I guess I don’t understand what people are complaining about. Just the fact it’s not grey should get it a break from the “craptastics” comments. It’s miles ahead of the concept’s interior, now that really was “craptastic”.
The comment about the wheel looking thin and flimsy was funny. It’s very solid, and is a decent thickness too. The Mustang has the ugliest wheel I have seen in some time, hands down.

If I was buying a car a couple of years from now, a Challenger (with a 5.7) would be it, in black.

You need to look up your sales figures buddy. Last year the Ram sold 326k, the last full year of the OLD generation and an off year of sales for them. A few SHORT years ago, they sold 450k. The new one will, barring a recession, sell more. A lot more.

Warn us when you post a link like that. I hadn’t had my coffe yet this morning. Please tell me that was not the most recent interior and that the one in the article is what they are going with.

How many years did Dodge predict it will take to sell 300k Rams? They certainly aren’t anywhere near that on a year to year basis now.

Old habits die hard. Looks like the former DCX did the same thing that Ford did back in 2002 with the Thunderbird – show-car exterior, but lift the interior straight out of the donor sedan, in that case the Lincoln LS.

This abomination of an interior doesn’t belong in a car that’s supposed to be fun. There’s nothing special about it. It honestly looks like a depressing place to be. That four-spoke steering wheel looks like it belongs in my mom’s car. The blue-backlighting on the gauges looks cheesy and the gauges themselves have been on Dodge vehicles for ages. These vents remind me of my 1990 Subaru Legacy’s vents- too bad the rest of the interior doesn’t look as good. They should have at least put in some color accents or something to contrast all of that blackness (those tiny pieces of “chrome” don’t count). It’s not even a particularly good looking shade of black because I keep thinking “gray” when I look at it.

I just can’t get over the huge difference between the exterior and interior. The interior has no character at all and belongs in a truck, not in the reincarnation of one of history’s coolest cars. If this is the best that Chrysler can do, maybe they deserve to go under.

I say wait to pass judgment until it finally comes out…

The original price point, which has been since elevated substantially, further hints that the original goal was to sell at higher volumes.”

The 30k number is correct. Actually I heard 35k. But not for the reasons you are stating. It was not cut back to 30k because they could meet an original goal – it was the goal of the project team to create a car which on a low volume of 30 or 35k would produce a profit for the company. That’s why it will be built in flex factory next to other vehicles on the same platform. That’s why it does not have the interior of the new Ram, which will sell over 300k. Chrysler never had dreams of selling 200k of these cars, but they did insist that each one make a profit.

Shit. What happened?

On a muscle car they throw in the interior for free, you’re paying for everything else. It’s not any different than most dedicated sports cars on the market, especially the affordable ones.

This rings true with affordable ones (WRX, Evo, Z, S2000, Mustang, Ferrari) at $40k, I bought an interior. Notice with the Evo and WRX price creep, their interiors have gotten better. (Still no Audi, but, who is?)

I would, er, challenge the belief that a vehicle that has collected 9,000 deposits is a vehicle that a lot of people want to own. In a market in which over 16 million vehicles are sold per year, this is a tiny drop in a huge bucket.

It’s not at all surprising that a few people will line up to buy the thing. The critical question is whether the car can sell in volumes that are profitable for an extended period, not just for several months, and that it can do so while enhancing the brand.

Daimler would not have bothered with developing this thing for production if the goal had been to sell 7,000 units per year, as it could not have recouped its costs at such a low sales volume.

I have my doubts that this car will be much of a buzz generator within two years of its release. And if Dodge ditches its car lineup entirely, then it may very well just be an orphan that will be left to wither once the initial hype has died off.

While the masses wait for the reasonably priced versions of this car, the market for it will continue to shrink and the furor surrounding the concept will die down even more. Chrysler (and even more so GM) were silly to bring these cars to market if they had an inkling of how long it would take (when is GM going to actually release the Camaro? Before or after the Volt?). It’s one thing to take a long time from intro to release for a low (micro?)volume car, but if you want to compete with the Mustang, you better get your car to market relatively fast because you need that hype from the concept if you want to have any chance at taking more than a nibble out of the Mustang’s market share.

