Saw a new Challenger

Here in Washington, on Friday I think it was. I didn't even know they were out yet?

Can't remember what color it was, but it sure did look cool in person. Might've been orange. Maybe I'll buy one in 10 years when I can afford one.

Saw an orange striped one and a solid black one (nice and mean!) on a car carrier a few weeks ago and then saw a solid red one at a dealership last week. I'm no Mopar guy but I also wouldn't refuse a free one!

Seen two orange ones in Atlanta, one off of 316 and Ronald Reagan Pkwy at a hotel, and one just last saturday going on Buford Highway in Chamblee.

Can you actually go buy these now? Both cars I saw were not SRT models.

I've seen three now (in the Detroit area you see M plate cars often). The first one (black) came up behind me and looked MEAN! Next year when they offer a real trans and an LSD it'll be killer

I saw a black metallic one yesterday. Definatly on the nice and mean side.. it literally dwarfed my 318ti though. Just a little too big I think.

I do have to admit, I am not sure I like the Fake "highbeam" headlight in the grill that is really the turnsignal/running light

I see about 10 of these cars every single day. I also work about 3 miles from the Chrysler Tech Center and their NA headquarters.

There was one at LeMons South as a pace car and our parts manager just bought one. You can tell who's making the big bux around here.

So far I really like the styling, with one exception: the rear looks too 'tall'. I think that's because unlike the original there's no chrome bumper to break up the expanse of sheet metal.

Saw one for sale in the recent Hemmings for MSRP plus 20k.

I saw one from a distance about a month ago. It was bright orange. So far, it's the only one I've seen in person.

They're all autos, right? Like all of the other retro throw-backs that Chrysler is making? Ford had the Mustang and the GT and they were huge successes. Everybody saw that and ctrl + c'd the whole idea, but everybody got it wrong (except Ford - and we'll see with Chevy Camaro). I cannot, for the life of me, tell the difference between the Charger, the Avenger, the Magnum, and the 300 except that they have different bodies. Aren't they all the SAME car? Even if they're not, something had to make me think that. And do we have Mercedes to thank for the lack of a manual transmission?

I do have high hopes for the Camaro though. And I really do like the new Chrysler throw-backs, but they all seem to be the same cars. And why did the Charger have four doors?

MAGNA-EDIT: I have to admit: I do like some of these cars. I saw a Charger SRT-8 a while back following me near my house. I pulled away from a stop sign and made a right and watched him in the background. He let out the smokiest burnout that I've seen in years. It was beautiful. Praise the Hemi.

Manual transmissions will be available for 09 as I'm told by Chrysler employees and dealers.

I just saw a Charger, all blacked out, spot lights on the cowl, bigass nerf bumper up front,back wheels. Some cop is gonna be very happy with his new office.

captainzib wrote: Manual transmissions will be available for 09 as I'm told by Chrysler employees and dealers.

That scores them some points. Good to hear!

Wow. I just saw a picture of the Challenger. OK. That thing is berkeleying awesome.

If by awesome you mean huge, then yes.

The original Challengers were big cars too, weren't they? Or is this on a scale that isn't even remotely close to what they were in the 60s or what this one should be now?

Well part of the reason the Challenger is so big is because they're using the Charger underpinnings. Obviously the Charger is a big sedan, so I guess it's kinda hard to use that structure and make it much smaller.

I wuz there when the original came out. Damn, I feel old. The new one is pretty close to the old one in size. It appears to be somewhat taller up to the beltline, though.

Yeah, that Charger 4 door was pretty dumb IMHO. They didn't even do a good job of trying to disguise the fourdoorishness.

They were big in the 60s. Now they're just huge.

Compare the 2009 Challenger with a '70 Challenger

70-

• Length: 191.5 in
• Width: 76.5 in
• Height: 51 in
• Weight: about 3800-3900 pounds

09-

• length: 197.7 in
• Width: 75.7 in.
• Height: 57.1 in.
• Weight: about 4200 pounds

So, already a big car, but the new one is six inches longer, six inches taller, and 300 pounds heavier.

A friend has a '71 Challenger Convertible. So one day, he had a new motor dropped off on the floor of his shop. We were going to move it to the other side to store until he had time to put it in. Well, long story short, two of us couldn't budge it. It took us both and a hoist to get it across the shop. Everything on that car is HEAVY.

I like the looks of the new one, but for the money, I'd rather have one of the Mustang hp options. I imagine though that all the die hard Chrysler guys will snap them up no matter the price.

It's too big, too fat, too obnoxious, too cheap and too expensive.

I saw two transporters carrying a total of five one day.

I drove by a rural dealer in Cedar Lake, Indiana and they had one sitting in the front spot. I stopped, but the window sticker was missing from the car. So I figured it must be a "used" car already.

My buddy in Omaha said a trainload got wiped out by hail and Chrysler decided to trash them all.

is this true?

I got to drive a new Challenger. It was awesome. Everyone I know is tired of hearing about it.

Sorry, but it's an awesome car.

Tim Baxter wrote: They were big in the 60s. Now they're just huge. Compare the 2009 Challenger with a '70 Challenger 70- * Length: 191.5 in * Width: 76.5 in * Height: 51 in * Weight: about 3800-3900 pounds 09- * length: 197.7 in * Width: 75.7 in. * Height: 57.1 in. * Weight: about 4200 pounds So, already a big car, but the new one is six inches longer, six inches taller, and 300 pounds heavier.

So, almost all cars have gotten bigger and heavier over the years....

Honda Civic 4-door ---------------1984------------------2008

Length-----------------------150-------------------174.8 - 24.8 inches longer (up by 16.5%)

Width-------------------------64---------------------68.9 - 4.9 inches wider (up by 7.6%)

Height------------------------53---------------------53.5 - .5 inches taller (up by .9%)

Weight-----------------------1863------------------2586 - 723 lbs. heavier (up by 27.9%)

BTW, the 300, Magnum, Charger and Challenger all share the same LX platform. That's just a big ol' platform.