Dodge Charger 2006+

jrourke

Just discovered the Charger this week and have been doing some online research. Most of the new cars I had found to date that were visually appealing to me and had the options I wanted, recommended premium gas which I'm not willing to use. I haven't seen this listed anywhere for the Charger (I'm interested in the SXT).

-Does it use 87 Octane? Or maybe 89 as I recall the 300 also used that?

-Also what are people's real world experiences in MPG with the V-6 SXT. I know driving conditions will be a factor, but I've had cars that met or exceeded the estimate and others that didn't even come close.

I'm sure I'll have more questions as my research continues or once I get to a dealer.

Thanks

tolenash

Remember the same engine/tranny are in the Chrysler 300 and the Dodge Magnum. I know some people on the 300 board are complaining of tranny issues. The charger is likely light on complaints due to its newness relative to the Magnum and 300. So check there and other forums also. (on a side note - i believe most what I read about w/ problems where the 2.7 or 3.5 w/ 4 speed. The Hemi w/ 5-speed seems trouble free.)

jimhemi

I would like to second your notion.

chargenurse

I have been hunting feverishly and calling all my local dealers to find out when the TorRed Daytonas will be hitting production and an expected dealer delivery date? The best answer I can get is "spring". When is "spring" March, April, May??? I can hardly wait!!

Kirstie_H

It's making a comeback!
http://www.edmunds.com/future/2006/dodge/charger/100393254/previe- w.html?tid=edmunds.f.mmindex.content.num1.0.dodge*

What do you think?

rorr

The Charger is coming back as a......4-door sedan????? I thought the original Charger was only available as a 2-door (a BIG 2-door to be sure).

At least GM had the good sense to not call the new SSR a "Camaro"....

etcarroll

Yesterday's NYT auto alert email had a pen and ink drawing, hope it actually looks like this, I'd put down a deposit now!

stickguy

DOn't tell Andre.

tomcat630

It's not going to be a 4 door that looks liek every other car on the road at least. In order for it to be a coupe and sell huge, one would have to magically transform the US to 1966.

rorr

I've no doubt that it won't look like any other 4-doors on the road; that wasn't the issue. One look at the new 300C should tell anyone that DC knows how to style non-conformist cars.

But why name their new sedan after their old coupe? What happens if coupes become popular again and DC wants to enter that market? I just don't care for a manufacturer recycling an old name (in many ways, a name which has nearly achieved icon status) simply for the marketing benefits.

Didn't it irk anyone when Pontiac sold their dinky little Korean import as a "Le Mans"?

stickguy

I got over it eventually.

rorr

Sure, but why should you have to?

Why can't Dodge simply call their new 4-door an Intrepid? It'll still be the same car; do they think people will buy it simply because it says "Charger" on the deck lid instead of "Intrepid".

Geez, I guess I should be happy that Toyota didn't release the Prius as a "Supra"....

rorr

....the Dodge Magnum sedan. To go with it's stabemate, the Dodge Magnum wagon.

I know, I know....too simplistic....guess I'll never be a marketing genius...

wale_bate1

You'd have to go back and look at the concept as it appeared in '00. It looked very much like a coupe with four doors artfully worked in and had undeniable Charger/Challenger DNA.

If I can locate a link. I'll post it. If they're thinking of something very similar, this could be good news.

wale_bate1

Here ya go:
http://www.popularhotrodding.com/features/0404phr_dodge/

Popular Hot Rodding. Of course, they'd be interested! Check out the previous concept and see what we all missed thanks to the "merger".

If their rendering is correct, I'll pass. This current vein of styling seems flash-in-the-pan to me, and I'd much rather see the more concise, flowing style of the '99 (not '00) concept.

rorr

Thanks for the link.

Ok, here's where I take a massive step back from my earlier misgivings.

While several of those concepts look a bit ungainly (to put it nicely), they've definitely managed to resurrect many of the orginals lines. (Of course, the original was a bit ungainly too, IMO; sorry Andre). And it is about as 'un-4-door' as I can imagine. Definitely has coupe lines.

