Newer "Mopars"

Smellslike1974 · Post by **Smellslike1974** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:45 pm

What does everyone think of the new challenger?

I have been reading some info about the new Challenger thats coming out.
And i have also watched acouple videos of reviews and stuff like it.

I have seen many many people consider this new Challenger a true muscle car,better than the old ones.

and i have said nay!

I think people these days are too much into numbers and statistics.
Everyones worried about how fast it will go and how much hp it has.

Now i honestly dont know the definition of a muscle car,i actually think its everyones opinion,butto me,i do not think these newer cars can be called muscle,theres a reason that term was started back then,and i think it should have stayed with the era,or with the cars from that time.

Im not mad at people who are all about the car,and im not looking for any arguments,

,i just dont understand what they see in it and what the say about it.People are comparing this new challenger(well the new mopars in general) to the older ones.I think thats breaking some sort of law.The old ones had sort of a meaning and were just awesome,and over time had stories that connected to them(every old car did),i cant see the same happening with the newer mopars,i dont even like calling them mopars ..

.What can you possibly do with it?You can drive it,and buy after market upgrades....or you can just order the Hennessey version.Wich is what everyone else will do for more power,the older ones everyone could put there own imagination into there cars,even straight from the factory.And they could work on them,but no wadays everything is strict and demanding.Im not sure what options there are along with this new Challenger but every single one will look the same,exactly the same besides color.and thats no fun..
Bringing back a car like the Challenger is one thing,but to compare to the old ones,thats wrong,so wrong.

I will say they are doing better than the Charger.

landon1 · Post by **landon1** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 7:03 pm

idk...i was going to wait til the challenger came out so i could get one, but i got my mustang instead...

first, the challenger will be a HUGE car...based on the magnum and charger, you'd NEED a damn hemi to get that s.o.b movin

second, i can't believe they aren't offering anything other than a hemi auto (i don't believe there is a manual). it's the same thing with teh mustangs, you have to have v6s and smaller v8s to keep your sales up enough to sell the ultra HP cars

third, it's made of beer can metal and plastic - how is it that these new flimsy cars weigh just as much our cars with big, iron blocks and real metal?

fourth, it's a YUPPIE car...same with the charger, IMO

fifth, yeah, it's gonna be a fast car, but idk if i'd call it a muscle car. i mean there was a thread on a dif site about how muscle cars could be modified to handle like a Nissan 350Z...well, these idiots were talkin about newer mustangs and camaros...ARE YOU SERIOUS???

sixth, there is definitely a nostalgia about REAL muscle cars...stories like the young kid from iowa that saved up his money, bought a max wedge plymouth savoy (i believe) added headers, tuned the carb, and put in a cuve kit and ended up WINNING nationals in drag racing. How about the hundreds of stories i have heard from my dad, and other friends' dads about their mopars (especially, i def inherited the right fam n friends).

Or even my stories...like smoking a new "muscle car" 5.0 Mustang, cruisin the main drag in town rattling all the windows late at night, layin rubber for 50', mashing on the gas at 25, lighting up the tires and started twisting sideways because i didn't feel like doing the same ol' burnout, working on this car EVERY day, spending every cent on it from the day i got it til it was, well, almost done when i was about 17, or now almost having my "re-jouvination", while getting to know and building a relationship with my dad, who i never really saw til i was 18???

These cars are very personal, i think, and cannot be compared to "throw-away" cars like are being produced now.

just my we'll say 20 bux since this is a long one (instead of 0.02 lol)

aerodynamic · Post by **aerodynamic** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 8:18 pm

Well, here's my two cent's worth:

I like the way the new Challenger looks, because it's a familiar shape that we haven't seen appreciated in such a public way in a very long time. Of all the retro cars, this one leaves the others behind as far as similarity to the vehicle being emulated. This isn't reducing and will never reduce the value of our cars. If anything, it has brought more attention to Mopars, both new and old. I wonder how many people have started researching the old E-bodies and other cars of that flavor that might never otherwise have had their curiosity piqued. I think the muscle car era is being honored, rather then duplicated. I don't know if I'd get one of those Challengers...I like my car just fine.

