Is the new Dodge Challenger worth $40,000?
**UPDATE: Dodge has announced their standard Challenger SE (3.5-liter V6 engine, 250 hp) will start at $21,995. $39,995 will get you the SRT8 model.**
The price has been set - $40,095 MSRP. But are you willing to pay 40k for the first run of a vehicle that has yet to be fully life-tested? And by that we mean proven to take people’s abuse, such as shifting in and out of driveways, parallel parking, potholes, school zones, snow storms, burning hot sunlight, upholstery damage and everything else that comes with your daily routine.
But is Dodge’s Challenger going to be a practical use automobile? Or will it become the next Viper - a midlife crisis vehicle purchased only to impress people on the streets and scare off kids pacing around in their Honda CRX’s. Not to sound like $40,000 is being tossed out your window - many dealerships will be offering standard 6.1 liter HEMI V-8, full leather trim, 20-inch aluminum wheels and 425 HP under such a price tag.
Yet, if the Mustang can become your daily commuter car, why not the Challenger? Cars are beautiful pieces of roving artwork (especially Chrysler designs, though we are partial at this site) - however, they are made to be used. Functional-artwork? Functional automobiles should be driven on a daily basis, so we will have to see if the Challenger is up to life’s…challenges?
Something male drivers of the Challenger may want to test - If you believe this advertisement, sitting in a new Dodge will catch the attention of gorgeous brunettes in sun dresses during windstorms.
Yes this car is worth the asking price, although the manual transmission is going to be a requirement for some of us. I will wait until the 6.1 Hemi is available with a clutch, by that time hopefully most of the bugs will have been worked out.
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$40,000 is too much cash for a vehicle that is mediocre in design to say the very lease. This car is for old men stuck on the Dukes of Hazard. Heck with $40k one could go out an purchase an original 70’s era restored Challenger / Charger, or better yet, a 2008 / 2009 Vett! The other item that needs to change on this car is the stupid ram. It is totally gay looking.
I agree with Challenge Me! What the heck is Chrysler thinking? This car should follow the price line of Ford’s Mustang. This is not a Corvette or some exotic sports car. The car screams out “I am making up for the fact that I have a small dick!”
$40k is steep for many (myself included), but anyone that thinks $40k will buy a restored ‘70 is talking out of their ill-informed ass, and likely believes gasoline is still $1.59/gallon. $40k is a bit over the value, but not by a lot. The market will decide if Chrysler is over-reaching. Comparing this to a Mustang is like comparing that Mustang to a Focus. In 1970, they were comparable. Today, they are wholly different animals. And anybody that thinks my love for this car translates to a small dick, I’ll gladly prove you wrong anytime you wish to see it. Stick to your toys, boys. This thing is for nostalgic men.
I must say it is not worth $40,000…I also don’t like the ram….but the styling is nice and complements the original challenger. The $40,000 however would be better spent on an original challenger, charger, plymoth ‘cuda or roadrunner…hell, even a camaro. But new corvette my friend has warped into a fully different vehicle, unrecognizable from the earlier corvettes. It has piggybacked its way to popularity with the corvette name, surrounding itself with a fully undeserved nostalgia. It may be a cool car in its own right, but any muscle car competition, it is a mediocre design with a powerful engine. If chevy intended it to be a corvette, make it a corvette, but it seems they intended something fully separate from that, and the inability to think of a new car name had escaped them..so thus, piggy back on a name that evokes design. American muscle it is not and American muscle it never was.
That is reserved for the cars of the late 60s early 70s.
And yes, I would own the 2008 challenger if the price was right, cause the styling, engine, and option packages all seem to be up to par for a car that intends to piggyback on the name of challenger. I can’t say the same for the 2008 camaro who completely missed the front end.
Could use a bench seat in that challenger though!
I am updating this post, the standard Dodge Challenger has been announced at about 21K USD with the Hemi SRT version at about $40K.
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