Maybe we'll see both 2- and 4-door Chargers running around in the not so distant future....

wale_bate1

Yup RR, they definitely grabbed the retro-cues by the horns. I notice that the newer concept is in fact a two door. Again, I like the older concept a whole lot more. I must've seen it a dozen times in print before I even realized that there were four doors!

Either they're good, or I'm getting ocularly challenged far sooner than I thought I would...

rorr

Being ocularly challenged wouldn't be so bad sometimes......makes the sight of an Aztec MUCH less painful...

theo2709

Apparently it will be auto-only.

odman

No word whether they will have nosecones or wings like the Daytonas, but this report says that we will see what they look like on the track in February.

Can't wait!

http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0407/19/c01-215232.htm

setzer

i have a question. How do you think the Charger is going to sell compared to the 300. Will the "Charger" nameplate give it more sales or what?

odman

A lot depends on the usual things like styling, pricing, competitive models like the 300 and Magnum, etc.

Apart from a few of us fanatics, the Charger nameplate has little brand equity. The last Charget was a pathetic little Omni 024 derivative (the Shelby Chargers were entertaining), and if you ignore the Cordoba-derived 75-78 models, the last REAL Charger was made 30 years ago in 1970.

That doesn't mean that effective marketing can bring it back -- the 300 is now fairly well known, but I think this knowledge is based on the current and recent models, not the 1955-65 "Letter cars".

Strong styling, the hemi and hard-hitting marketing (including the NASCAR tie-in) could knock this one out of the park. Even though I hate the idea, making it a 4-door will probably help sales over a 2-door.

rayainsw

You are certainly correct that we do not have (nearly) enough information regarding the new Charger to make reasonable predictions about much of anything.

OTOH: Even when I knew a lot about the new 300C, I still would not have predicted the apparent sales success of this new sedan.

It will certainly be interesting to see the final, production product.

RE: 4 doors – “Even though I hate the idea, making it a 4-door will probably help sales over a 2-door.”

The previous generation Grand Prix did (IMHO) a wonderful job of offering both a 2 door and 4 door with exactly the same, very ‘coupe-ish’ roofline. My personal bias is that, if there are rear seats that full size humans can comfortably occupy for any time, they deserve their own doors for access.

But that’s just me.

And the original Charger (Yup, I am old enough to remember) styling, inside and out, was absolutely amazing to me, particularly since it was then largely based on the relatively pedestrian sedan body.

Cheers,
- Ray
Watching to see what takes shape . . .

odman

I agree about the Grand Prix but found the overall design too rounded for my tastes. The last Intrepid did a good job of making a 4-door look rakish.

The 1999 Charger concept car did as good a job as we can expect in terms of blending retro cues with a modern 4-door body style. The front-end was a bit clunky though. While they were apparently not that efficient, the original '68-'70 grilles looked like they were sucking in air like mad.

For me the '68-'70s were the epitome of Charger design (the '66-'67s were more functional but not as sleek, and the '71-74s were a bit bloated). Stylistically, the key was the double-diamond arches over the front and rear wheels. It gave it a very taut, masculine look. Along with this, the trapezoidal side glass profile balanced well between the diamonds. The large C-pillar sail planes with a deeply in-set rear window were especially nice and could easily be incorporated in the new design. Nissan has done it very well with a more shallow inset with the new Maxima:

http://www.nissanusa.com/m/cma/i/4ma/4maxima_gal_med01.jpg
 
I've heard they are only going to be doing a few retro cues, and I'm afraid we will wind up with something that looks heavy and chunky like the 300C or the Magnum. A may be in the minority, but I'd much rather see a retro vehicle like Ford has done very well with their Mustang. Then we could see a modern-day Bullitt movie re-made!

wale_bate1

I'd just like to welcome myself to your little minority there odman!

I think the 99 concept was/is brilliant in it's ability to blend functionality of four doors with coupe-like styling, and the retro cues were expressed so well that you knew exactly from whence they came but still felt like you were getting fresh goods. Clunky front end, yes, but certainly nowhere near as clunky as a Magnum's Ram-nose!

'68-'70: for me it's that long muscular swoop of the rear quarters in combination with the rake of the rear glass. This one of very, very few square tails I've ever liked.

