08 Challenger- Wow, what a car!

[Ratical2]

After considerable drama, Maurice Liang took delivery of his 08 Challenger last night. I drove him to dealership to pick it up. I was not prepared for the impression the car would make on me. This car is best retro to date...I was very surprised at what really good job DC did on this car. You really have to see it for yourself because pictures don't capture the essense of this car. We took it for a quick spin around Dublin before we headed home....this car is a show stopper. I felt like a Rock star. Old Men, Young Men, Girls of ages stopped in their tracks. I made a left turn to get onto the freeway behind a Suburban. He pulled over on the on ramp just to let me pass so he could get a better look at the car. And what a car. The lines are beautiful, and the color works together to instantly transport you 30 years back in time....it is almost magical. The interior is the best I have ever seen in any Chrysler product. With 425HP and 420ft/lbs of torque there is plenty of power on hand. The car drives and handles just fine... thank you. The only thing the cars needs is to be lower. It is a tall car!
I just went to help a friend pick up a car and now I am trying to figure out how I can get one too......



















Barring any unforseen circumstances, Maurice is planning to take the car to Santanna Row tomorrow morning for the locals who are interested in seeing it....

[Need1]

I'm no mechanical wizard, but what would it take to overhaul that thing and put a 600HP Viper motor in it...

[georgethedog]

You said that was the best interior you have ever seen from Chysler? It is the identical interior to my brother's 2007 Super Bee. Nice, but nothing extra special for the Challenger. Also, where is the 6 speed? Oh, that's right Chysler got cheap again and used the same drivetrain as my brother's Super Bee. They did not go "all the way" with this car. It is virtually the same car as the SRT8 Chargers with 2 doors and different sheet metal. I am kind of disappointed.

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Awsome. I was never a big fan of the original but I think these look great. Glad to hear good things about it.

[Les Quam]

425 HP, 4000 pounds and only two pedals??? Sounds like a nice car for my grandmother to drive to buy some groceries? As the owner of a 1970 HEMI Challenger 4 speed this new 08 Challenger generates only one feeling for me.....Drowsiness.

Poor Maurice it must be tough to stay awake in that 4000 pound barge after climbing out of one of his Vipers especially the 600 HP one with the bitchin black snake stripes.

[Chipster]

Nice. I'm not a fan of them completely stock, except the SRT. Some nice wheels though and lowered will be pretty cool.

[Ratical2]

Originally Posted by georgethedog

You said that was the best interior you have ever seen from Chysler? It is the identical interior to my brother's 2007 Super Bee. Nice, but nothing extra special for the Challenger. Also, where is the 6 speed? Oh, that's right Chysler got cheap again and used the same drivetrain as my brother's Super Bee. They did not go "all the way" with this car. It is virtually the same car as the SRT8 Chargers with 2 doors and different sheet metal. I am kind of disappointed.

I hear you...but I haven't been in the Super Bee. The last non Viper Chrysler product I have driven was a 2006 Magnum SRT8. The interior was not up to the task. This interior shows me that Chrysler can move in the right direction.
Nowhere in my post did I say the car was perfect...Just that it was much much better than I expected the car to be. So much so that I would consider buying the car. If the car was perfect, it would have been built on a smaller, lower, lighter platform with a 6 speed, but for the me the whole experiance was a big surprise.

[Bobpantax]

I looked at a black Challenger at University Dodge yesterday while getting the oil changed in my '08 SRT Jeep. I agree. It's a tall car. A Viper was parked just in back of it and the difference in height between the two diffferent tires was striking. The Challenger is much bigger in person than it looks in the photos - perhaps a bit too big. In a recent thread, I posted a photo of an alternate design study that did not make it into production. I think that it was a superior design. The car lacks an "edge" to it. I think the sticker application on the hood looks a little cheap. In the photos it looks painted. In person you can easily see the edge of the application. This particular car had what I consider to be quite a bit of orange peel and a visible paint blemish on the trunk. It looked like parts of the car would benefit from a bit of wet sanding. How was the paint on Maurice's car? For 2009, a six speed option based on a variant of the '08 Viper transmission will be available with a positraction differential and somewhat better ratio in the differential. For '08 it is not a sub 5 second car zero to sixty. For '09, with the six speed, it will be a sub 5 second zero to sixty car. Bottom line, my Jeep will blow the doors off of any stock '08 Challenger from zero to sixty and in the quarter mile. We will see about the '09's.

[SylvanSRT]

It wont be that tough to figure out how to get one, they will make over 30,000 next year and the year after that, and the year after that(i forgot i think its a 4-5yr program so far)

[Ratical2]

Originally Posted by SylvanSRT

It wont be that tough to figure out how to get one, they will make over 30,000 next year and the year after that, and the year after that(i forgot i think its a 4-5yr program so far)

That's not the problem...the next new car goes to the wife and she wants a Acura TL....

[SylvanSRT]

yeah that can be a problem, so maybe you have to wait and by then they will have the drop top version out

[94RT10Ohio]

I agree the car looks great! However

The 09 will be more fun. Better gears and the 6 speed offered.

As for the "rock star feel" and people stopping in their tracks. That will last a year or so. Dodge will eventually flood the market with them. The 09 will have a V6 model (About 23K), a the R/T (About 31K) and SRT (About 41K).

[Bonkers]

Originally Posted by georgethedog

Also, where is the 6 speed? Oh,
that's right Chysler got cheap again and used the same
drivetrain as my brother's Super Bee.

You have to remember that SRT is absolutely convinced that their
crummy autostick is superior to the manual in every way,
therefore the SRT branded cars don't need "other" options -
they're already equipped with the "best." The autos are just
cheaper for the V6 models so that's a given.

For me I'd rather have the R/T with the 6spd than the SRT with
425hp - superchargers are cheap compared to a transmission swap.

[Ratical2]

Bob, Most cars today have an annoying amount of orange peel strait from the factory.I didn't see any orange peel on this car, but then I wasn't looking for it. I was kinda caught up in the magic of the car. I was 17 the first time I ever rode in a Challenger. It was a 73 ,and was orange with a white interior. I weighed in at 145lbs. This new one is kinda bigger than life because of if size (Maurice is around 5'8" but he looks like a little kid standing next to the car). When I saw the car, it was like I was 17 again...I wasn't thinking, what no 6 speed? or of any other of short comings the car might have. Chyrsler did a better job of capturing the styling of the Challenger then Ford did with Mustang. Again overall it was pleasantly surprising experiance.

[Warfang]

Originally Posted by Need1

I'm no mechanical wizard, but what would it take to overhaul that thing and put a 600HP Viper motor in it...

I saw the car 2-3 years ago when it was still a concept. It's huge like everyone says. The Hemi under that huge hood looks like a 4 cylinder... so yes, I suspect someone will be squeezing a Viper motor in one soon enough.