Autoblog

The 2008 Dodge Challenger is Chrysler's next smash hit, with big power, great looks, and collector appeal. Chrysler may produce 10,000 or more two door muscle cars in 2008, but the first model year's worth all models will be of the SRT badge. As we've covered already, Dodge is throwing the kitchen sink at the SRT-version of the coupe, so there won't be many options to check. Still, the Mopar fans over at Allpar.com have posted the dealer invoice anyway. The only major option listed is the MyGig Multimedia Infotainment w/Nav, which will cost buyers a reasonable $890. The one real source of pain comes from a $2,100 gas guzzler tax, which seems harsh considering that any Challenger owner will be punished each and every time they hit the pump. Allpar also speculates that next year the 6.1L Hemi engine could get a power bump to 460 HP, making the RWD brawler even more potent. There's little doubt that for the first couple of years the Challenger will be a hot commodity, and even less doubt that virtually every one sold will involve dealer markups, bringing the muscle car reincarnate well above its $40,000 MSRP.



[Source: Allpar]

One of our readers pointed us to this page over at Dodge's website that contradicted our earlier post about the 2008 Challenger SRT-8's pricing, which was originally announced at $37,995 (including the $675 destination charge). We realize that inflation is a cruel mistress, but a bump in the sticker to $40,095 left us scratching our heads. A few emails back and forth between the people at Chrysler revealed that the SRT-8 was slapped with a $2100 gas-guzzler penalty that accounted for the discrepancy in price. Not a real surprise considering the 425 hp 6.1-liter HEMI V8. As a comparison, however, the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 gets a $1300 consumption penalty, even with 75 more horses under the hood. A quick search over at fueleconomy.gov revealed that if Challenger SRT-8 owners are penalized $2100, that means that they'll also only be getting between 18.5 and 19.5 mpg in the combined cycle. We doubt that'll be a deterrent, but it's food for thought.

Back in December, we told you about the new method the government would be using to calculate fuel mileage. For the first time in twenty years, they decided to make changes to better reflect real-world driving conditions and driver behaviors. The changes went into effect starting with 2008 model year cars, and are evident in the newly styled window stickers on those vehicles (shown above). We correctly surmised that most estimates would go down by some degree using this new formula. In our comments, many of you immediately noticed that this would unfairly bump some vehicles into the gas guzzler tax bracket. Apparently, you had reason to be concerned.

Revealed after some sleuthing by the boys at Dubspeed Driven, the EPA is still using the 1991 tax schedule and gas guzzler calculation method. That essentially means that the exact same car that skirted the gas guzzler surcharge last year, could be a scofflaw in 2008. Cars like a Nissan 350Z, for instance. It's combined 23.15 last year kept it out of the gas guzzler bracket, but under the new formula, it's a $1,300 offender at 21.15 mpg.

There's no mention anywhere on the EPA website about the new testing procedures or the fact that 2008 vehicles will likely be reporting lower mpg compared to 2007 Monroneys. Scared at the possible backlash when their vehicles appear to be getting poorer mileage, major carmakers have banded together to create a website to help educate consumers about the apparent drop in fuel economy, but nothing seems to be in place at the EPA to account for the change. Trucks, some sport utilities and minivans are all still exempt from gas guzzler tax, however.

[Source: Dubspeed Driven]