My fear that what we'll end up with is a 300C with new fascias and that honkin' Ram snout, plus maybe more pronounced flared wheel arches. I hope not...

beepbeep68

Anybody have any idea on how much these 2006 Chargers are gonna be? I heard from a Dodge dealer starting at about $23,000. Are they 2 door or 4 door and do they have hideaway headlights?

-Lance

microrepair

To me the 99 concept car front end is almost a carbon copy of the Intrepid. And since the Intrepid wasn't exactly the finest car ever produced (or worst either!) using the name again wasn't a good idea. The Charger name is old enough so that if folks had bad experiences with the original charger maybe time has healed the old wounds. I had a Concorde (Intrepid cousin) and it was not inspiring in any way except for quickness off the line with the 3.5 motor back then.

The 2006 coupe version based on the LX chassis sketched out by Hot Rod is a very modernized version of the original coke bottle shape. To me it looks like a GTO killer if it has the Hemi.. Lots of pizzaz without the juke box...

dae3

I got my Car and Driver magazine yesterday and the Charger is on the front cover. Don't get too excited though, it is a drawing based on spy cam pictures and rumors. According to the article it will come with a choice of a 3.5L 250 HP V6 or the 5.7L 340 HP Hemi V8. The Hemi version will have a 5-speed manumatic transmission designed by Mercedes and will do (estimated performance) 0-60 in 5.3 seconds. There are not pop up lights and it is a four door.

jimhemi

Well as an owner of a 71 and buying my father a 70 for father's day 2 years ago the Charger name means a lot. They need to make sure the name brings performance to mind. They can not goof up by putting a 2.82 gear ratio in the back and the new 300C SRT seems nice, but they bog it down with a 3.08 rear. They should allow for the R/T super Track pack options of the day. I want to be able to order a 4.10 rear. With the 5speed autos with OD and the 6 speeds from the Viper and the Ram SRT their is no reason why a new Charger SRT doesn't come with a rear end upgrade.
My 71 is Hemi Orange with a black top. I'm not only a fan of the 1999 concept(except for the 4 doors) I'm also a fan of bringing back some of the high impact colors that Chrysler made famous. Give me an 2006 Charger SRT in Hemi Orange with a 6speed, black leather and a 4.10 rear. Help me stop with some 15 inch Brembo ABS brakes. Give the car some nice wheels and don't weigh the performance of the car down with Electric seats,moon roofs, heated leather and all that fancy euro trash crap. I hope it's not to late. I hope some reps from Chrylser read our rants and suggestions.

joecanuk

jimhemi , the Charger name means allot but when Chrysler put it on the FWD K car's back in the 80's they really did a disservice to it . The RWD Charger should be a much better car than the 70's car could ever be . If the 300 and Magnum are any indication the Charger should be one great car

turboshadow

I sure hope the end result looks better than these drawings. I was hoping it would look more like the Charger concept than that godawful Super8 Hemi concept.

Turboshadow

jimhemi

Joe, Dodge did a HUGE disservice to the name in the 80's with that thing they called a Charger. The old timers that invented the HEMI and Killed it in 71 cited they didn't want the legend to sucomb to smog, and regulations etc. I doubt that the new charger will match anything of yester year. The last great Charger was a 1971 Hemi R/T. The last year for any HEMI in a MOPAR. I saw some proto type pics and am not pleased. Dodge missed the boat big time. I was under the impression that the car would look like the concept car of a few years back mixing old with new. It looks like a 300C with a Dodge grill. If that is their offering to the car gods they should burn in the pits of hell for their efforts. The concept was original and inovative, this is a sad parts bin project car with 4 HUGE doors. Chargers were 2 door muscle cars that you can fit 4-5 people in comfortably while smoking your tires. This is a family wagon without the backend. Another dis service to the Charger name.

maein

I saw the pictures in Car and Driver, and I must say- I really liked it. Surely Dodge could make a two door version. But, I do like the practicality of a four door, and from what I've seen, the four door version still looks good.

paktype

I hate it. This is the third incarnation of the Charger that insults the 1966-1970 originals. I was able to swallow the Pontiac Grand Prix becoming a sedan in the '90s, but this really bothers me.

The fact that it will have many M/B parts irks me too.

