Filed under: Car Buying, Coupes, Sports/GTs, Dodge
Dodge pre-sells 6000 Challengers
Click image for scans of the full presales brochure
Apparently people really want to buy the Dodge Challenger. So much so that 4,300 people put down deposits when Dodge opened ordering on Monday. A total of 6,000 orders have come in since then. If Dodge sticks to its claim of only producing 5,000 Challengers for 2008, then several of those orders will have to wait a year before taking delivery. All of the Challengers ordered will come in the SRT8 variant sporting a 6.1-liter Hemi V8 and a five-speed automatic transmission. Three colors are available - black, silver, and HEMI orange, the latter of which was the color of choice for more than half the orders. Deliveries will start in the Spring of 2008.
While the production version will be officially introduced at the Chicago Auto Show in February, it was also hinted that we will see some real "eye candy" later this week. While we wait for that, Allpar has come through once again, as a forum poster there photographed and uploaded the official dealer presales brochure, which shows us teasers of the production car's grille (bye-bye crosshair), fuel filler cap (awesome), wheel, and exhaust outlet. It's all in the gallery below.
[Source: Chrysler, Allpar]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Alex 3:19PM (12/05/2007)
They show the grill both with and with-out the crosshairs.
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Alex Nunez 3:28PM (12/05/2007)
Y, they use the concept for the full-body shots.
Allan 4:19PM (12/05/2007)
Well could the crosshair grille be for the R/T and/or SRT models and the plain one for the "regular" model? Or has that already been ruled out? Just throwing it out there.
JayP 3:21PM (12/05/2007)
A limited run, 'First Edition'?
Isn't that impossible?
And I thought GM naming a car "Insignia" was the end of the world.
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MemphisNET 3:24PM (12/05/2007)
I think some of you assume Dodge was making ONLY 5000 cars and nothing beyond that. The 2008 Challenger is only 5000 cars. The 2009 will start in Late April/May. So yes, the '08 will be a limited edition.
The pics of the crosshair grills are the concept car, photoshopped into different colours. The teaser grill in the first pic is the final car.
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Bonehead 10:29PM (12/05/2007)
I have notced that dodge is STILL only showing concept shots of the car. Where are the shots of the real thing? Anyone know what its production interior looks like. How big is the newly added B pilar? What do the rear lights really look like? You can tell from that first picture that they dropped the chrome around the headlights and the LEDs around those lights.
MemphisNET 3:41PM (12/05/2007)
Since they 'showed' the grill and not the back, I'll assume the rear end looks the same. Personally I like it. Retro done modern. The B Pillar probably won't be huge and will blacked out.
As for the interior, If anything is like the concept, I hope its the seats. Subpar plastics I can live with. The Charger/Magnum interiors aren't bad, they're just very bland. But those seats in the concept looked awesome.
The concepts dash was 'meh' to me, but it could have been all computer gadgetry they were trying to add. The center console sloping towards the driver was a nice tough as well.
MemphisNET 3:28PM (12/05/2007)
Oh and I love the FUEL cap. Just so you don't forget to fill it *laughs*
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Dave T. 3:30PM (12/05/2007)
I wonder how many of the 6000 are just ebay scum? or dealers themselves
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srivendel 3:40PM (12/05/2007)
I would best most if not all. And many will become garage queens anyway. These cars are meant to be daily drivers. Instead they're bought by pu**ies only brought out for perfect Saturday afternoons, if at all.
Guenther 3:54PM (12/05/2007)
srivendel- who cares what I or someone else does with a car? How are you inconvenienced by someone not driving the car you covet?
memphisNET- main reason for releasing the car with an auto is development time. There is not currently an LX based SRT8 w/ a manual in production, so it takes additional development to have the car ready for sale. As for a higher asking price, the GTO and Corvette dont give you a break for opting the manual trans. I doubt if Dodge will in this case.
srivendel 4:00PM (12/05/2007)
Guenther -- You're assuming I covet the Challenger. I do not. I'm first on a waiting list for BMW's 135i, which will be driven every single day I own it, rain or shine, as God intended it.
Hell, I'm surprised some of these collector freaks don't trailer their brand new 2008 model cars to Owners Club events just to avoid putting the miles on them.
BirdmanSTX 4:05PM (12/05/2007)
And again, why do you care what others do or don't do to their car? It's their money. If they want to drive it three times a year, how does that impact you at all? Drive your upcoming 1-series all you want... or as little as you want. No one cares.
srivendel 6:02PM (12/05/2007)
Why do I care? Because it's weird. It like buying a house and not living in it. Oh, wait, people were doing a lot of that recently, weren't they? It's called speculation and it usually ends badly.
BirdmanSTX 6:19PM (12/05/2007)
But you speculating that most of these Challengers will become "garage queens" and not driven is okay, huh? Must be nice to live on that one-way street.
paul34 3:39PM (12/05/2007)
>> five-speed automatic transmission
FAIL
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MemphisNET 3:43PM (12/05/2007)
Most cars are better with auto's now. Who cares. Besides, this is the first lot - they're making them with auto's to boost the prices. That and manual trannys, no matter how much I prefer them, don't sell very well anymore.
paul34 3:44PM (12/05/2007)
I'm just saying, seems like the perfect vehicle for the geriatric crowd.
Andrew 4:01PM (12/05/2007)
Agreed, Auto = the fail. Don't get me wrong, it'll sell, but not to a younger crowd.
MikeW 7:00PM (12/05/2007)
Yeah, where is the 6, 7, or 8 speed auto?
If the Dodge ram is supposed to get a 7 speed double clutch...