But I don't begrudge anyone else wanting one.

CtownRunner · Post by **CtownRunner** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 8:26 pm

30 years from know our kids or grandkids will have this same discussion about how the 08 Challenger is a true muscle car and WHATEVER we drive in 2038 will just be so ordinary compared to the classics like 08 Challengers and 71 Road Runners.

Every generation reaches a point where they what to go back to their youth. I was 16 in 1971 so I guess that is why I have a stong urge for 71 Mopars.

It will never be the same but more people can and will go in and buy off a deal lot a Charger or Challenger in 08 then all of us tinkering with old iron.

A kewl car is a kewl car. 32 Ford coup. 55 chevy, 71 Runner, Some cars will survive the test of time. Others like the Pinto, Pacer or K car will not.

Never had a desire to own a 55 Chevy. I was born in 55 most of the guys I see driving those older hot rod Chevys are my dads age. It was cool for them, it was the car they drove when they were teens and young adults. I appreciate any nice car. The 08 Challenger is a nice car.

Some guys like Ford, or Chevy, everyone has there own opinion.

73X · Post by **73X** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 8:56 pm

I like the looks of the new ones, but would rather drop the cash on an old one.

landon1 · Post by **landon1** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:06 pm

just thought of a couple more things

during the muscle car era, young people could get these cars and have a nice, powerful car. my dad had a Formula S Cuda, a 69 charger, an AAR Cuda, and 2 HEMI cars....when they were maybe only 3 years old. One of his friends bought a brand new 1970 GTX and another, a 69 RR.

Try finding a guy just out of high school who, without the help of rich mom n pop, could afford a new to fairly new Mustang GT or a new Challenger (which is way beyond most people's income level)?

I got my mustang when it was just about 3 years old, and i like it, it's a great car. power whenever you could want it, dependable, reliable, and it turns heads, but there are about a MILLION of them, just like there were back in the day, so i've taken my new mustang and added stuff to make it look like an OLD one. There are so many of these cars going to be made, they'll all be the same, and they won't require any work...i like looking under hoods and finding engines, not plastic-covered, computer controlled stuff, which brings me to the next part - on old cars, how they perform is based on the ability of the driver to tune and beef up several different components to get it running perfect...a new car...it's in the computer...

I think i was born about 40 years too late

Smellslike1974 · Post by **Smellslike1974** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:17 pm

I have been told the same thing,saying that many years from we will be looking at the 08 challengers like we are looking at the 70s challengers today.

But there is a big difference,the 70s challengers werent made of plastic.

Smellslike1974 · Post by **Smellslike1974** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:26 pm

This site is officially my only means of learning anything.There was a challenger post in a myspace group im a member of,and of course i posted my* 2 cents,and what do i get?The whole "Your to young,you dont know anything,stop bitching blah blah blah".

And that was just from what ive posted here.
So im resigning from it.
People like that are hilarious

landon1 · Post by **landon1** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:40 pm

well i'm only 21 and all i've done since i was a "lil chillin" lol was research cars, work on stuff, draw, etc. i have a thing in my baby book that says when i was really little i'd take all my toys and turn them upside down so i could play with the wheels. i think (usually lol) everyone's opinion is valuable.....

to be perfectly fair, the new challenger will be a HOT car, but they NEED to offer more options to get a lower price, as not everyone needs a supped-up 6.1 hemi challenger when, most likely a 3.5 will have pretty good performance and use 1/2 to 1/3 the gas, which is a HUGE concern to most people that don't make big bux. if they had a v6 challenger with the basics for let's say 23K (around a base charger price) and it got 22-25 MPG, it would be an extremely profitable car. The only thing in the area to compete with it would be the Mustang(which is starting to slump, hence the re-styling in 09, i believe), and maybe the new camaro that's supposedly coming out. Fuel economy is becoming a very big issue. there is talk of getting rid of the V8 in mustangs in the future (except for the shelbys, etc.) but instead going to a turbo V6 for the GT and sticking with a v6 in the base. Yeah, it's not a v8, but the 4.0 in the mustang will smoke a 90s 5.0 mustang and any v6 camaro, and the 3.5 in the other fords is pumping out 260 HP and still getting 25 or more MPG...

