SVTdriver said:
I wouldn't say it looks horrid. I think the side profile actually looks pretty good. I wouldn't really call it a Sedan, but more like a pseudo 4-door coupe, kinda like the Infiniti G-35 and the upcoming Mercedes-Benz CLS-class. They've managed to put 4 conventional, full-size doors on it and still keep the lines pretty rakish and aggressive. I think they've made it a 4-door to further define Dodge as the maker of "cool family cars." Here in Hershey, PA, where a good chunk of the population is young, middle-class families, we see a lot of Magnums and 300's.
I do, however, have a couple of quips about the styling, though...
1) They should have left those headlights on the Viper. The headlights should be 2+2, however, like the classic Chargers...
2) Like the 300, they should have left those tail-lamps on the Saturn Ion and Hyundai Elantra. When I think of the Charger, I tend to think long, slim, and horizontal.
Overall, it looks like the Charger will be another "kick-@$$ family car" for folks who don't need a wagon. With the 5.7L HEMI and 5-AT, it should fit right into Dodge's new lineup.
I am hoping, however, that Dodge will make a 2-door Challenger for us bachelors. 6-speed Getrag or Tremec manual should be standard issue with the 5.7L HEMI. Perhaps they can make an SRT-8 version in yellow-and-black? Imagine that-- a 2006 Superbee!
calypsocoral302 said:
Nevermind, I made a mistake-- the Charger and Challenger were different classes of car. The Superbee, being a Charger, should probably be an SRT-8 Charger, not Challenger.
According to the MuscleCar Club, only 6 cars ever really served as DIRECT competition to the Ford Mustang:
- AMC Javalin/AMX
- Chevrolet Camaro (duh!)
- Dodge Challenger
- Mercury Cougar (which was just a re-skinned Mustang)
- Plymouth Barracuda
- Pontiac Firebird
As long as they don't call a sedan "Challenger" (which was a Pony car, like the Mustang), I don't have a problem with Dodge making a 4-door muscle car.
Sources have said the C&D sketch is not dead-on.
I am hoping they give the final product more flare.
No spy pics have been released for it, that I found,
so no one REALLY knows how the Charger will look.
Is the Zeta platform different from the GTO chassis?
A lighter rebodied version of the GTO would be sweet.
(Although the Camaro was not known for being light.)
I am hoping they give the final product more flare.
No spy pics have been released for it, that I found,
so no one REALLY knows how the Charger will look.
Is the Zeta platform different from the GTO chassis?
A lighter rebodied version of the GTO would be sweet.
(Although the Camaro was not known for being light.)
thehemi said:
The platform used by the Holden Commodore sedan, Holden Monaro coupe, and the Pontiac GTO (a slightly re-skinned Holden Monaro) are built off the Omega platform, which, I believe, is noteably-larger than the Zeta platform. Keep in mind that the original GTO was not a pony car, but an "intermediate" muscle car-- thus, by default, it should be larger and (at least a little) heavier than a Mustang or Camaro.
I hate to, but just for FYI purposes, I got to drive an SRT-4 on a 2.2 km roadcourse in Canada August 25th. We also had some other new cars out there to thrash on that dealers brought out. The new Caddy CTS-V, a paddle-shift BMW M3, a Crossfire, and also a bright orange '04 Mach 1. First off, the SRT-4 was pure dog doo-doo on the road course. Thank goodness for the racing buckets, 'cause the body roll in hard corners was so severe I could have reached out the window and touched the ground with my hand. After the 1st lap, the brakes were into HEAVY fade, and I warned the guy who drove after me "this car sucks, and watch out for the brakes. They go away after a single lap..." He came back, and shouted at me across the paddock "what a piece of crap, and thanks for the warning about the brakes!!!". Power? Yawwwnnnnnnnn. Once the turbo boosted it had good squirt, but no stronger than a bone-stock '99-'04 GT, in fact, it didn't feel that strong. The Mach just made it look silly. Since we were all amateurs, there was no passing allowed, but you were supposed to wave the faster cars by on the back straight. If you were driving the Neon, you just kept your window down because you knew you'd be waving to everything except the 4-door Acura TSX that was out there, which was a better handler, and could keep pace with the SRT-4 even though it was outgunned on the straights. All in all, after a couple of hours had passed in the morning when everybody was driving everything they could out of curiosity, the Neon spent most of the remainder of the day parked, as nobody cared to suffer it's wallowy handling, non-existant brakes, and all-or-nothing hornet's nest engine. I begged my buddy to drive it, just for laughes, and he refused, saying "from what I've heard and what you've told me, no thanks.." The Mach, to it's credit, held its own with the higher-priced stuff out there. While it was lacking in refined feedback at the edge, and "feel", it made up for it in athleticism once you got comfortable driving it at its limits. Everybody seemed to agree that it was the easy winner of the "bang-for-the-buck" prize. You could start way way behind the SRT-4, and gobble it up with the Mach so easily that it was laughable. Then you just sat on its rear bumper and played with it, and maybe took the opportunity to find a good radio station, until you could pass legally on the back straight. So, SRT4fan, I've driven your little toy, on a serious road course (Dunneville AutoDrome, Ontario), and believe me my boy..... It's a crappy Neon with a turbo and good seats. That's it. Now go play with cars your own size, and go to a drag strip if you want to quote 1/4 mile times.
calypsocoral302 said:
The Charger isn't hypothetical, it goes on sale this April. look for it at the NAIAS
thehemi said:
C&D sketch is just that, a C&D sketch, NOT a Dodge sketch.
Zeta is GM's all new moduler RWD platform, it replaces the Holden/Opel platform and will be the chassis for the next GTO and Camaro, along with every other new RWD V8 or V6 car that is not a Caddy or Vette.
Z28x said:
If they are using the same platform for the GTO and a Chevy version, shouldn't the Chevrolet car be a Chevelle instead of a Camaro?
Why not resurrect a car as respectable as the Chevelle, instead of resurrecting the K-mart knock-off of the pony car kingdom?
*sigh* I can hear the boozed-up cheers of wife-beater-and-mullet-wearing trailer trash already...
SVTdriver said:
It doesn't have to look like the GTO... They can do virtually anything they want with the sheetmetal. I'd like to see a butch, 2+2 headlamp front end, long hood, a bit bigger than a 'stang... all the noticeable attributes of the classic Chevelles. Chevrolet should do something different. Something that can appeal to both the NASCAR crowd, and everyone... something the Mustang already does...
How about they just bring back both the Chevelle and the Camaro???? Might be an idea, probably won't happen, but who knows.
On another note, I'm almost 18, do I have a chance at all of getting a $20,000 loan from my bank for a Stang? I won't have a co-signer. I can however afford the payments if its a 72 month loan.
On another note, I'm almost 18, do I have a chance at all of getting a $20,000 loan from my bank for a Stang? I won't have a co-signer. I can however afford the payments if its a 72 month loan.
In case SRT4Life comes back...here is what we all think of Neons
http://img.s10forum.com/album138/aax.mpg
http://img.s10forum.com/album138/aax.mpg