This car may be called a Charger but its not a Charger.

Give me a black '69 R/T Hemi any day of the week.

Kirstie_H

A midwestern newspaper is hoping to interview anyone who has a classic Dodge Charger or who plans to buy a new one. Please send your Charger info and your daytime contact information to jfallon@edmunds.com by September 30, 2004.

itsnotacharger

Jim Hemi,

I couldn't agree with you more. It's not a Charger and not even an appealing car by the lowest standards. The artist renderings that I've seen portray the car as looking like anything from a Mustang II front end fused to a Pontiac Fiero rear end (Hot Rod Magazine) to having the front end of a S-10 Pickup Truck (C&D), then the latest recon photos of what appear to be Ford Maverick look alikes on railroad cars.

Larry McReynolds, a NASCAR commentator said during yesterdays Talladega time trials that the new Charger will not look like the original Chargers but more like the Magnum. As a result, I have just one question for Diamler management, "Are you on CRACK?"

We need to start a write in campaign to stop Diamler from waisting the Charger name and legacy on this "New Millenium Edsel."

mettech

http://www.allpar.com/cars/lx/dodge-charger.html

This is from the allpar site... as of 1 Oct..

dblagent

Call me stupid ( I know someone will ) but I really like the new Charger. I think the 300 is nice but I would buy the Charger ASAP. I know all about the classic Mopars, dads restoring a cuda' now, but this is a car a really like.

wale_bate1

You're not stupid, just with really questionable taste! (just kidding)

Seriously, though, I see this as nothing more than a cheap repackage of existing metal. The platform is good enough (so far), and I understand the parsimony to cutting the backpack off the Magnum (or rebadging a 300), but call it something else, dammit!

Whereas the Magnum holds some attraction for me, this is nothing but a 300 in Dodge clothing. I think it's completely unnecessary...

And the '99 concept was worlds more attractive, IMO!

odman

It's over. The hopes we had for a powerful, elegant and swoopy Charger like the '99 concept have been dashed.

I'm sure the new Charger will be plenty fast and will attract a lot of devotees and decent sales, but it's a pale shadow of what it could have been. I'd take a 4-door '99 concept over a 2-door variant of the '06 model any day.

I guess I should reserve judgement until I see it in the flesh, but then again, I've never seen the '99 in person and I thought it was a knock-out. Too bad the designer doesn't appreciate that retro designs have a place in the market.

wale_bate1

Well, odman, let's be completely fair. I think we'd have to classify the new designs on the platform as retro, even if we can't exactly nail the archived donor of the sheetmetal DNA.

I agree sincerely in principle, though, that given the name, and the apparent upcoming market success of something like the Mustang, taking serious cues from the original (a la the '99) would have been a home run.

Make that a grand slam.

jimhemi

What in the WORLD was DODGE thinking? They had the nerve to have the CEO Deiter something or other in the Wall St. journal article on Friday saying how his teenage sons loved the old Chargers and Muscle cars from Chrysler. They could probably have designed a better car then that recycled parts bin special that they have the nerve to call a Charger.
Awful, just plain awful, it's a 300C rebadge. The 300C is nice for what it is but the Charger should be a different car period.
I had a slight glimour of hope when I saw a photo shopped spy pic of the Charger in one of the magazines.
http://sedans.autoblog.com/entry/1769089454487523/.
It looked like a 2 door with a swoopy nose, was alright but much better then what these "CRACK HEADS" have come up with. This is what DODGE needed http://www.discountpartcenter.com/photos/03-29-04-01-Dodge-Charge- - r.jpg
 How is it that Ford was able to redo a GT40 and make it modern day? They don't even have a cup holder in it! Ford hit a home run with this car because they knew their audience and know the people that will buy them. They also seem to have done a good job with the retroStang they have coming out. I think the front end of the new Charger looks Stangish? Maybe just me. It looks like Dodge will have a GTO on their hands, that is if they are lucky, according to the Wall St. Journal article last week only 5,000+ GTOs have sold so far.
So it's safe to say that the only Chargers that will be in my driveway are my 71 and my Dad's 70. As for this Edsel-Charger good luck Dodge.
I know the one award you will win this year, the ugliest car of the year. I don't care what the numbers are and how fast it does the 1/4, that is the ugly stepchild that shouldn't have been let out of the factory.

itsnotacharger

In Daimler's Spin Zone, "The Detroit News", Trevor Creed, Chrysler's design chief is quoted as saying, "...If the Charger had lived, this is how I believe it would have evolved."