As two-door muscle cars with that ever-elusive Cheese Factor that remains true to the spirit of that wonderful (cough, gag, cough) pinnacle of television entertainment, I’d say that they’re kissing cousins.

It was never intended to be sold in mass volumes like the Mustang.

According to Business Week, LaSorda has suggested that annual sales of 30,000 units would be considered a success.

The original price point, which has been since elevated substantially, further hints that the original goal was to sell at higher volumes.

I would not assume that the fanboys at AllPar have the full story, or that Chrysler has been exactly eager to spell out what their plan has been. Their actions indicate a change in plan, and given the noteworthy decline of Mustang sales, I can’t blame them.

I cant wait to see the 20something thousand dollar v6 model with the undersized rims and tiny exhaust pipe(s)!

I know some of you guys are getting all excited about this thing but I would not be surprised if this thing is a big fat failure. Unless you are intro the whole retro muscle craze this thing does look like an outdated dinosaur.

Please tell me outside of some gearheads exactly who is this car designed to appeal to?

Everyone (2008 SRT8 models – the 40k one) has been sold. Already.

Pch101
“It will be interesting to see whether the marketplace agrees with you. (Personally, I thought that $30k was a tad generous for something that inspires flashbacks about The Dukes of Hazzard.)”

That was Dodge Charger. They were not remotely similar in appearance, unless you count wheels, lights, and door handles.

“Here’s a third theory to toss into the mix: When the Daimler-era guys were conceiving of this vehicle, they probably viewed it as a Mustang competitor, with pricing and production volumes to match.

Cerberus sees it differently. Given the changing environment, they may not have even moved ahead with it at all had it not been for the hype and sunk costs that preceded it.”

The story behind this car can be found at Allpar and some other sites. It was never intended to be sold in mass volumes like the Mustang. In fact it was not intended for production. But because of the enthusiastic response, and that it was based off an existing platform, and would be built in the same factory, and that factory is a flex manufacturing facility, they realized they could build enough for anyone who wanted one and make money on each one. When the sales dry up the car goes bye bye and the factory just keeps on turning out the other models from the same platform.

“As a mass market car competing head-on with the Mustang for volume sales, it looks like a losing proposition.”

That’s because it isn’t.

MrDisco:

“Mmmmm cheap grey plastic. Way to go Chrysler!”

It’s black. And I’m not nitpicking. I’ve read post after post on the web that the black looks waaaay better than the typical corporate gray or beige we’ve seen in the past.

Bottom line folks – It will be made as long as it sells, each copy will make a profit, all the first years model are sold, the interior is not trying to comepete with Audi, and you will be able to buy one in the 20’s and 30’s when the lesser ones come out. And when the hype is over, they will just turn off the switch and stop making them. By then the new 300 and Charger will be coming out anyway.

That’s about three weeks’ worth of Mustang sales.

Ford sold about 135,000 Mustangs during 2007, and those sales are on a hard downward trajectory.

You can hang this one on your wall aside the commemorative plaque that honors the Solstice. Once the initial hype dies, this will be much ado about nothing.

Hey! I like Audi’s! Outside as well as inside. (bows head and goes into a corner to sulk).

The interior looks like an upgrade to the current LX interior, the material on the doors looks soft to the touch, the guage cluster is improved, and the seats are sweet.

$40,000 gets you a solid interior, a whooping ass 425 HP motor, a great chassis, all wrapped up in a fantastic exterior. Obviously it will sell.

Not to mention the 32K 380HP R/T, nor the 260HP V6 probably selling in the mid 20s in 2009.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/27/news/companies/taylor_chrysler.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2007112706

A Dodge Challenger obviously doesn’t work within that lineup. It would either have to become a Chrysler Challenger or get dumped.

Furthermore, a Challenger doesn’t really work well within Cerberus’ repositioning of Chrysler as an international brand that can grow in Asia and Eastern Europe. With rising fuel prices and very little demand for American muscle cars outside of the US, there isn’t much reason to invest heavily in this vehicle or to build very many of them.

Chrysler is a different company since Cerberus acquired it, and I believe that this is one vehicle that bears the stamp of that change. As a mass market car competing head-on with the Mustang for volume sales, it looks like a losing proposition.