2008 Dodge Challenger Future & Concept Cars at Automotive.com

2009 Dodge Challenger

Below is a future car article by the automotive experts at Automobile Magazine. Continue reading below or click any thumbnail to view the full size photos.

2008 Dodge Challenger Costs of Ownership

QUICK PRICE QUOTE

DEALER LOCATOR

User Rating

N/A

Rating:

Value Rating

N/A

LEARN WHY

IntelliChoice Value Rating

The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.

One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.

What is a good car value?

A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.

But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?

For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.

This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)

Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.

Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.

So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.

Change Submodel

CHANGE VEHICLE

2009 Dodge Challenger

Article provided by: Automobile Magazine

Most show cars are prima donnas: dressed to kill, yet structurally, mechanically, and electronically frail to the bone. They spew water and oil when facing the mildest incline, they threaten to break apart at the mere sight of a pothole, and they love to die an electronic death at the earliest inconvenience. Not so this Dodge Challenger. It, too, is a one-off, handmade by Metalcrafters, a Southern California specialist in concept cars. But unlike most of its show-circuit counterparts that have spun themselves dizzy on floodlit turntables, the orange-red Dodge is not limited to 2000 rpm, 20 mph, or 2000 yards. Quite the contrary. We threw it into San Francisco traffic, threaded it onto various freeways, and even did a couple of burn-outs for the photographer. The car obliged without vomiting parts.

What does this attitude tell us? That Metalcrafters did a sterling job, and that there is a real car beneath this retro-look piece of radiant sheetmetal. The Challenger sits on Chrysler's LX platform, best known as the basis of the 300C, and it is fitted with a 6.1-liter Hemi engine, which delivers 425 hp at 6200 rpm and 420 lb-ft of torque at 4800 rpm. The Hemi badge is worth its weight in gold. It evokes fond memories and produces goose bumps even before you turn the key, thereby giving the Dodge brand a real advantage over its competition. Okay, Ford is entitled to use the legendary Shelby moniker, but we'll have to wait at least two more years before Ford's new aluminum-block Hurricane V-8 is ready for production. General Motors installs an excellent engine in the Chevrolet Corvette Z06, but they have nothing as exciting for the reborn Camaro.

If things go according to plan, the Challenger will become the fourth LX derivative and the third Dodge version, following the Magnum and the Charger. So why has Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda not yet pushed the button and announced the perfectly feasible 2009 intro date? Because marketing is still fine-tuning the numbers and the production guys need to find capacity in a plant that is already running flat-out in three shifts. If worse comes to worst, DaimlerChrysler may have to add a second facility for its rear-wheel-drive models, which may also include a version of the grotesque yet strangely compelling Imperial luxury liner. If the reception of the Challenger concept during our drive is anything to go by, Chrysler managers needn't worry. Although it bears an almost too-close resemblance to the 1970 original, our time-warp coupe hit the Dodge crowd right in the heart, which is about where the checkbook sits. Even those aficionados who normally would side with Ford or GM were overwhelmed by the sex appeal of the newcomer from Auburn Hills.

Of the three new-generation pony cars promoted by Detroit--the Ford Mustang and the Camaro are the others--the Challenger follows the tire marks of its predecessor with particular discipline and accuracy. Quips design chief Trevor Creed: "A Challenger must look like one! We're proud to draw from our rich design heritage. And this car is spot on--its silhouette does make a statement, its cabin is big enough to seat four, and its engine bay packs all the horsepower one could ask for. To me, this is a very saleable item." Adds DaimlerChrysler head honcho Dieter Zetsche: "The Challenger would help to consolidate our strong presence in the rear-wheel-drive segment, a mission we are also going to pursue with the next-generation LX cars." So this shape isn't too retro, too predictable, too short-lived? "We don't think so," replies Michael Castiglione, who was in charge of the exterior. "Our proposal incorporates the essence of the 1970 model, but at the same time we carefully modernized the proportions by extending the wheelbase, widening the track, and mounting very contemporary twenty- and twenty-one-inch wheels and tires."

At 78.6 inches, the show car is certainly wide enough to fill the mirror of the car in front of it. At 197.8 inches, the Challenger is ten inches longer than the Mustang, and it has a 57.0-inch roof that is tall enough to accommodate towering period hairdos. All the design must-haves are there in force: sweet Coke-bottle hips, a meaty rear, a wasp tail, a cool flank-defining crease, and such signature details as a no-glare hood, frameless windows, and full-width taillights. Present-day details incorporated into the overall look include modern headlamps, fat five-spoke wheels, and a twenty-first-century interpretation of the Dodge grille. The Challenger concept is an eye-catching machine, no doubt, and in the wake of a production version, it should be easy to keep the fire burning with a convertible and even-higher-performance variants.