to get info and they tried calling him. They just tell them that he can’t come to the phone. I think he is going to try to sell the car from underneath me. I am dealing directly with the franchise owner now. Anyone have any suggestions or am I screwed? BTW.. I ordered mine on DEC 3rd and my salesperson said I was the first one.
So, frontyardrestoguy: YOu say the reason that no canadian prices given is NO cars for us in Canada? If thats the case, I will contact all necessary to make sure that the press can release that information. At the Toronto car show, we were told that there would be cars available, not 500 but 300? If it turns out that they have lied all along then someone will have to answer to more than me.
A musclecar does not require it to weigh over 2 tons. How good are you going to feel when a 2010 Camaro smokes you like you were standing still? The fact is, the Camaro is being built on the same platform as the Pontiac G8 and they have a weight advantage. Dodge is either going to have 1) get some weight off or 2) offer significantly more horsepower in order to compete with the Camaro. I just want to win what may be the last OEM musclecar war we will ever experience (due to political/economic fuel issues).
I am tired of complaints about the weight. This is not a freakin rice-burning import. It’s a MUSCLE car. It has power & SIZE. That’s what muscles are folks. If you do not like the weight buy the GTO abortion.
no ‘citygirl’ isn’t, thats why they can’t give her pricing.
2500 troops is a token gesture at best.
FRONTYARDRESTOGUY
Please think before you post
You might want to talk to ‘citygirl’ who is getting an ‘08 srt in Canada.
Also your other comments were NOT appropriate regarding the wars.
FYI my borther lost his best friend fighting the evils over there in Afghanistan recently.
’nuff said about that!
Check ebay for one of those dealer posters. I’ve seen two different posters - one with Challenger in the sunset and one with Challenger getting some air.
The “logo” is definitely not the biggest problem. I’m most concerned about the weight of Challenger - 4150 lbs. Obviously, it’s not the weight itself that is the problem, but rather the performance impact of all of those pounds. I realize that we are limited by the existing platform being used for Charger, but the Dodge boys need to work hard on getting the lead out of the street car (not the track pack model). Bottom line - I want Challenger to whip up on the Camaro and Mustang! Give us the goods Dodge!
Take a look at the Mustang. No 3 crossbar grill or blue oval in site.
Thanks Robert.
I just got back from the dealer. They seem to know very little and for sure not any more than what Chyrsler Sales Support is telling me.They still believe that the car will arrive in Mid April.
They have a very nice poster advertisement of the car in the dealer window. Would love to get one of those!
gotmineIthink, “volume” production is set to start on April 21st.
for the record i wasn’t complaining about the rams head.
i was shocked that someone in marketing actually believed that the challenger would not be identified as a dodge product without the crosshair grill or the rams head.
Anybody have any idea on when they are going to start building these things? All I hear from Dodge is “C Status, call back next week”.
Look everyone is entitle to their opinion.. what I see from the people like me who do not like the rams head… is that it belongs on the truck not on the cars. The rams head developed from the theme “dodge trucks, ram though.” that doesn’t carry over to the cars. I’m sure if they gave the guys who designed the Challenger a shot at coming up with a new logo the improves on the dodge image, they could do it in a heartbeat. The fact that we see things we don’t like on the challenger does not mean that we hate dodge or the challenger… in fact its the complete opposite… those that hate dodge or chrysler or the challenger will only enjoy these problems and NOT complain about it b/c they believe these problems will hurt dodge’s sales. We complain b/c we deaply care about dodge and want it to be the best it can be. I honestky believe that the challenger is such an Iconic car that it does not need a rams head to tell everyone it’s a challenger.. I also agree with some of the comments of “awsure” regarding changes made to the interior.. hopefully dodge is listening.. and maybe RLD can provide some answers it would be nice to know whether they are really giving any considerations to our suggestions.
You guys are AMAZING! Complaining about a logo. These turkey’s wipe out every element of the concept interior, they slap a B-Pillar on the car along with gutter strips, they skinny up the entire body and you guys complain about a little Ram’s head? Wow! Get yer body guy to sand the thing off and hit it with some touch-up paint…easy fix.
daytona kid, canadian dealers get no (zero 08’s) per chrysler. so, you think you know when real american customers like me are to take delivery? that reminds me, this piece of crap is being built in canada with mexican parts while we fight to end terrorism. and cowardly canada does nothing. i am gonna get my deposit back, thanks for waking me up.
Hey frontyardrestoguy
Must you ’shout’ all the time (using caps)!
The way you like to bad mouth Chrysler, it might be best to go back to your dealer and get your deposit back and leave your car to someone who actually appreciates what is happening here.
FYI, certain cars has there ‘trademark’ signatures…pontiac has their distintive grill/logo, chev. has their bowtie, BMW has there split front grill,I could go on and on! Dodge has their rams head logo and cross grills…thats the way it is. Almost every car maker does it…it is NOT moronic or ridiculous as you seem to think.
