Except of course for that it would somehow be stangely overpriced all of a sudden when it got here, that it has a crappy interior, that there’s no stig shift option on the V6 and the company will go bust shortly…

And most would faint upon entering the Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge Caliber dealer because of the overwhelming combined smell of the not-good-enough-for-public-transportion-grade interior plastics applied in all of their models…

Yay Plastech!

C’mon! The V6 Mustang gets 16/24, and it has a 5 speed automatic transmission.

A rating of 18/25 for a pony car seems like a downright accomplishment, given a long-term view. You also have to bear in mind that these numbers are produced by the new, stricter test cycle, which means that most people can hit these numbers in real life.

In any event, for a wildly impractical “image car” toy, buying a $22k car that gets fuel economy of 18/25 seems a lot more sensible than shelling out $30k for a “tough looking” SUV that gets 14/20 — unless you actually go offroad, tow a boat, or carry 4+ passengers for long distances on a regular basis.

Heck, I doubt it would appeal to image-concious bi-coastal high-earning urban-dwelling yuppie-types who in my experience all feel compelled to drive around in some sort of BMW 3-series, but I kind of wish it would.

Look for GM to surpass this noteworthy accomplishment with the ‘10 Camaro.

“You know what makes the difference in outlay so huge? The lack of the mid-level SXT version. Usually a well-equipped models sits right between the two at about $25,995.”

My guess is that will be the 2010 model with the Phoenix V6 and DSG tranny. More power, better mpg, and sweeter tranny than the current base model. That’s what I would wait for if I had the money. Allpar reports that the Gertrag joint venture plant is on schedule for Feb ‘09 if I recall correctly.

You know what makes the difference in outlay so huge? The lack of the mid-level SXT version. Usually a well-equipped models sits right between the two at about $25,995.

You can get into a Challenger for 22K. This shoots holes in all the talk that this was going to be niche vehicle.

@Alex:

No. It doesn’t. Not even slightly. At the end of the day, we’re still talking about a big, fairly thirsty, largely impractical retro-styled vehicle. That’s the very definition of niche. At best it may jockey for second place if the Camaro stumbles out of the gate, but otherwise it won’t sell hugely.

The 6500 2008 models all sold before a single production car rolled off the line. There is definitely a demand for this car.

Maybe, but we still don’t know how big that demand is. I postulate that a bunch of un-PC Mopar freaks with bank decided to drive up the price of the first couple thousand. Fine. Great. Whatever. What makes you so sure that in a time where the F-150 gets outsold by ALL of the Japanese’s Big Four and 10-year-old Geo Metros are being flipped like they’re hot property Chrysler can convince people who now view fuel economy as a bigger issue than power, Big Gulp-sized cupholders and number of decals that this is the car for them?

LX HEMI cars with the five-speed already hit that figure so it should be a cinch for a manual Challenger.

The revised HEMI will become available in all of Chrysler’s cars too, not just the Challenger.

“Soccer and Caesar Salad” I told the bartender.

Then their bouncer’s dragging me out the door !

1) 21,995. WOW. You can get into a Challenger for 22K. This shoots holes in all the talk that this was going to be niche vehicle. You can get a coupe that gets 25MPG that looks like THAT for 22K. They will sell every single one of the 30K they produce. In fact I would guess that the ceiling for this car is more like 60K per year.

2. The 4 speed automatic was selected because it is bullet proof and it designed for this type of a vehicle and can be procured very inexpensively. The R/T with 380 horses comes with a 6 speed Tremec manual if you want one.

3. As far as poorly timed, gas prices obviously don’t help here, but Chrysler was smart to build a V-6 model which can get 25MPG. You want a great looking muscle car that gets 25MPG, they’ve got it. You want 400 horses? They got that too. The 6500 2008 models all sold before a single production car rolled off the line. There is definitely a demand for this car.

What you can see is the extremely favorable response on muscle car forums to the price point of the R/T, Chrysler priced it at the sweet spot and has the attention of Mustang and F-body owners looking for a new ride.

This car has also jumped up on the list of purchases for my next new ride, fuel prices be damned. I prefer my vehicles to deliver smiles per gallon and look unlike any other appliance on the road. This car checks all the right boxes for people like me.

Oh, sweet irony…

I liked the Maggie, but the fuel economy was off-putting. Pity the European-market 300 Touring’s diesel was never transplanted.