The Challenger does nothing for me as I’m generally not that interested in American Muscle. However, the people that find this car attractive were never “brainwashed,” nor are they stupid or ignorant. The people that purchase this car will buy it for nostalgic purposes and/or performance. Would you not admit that there is a market for a modern muscle car? The challenger combines classic car looks with the performance and safety of a modern vehicle.

I agree that this vehicle is a poor decision for Chrysler, but to attack the people who find this car appealing is a low blow. Why the hostility? Where’s the love man?

I also read after apple did this, that they were thinking of doing the same thing for concert tickets. Price them really high so that only people who really want to pay that price will pay, then drop them after demand falls off. I think after the iphone backlash they re-thought it though. Its all about what you’re willing to pay, “what the market will bear”.

The bridge has a 2-litre mitsubishi turbo charged engine, and is hand-crafted by honest American union labor. Its a win/win!

I still think it’s a poor practice, but then again, I’m really, really cheap (I’m a grad student).

That being said, what is the make/model of the bridge? … :-)

The price was dropped to $399. More recently, the 3G model is now available for $299.

And I don’t know how many people it alienated, considering the apple store near me has had a line of at least 25 people every day since the release of the 3G iphone.

A car is not an investment. Neither is a cell phone. If you’re buying things in order to sell them at a profit, perhaps I can interest you in this bridge I have for sale? ;)

It is simply poor practice that alienates customers. The first 8GB Apple I-phones were $599. A mere 10 weeks later, the price was dropped by $200! The backlash led to distribution of $100 discount vouchers to the original customers. (see http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20624042/)

Some people will not mind paying $20k extra to be the first person on their block with the car. However, others will be angry that six months after they purchased their whip for 65k, the same dealership will be offering the car below MSRP with 0% for 72 months. Those that are screwed out of $20k and are actually angry about the price disparity will never return to Chrysler. Chrysler needs all the customers it can get, and this is just one more practice (among a long list of practices) that destroys long term customer/brand loyalty.

Just think of it as self-cleaning tailights.

Great link. I love how the EPA sticker on that car estimates gas costs for a year for 15k miles @ 2.80 a gallon. A little behind the times aren’t we? Try $3,890 a year in gas rather than $2,801.

I feel oh so bad for the people that buy these with $20k+ MA and then have the resale values tank after Chrysler files …

A little more sympathy, he’s got to feed his family, on that $25K for the next year or two. BTW, you want a couple of Rams, cheap?

As we know, new & hot just released cars in the past have commanded premiums. But *any* Chrysler vehicle at this time certainly cannot.

The markups will obviously disappear quickly as the arrival of the new Challenger (and Camaro) could not be worse timing. At least during the original muscle car run (late ’60’s to very early ’70s) they got a few good years in before the writing was on the wall. This time around, the Challenger has arrived fully 6 to 9 months AFTER the END of cheap gas and the Camaro will be at least a YEAR worse than that.

I think they’ll sell in limited numbers as a niche toy, but that’s it. Unless gas goes back under $3.00.

when I say “flopped”, its very similar to wood grain. In order to maintain a continuous, and smooth finish and gleam, the metallic “grain” must all flow in the same direction. When it flops, the flakes are in an opposite direction than the rest, creating either a dull, or shiny spot in the finish (depending on lighting conditions). The Cadillac XLR was notorious for this.

And the three Challengers on the lot were not damaged by the hail, they had only been there a few days (two still had the plastic wrapping). The two Chargers that were previously on the showrroom floor were damaged however. So the bad paint and uneven panel gaps were most likely directly from the factory, and I doubt they were fixed in the 3 days since delivery.

I would advise against anyone drawing conclusions about build quality from 3 cars damaged in a hail storm. I saw my first one at the local dealership last week (in Hemi Orange) and it looked great. Panel gaps didn’t look any wider than my friends new Civic. Unfortunately I couldn’t sit in it to get a close look at the interior.