Do I believe they are muscle cars? No, but they are definitely performance cars and will for sure go down in history for what they are, even if they're made of plastic and beer cans, and if their computer messes up in 30 years, it's most likely not going to be like it is now, where you can go buy a new carb or distributor...you'll be screwed.

aerodynamic · Post by **aerodynamic** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 11:10 pm

You know, the above post got me to thinking about something. What if gas really does become replaced by something else 10 or 20 years from now? Now THAT would REALLY suck! Our cars would become static displays like airplanes in the Smithsonian!

ct71rr · Post by **ct71rr** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 11:15 pm

I think it is awesome and will probably buy one next year!!

My first car was a '73 Charger and everyone said it wasn't a muscle car because it was built after 1971...eventhough I had a 440 in it with 4.10's..(not original, of course)

Next year the Challenger will be offered with a V6 and the smaller hemi. Check out the allpar.com site, all the info is there...

I just don't understand some people. They go nuts when Dodge releases the new Charger but, it's not a Charger because it has four doors. They demand a two door car. Now I hear people complaining about the new Challenger because it should be called a Cuda instead...

I'm just glad that Dodge grew a set and produced this thing!!!!!!!

landon1 · Post by **landon1** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 11:19 pm

Nah, when the ruling Businesses of America since ppl live so long, they'll find HUGE holding tanks of oil and gas under ground on their properties lol jk

ppl do need to watch it though...i can't really talk, cuz i drive for a job now, but if ppl want junk delivered to them instead of buyng it locally, that won't change...however, i now work maybe 4 miles from my house, and i love it...rarely fill-up, and i could ride my bike or something whenever it gets nicer around here.

and if people would stop buyin them StupidUselessVehicles and pickups when they definitely don't need one, i'm sure it would help a ton...but then i heard that even if all americans abandoned all of their cars completely, oil consumption would only go down like 2% i think it said ( this could be flawed info, tho, which i understand)

Post by **Eric** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 11:49 pm

I like the idea of a new muscle car I can jump in and drive any time anywhere and don't have to worry about leaving it in a parking lot, getting caught in the rain, or something always breaking. That said, I probably won't get one. My daily driver is a truck, and I don't see that changing....I find myself hauling stuff all the time.

Limecuda · Post by **Limecuda** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 12:16 am

All I can say is I'd sell my "muslecars" for a new Challenger. After driving my wife's Daytona Charger my old cars feel so archaic and unsafe.

billzilla · Post by **billzilla** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 2:35 am

I think the new Challenger is a worthy successor in terms of its technology, power and performance - as well as its styling.

However, whereas the Challenger and several other Mopars were available to the average guy wanting something distinctive, performance minded and affordable --- the new version is not. Do you know anyone who's secured one? Me, neither (and not for lack of one of my friends trying). The already fairly steep MSRP price of high $30K range is eclipsed by the few dealers actually getting their hands on them tacking on HUGE markups, in some cases putting the cars well over $60K.

I don't know about you guys, but even when I had a good job making over $70K doing video game graphics, I couldn't have afforded a $60,000 car. Now, with my employment status far less stable and money far tighter with fuel, food, utilities and everything else skyrocketing, I see a much different 'target market' for the Challenger. It sure as hell isn't the average Joe anymore.

It's too bad. I think Chrysler has done good with the Magnum, 300C and new Charger, but the whole pricing and availability issue with the new Challenger just defeats the whole original point of the car, IMHO. Maybe when we can find them at dealers without the $30K markup...