Well then, someone should slap Charles Darwin because the depiction that I saw of the new Charger was a vile and grotesque mutation, not an evolutionary improvement upon the appealing lines and aggressive stance that were the Charger's origin.

Instead of Trevor Creed bringing us "The Origin of Species," he brought us "The Origin of Feces," because that is what his vision of the new Charger looks like.

If this, so called, designer was put in charge of the evolution of the dinosaurs, I would have voted for their extinction.

Chrysler's design department may have super computers and 3-D modeling, but I believe that they may have gotten better results using an "Etch A Sketch," a monkey and a bottle of Wild Turkey."

In Singapore a person can be caned for spray-painting graffiti on automobiles.

Tell me, what is the penalty for using a "Bait & Switch" routine, first showcasing the exciting '99 Charger concept car, then secondly, spreading graffiti across the muscle car heritage of the Chrysler Corporation and upon its former loyal customers?

In closing, I apologize to Mr. Creed if these comments appear too harsh, but on this day it is too difficult to restrain the tremendous disappointment that this former Daimler-Chrysler customer now feels.

Thank you.

orangelebaron

save the Charger name for something more.... Charger-esque.
Call this blocky 4 door a Monaco or Polara.
How about Dart.... Dart Plus?
Polara ....that's it.

a_l_hubcaps

LeBaron-

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I'm not a huge muscle-car fan so I'm not screaming "heresy!" about the Charger name, but I do think Monaco or Polara would be a better fit for the car.

I really don't understand the people who are saying this car is ugly. From what we've seen so far, it's the best-looking large Dodge in a long time, IMHO. The Magnum -- THAT you might be able to call ugly!

-Andrew L

orangelebaron

These new DC's are definate lookers but I wonder how long it takes for their new owner's to realize "hey... I have to stop 100 feet before the traffic light in order to see it.." or "hey...I can't see anything backing up"
I test drove a Magnum and was in love with the feel and familiarity of it all... but the poor visibility and enclosed environment made me say... "no way"

duanep

I PO'D!!! What happened to the 1999 concept!!!! Now that car was worthy of the Charger name, even with 4 doors. The cartoon showing the latest Charger concept looks more like a bloated Mustang than a Charger. I hope this is all a big joke since I was excited about the thought of the charger making a come back and considering buying. If it looks like the most recent concept, not over my dead body.

The recent spy shots also show a fairly drab side profile. No destinctive Charger features. Maybe it's the new interceptor cars slated for police cruisers. Probalby wishful thinking.

duanep

jimhemi

Dodge Dart or Polara would deffinatly have been more fitting then to tarnish the name Charger again, like the one's from the 80's. The spy photos on allpar.com, if true show a car that is distinctive, but lacks originality. And what's with this common grill theme? I think we could all agree that the 99 concept was a dream we all shared but the bitter nightmare is the Charger we'll all be seeing on the lots come 2005, a fastback 300C.

wale_bate1

I think you guys are on to something here. Polara seems about perfect. They could even pull a page from the Plymouth book and go "Fury", and it would make more sense to me.

bradkurtz

Yup, it sure looks ugly! The Charger is supposed to be swoopy and cut through the air like a wedge - not a block (or even better brick)! The early released pics were more swoopy than this, hope they can fix it prior to production cause bringing it back on a Mercedes chassis with a huge Hemi engine is a great idea.

bored

Ugh, it's not on a Mercedes chassis.. it's on a Chrysler chassis with replicated Mercedes E class suspension bits.

Am I the only person who LIKES the new Charger? It looks original, which is a good thing. Sure, it's a 4 door, but coupes are a dying breed these days. There are some retro bits from the '66, but when will this retro phase end? With the sight of the new Mustang, which looks like it came right out of the late 1960's... this is a wonderful sight. The vehicle is actually modern!

I can't wait to see the interior of the Charger.