Chrysler has prommised spring delivery of the new ‘08 challengers, it is STILL winter according to my calender.
Count yourself lucky, My dealer (here in Canada, who happens to the largest volume dealer in the country) has informed me that they have presold their only 2 ’08s and all the projected ’09s. If I want to trade my daytona in I will need to wait for the ‘10 model year now to get one!
WOW, good for Chrysler.
AFTER WATCHING THE VIDEO, I THINK IT IS APPARENT WHAT HAPPENED. THE RELUCTANCE TO DO AWAY WITH THE CROSSHAIR GRILL WAS BECAUSE without it PEOPLE COULDN’T IDENTIFY THE CAR AS A DODGE. HOW MORONIC IS THAT? APPARENTLY THIS MADE THE RAMS HEAD NON-NEGOTIABLE.
THIS WAS SO SHORTSIGHTED IT’S RIDICULOUS. DODGE TAKE YOUR HOMOGENATING MARKETING JACKASSES AND THROW THEM TO THE CURB.
AND WHILE WE ARE ON THE SUBJECT, NOT TELLING ME WHEN MY CAR IS GOING TO BE READY MAKES ME WANT TO LOOK AT BUYING OTHER CARS. THE CARROT ON THE END OF A STICK GETS OLD QUICK.
OH YEAH, IF YOUR MARKETING DEPARTMENT WAS ANY GOOD THEY WOULD RUN THIS LAME WEBSIGHT BETTER, AND I WOULD ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO GET A BROCHURE WITHOUT HAVING TO LIVE IN CANADA OR PAY $200 on ebay.
NO HARD FEELINGS, I JUST THOUGHT YOU NEEDED TO KNOW.
Chally…I would have to disagree with you, challengerhopeful is not alone in saying there is nothing wrong with the Rams head on the front of the challenger…it is a 2008 Dodge not a 1970. In fact, those of you on here expressing your opinions are a small subset of those who will ultimately own the Challenger. I could be wrong…but there are more relevant things to be concerned with than an emblem…you’ve got “Dodge” on the taillight section.
Why is Dodge avoiding production and delivery date questions? What do they consider early spring? Way too much crap to put their customers thru.
First of all, I absolutely love the car. However, a big reason it looks so good is because Chrysler finally listened to its customers and gave us what we’ve been asking for. I think you are in the extreme minority to take a Dodge ram head and stick it on your ‘lil Red Express and actually think that it looks good. I think Dodge should limit the ram head to the Ram truck. I’m a fan of pretty much everything Chrysler makes, but we can always get better, right?
I fail to see the problem with the ram’s head design. My wife had a 79 Red Express truck and she made me go buy one to put on the hood. It may relate more to truck, but it is now related to Dodge as the flying wing is to Chrysler. It seems like a petty thing to complain about on a car that is so anticipated
It’s interesting to hear the two of you complement yourselves on the changes you made from the concept. It’s a laugh to hear you actually claim you made the production car better than the concept. Keep chanting it like a Hari Krishna…maybe after repeating enough even you’ll believe it. You took the clean, pure line of the concept and you stuck plastic trim underneath like misapplied lipstick. You took an interior that was unmistakably Challenger and erased it completely. Gone are the metallic finishes, the trapeziodal themes, the cylinder head imagery. Absent from your interview is a self promoting pat on your backs letting us know how you dumped a little needed pistol grip shifter. You describe the concept as “chunky” and “muscular” as though that were bad. Muscle cars get their muscle from size as well as power. It distinguishes them from mini-muscle Japanese cars. CHUNKY is good…
I’ll throw you a bone…your grill is fine. I wish you would have settled on that as your one change and resisted trying to improve on near perfection. Your treatment of this project is akin to Peter Keating putting his touches on a Howard Roark.
RLD how about starting a competition to create a new Dodge “logo” for the cars.
Is there an email where I can send my in designs for the new logo.
I have already emailed it to the Chrysler customer service email address.
I checked the status of my ‘08 order and it has been downgraded from “BX” (Good order, available for scheduling) to “BG” (Good order, not available for scheduling).
My order was placed on December 3rd. Has anyone else have this happen?
I agree… the car is 99% perfect. Please, Please, Please, get rid of the rams head (everywhere) and give us a new steering wheel (or at least an upgraded 3 spoke steering wheel as an option).
Can’t wait for the ‘09
RLD - I really appreciate this forum and all of the information that you are sharing with your customers. However, I’m starting to feel like this is more like a news listing than an interactive forum. We’re not getting many answers to our questions. Do you think that you could start a thread to collect the numerous questions that have been posed regarding Challenger and start answering them? Or, maybe schedule a two hour online session with all of your Challenger experts attending and we could pose our questions. Are you waiting on the New York Auto Show before you can share any 2009 info? Will we see the 2009 Challenger at NY along with all incorporated production changes from the 2008?
My thoughts exactly! If it is unmistakeably Dodge, then get rid of the Ram heads!
Good info but why not dump that UGLY ram head and put “DODGE” across the nose?