Design of the so-called new dodge charger

[MaximRecoil]

Nostalgia aside there is no real arguing that the LX platform and the new Charger is a home run for a company that has struggled in recent history. I see them everywhere.

That company being ... Fiat.

Chrysler Corporation
R.I.P.
1925–1998

[Stevearino]

Nostalgia aside there is no real arguing that the LX platform and the new Charger is a home run for a company that has struggled in recent history. I see them everywhere.

That company being ... Fiat.

Chrysler Corporation
R.I.P.
1925–1998

Sad but true.

[odcics2]

Nostalgia aside there is no real arguing that the LX platform and the new Charger is a home run for a company that has struggled in recent history. I see them everywhere.

That company being ... Fiat.

Chrysler Corporation
R.I.P.
1925–1998

Sad but true.

Agreed. 

In 1998 the heart of Chrysler was ripped out, still beating.    

[stripedelete]

Recent history??

[Patronus]

The very latest version is palatable, hell, I'd even buy one. Then I'd have a matching set. 'Cept one I can drive with the a/c on and a heated seat, 'cause it just feels good.

[wingcar]

Chrysler (aka Fiat) is in the business of making money, not keeping memories alive for a small group of musclecar enthusiasts.  That is not where the money is.  If it were, you would see a lot more Retro styling in the line-up.  Like it or not, 4-doors sell much better than 2-doors.   With 4-doors you can market to the family guy that has to use a baby seat in the back......not that easy if you own a new Challenger.  When the new Charger first came out I to jumped on the "a Charger is a 2-door not a 4-door so it's not a real Charger" band wagon.  But I have to say that it's a very good car and the latest is really nice looking.  A family guy can drive it and still feel a bit of the old musclecar fun factor....that is until the little one in the back has to use the bathroom.  Bottomline.....this subject is as dead as Mr. Ed.  Today's world is a lot different from the 1960's and 70's....and people tastes have changed.  Enjoy your classic and don't worry about what's parked in the showroom. 

[Road Dog]

  "A family guy can drive it and still feel a bit of the old musclecar fun factor....that is until the little one in the back has to use the bathroom"


This holds true for My a 2011 Challenger and my 1969 Charger as well.   

[MaximRecoil]

Chrysler (aka Fiat) is in the business of making money, not keeping memories alive for a small group of musclecar enthusiasts.  That is not where the money is.  If it were, you would see a lot more Retro styling in the line-up.  Like it or not, 4-doors sell much better than 2-doors.   With 4-doors you can market to the family guy that has to use a baby seat in the back......not that easy if you own a new Challenger.

Do you think it's possible that they could have made the exact same car and not called it "Charger"? I bet it is. They didn't call the K-Car "Charger", they didn't call the St. Regis "Charger", they didn't call the Diplomat "Charger", so I think that proves it is possible to make a 4-door and not call it "Charger", just as Ford is able to make 4-doors and not call them "Mustang", and GM is able to make 4-doors and not call them "Corvette" or "Camaro".

When the new Charger first came out I to jumped on the "a Charger is a 2-door not a 4-door so it's not a real Charger" band wagon.

Yeah, except, it is not a "band wagon", it is an obvious response to a blatantly "WTF?" scenario, and given that it is an obvious response, many, many people will have the same response without getting the idea for the response from someone else. A "band wagon" is when people are following others. For example, if someone said that two plus two equals five, you would get the same response wherever you go, i.e., "Wrong", and it has nothing to do with "jumping on a bandwagon". On the other hand, if someone says "YOLO", and people who hear it inexplicably think it's clever, and then start saying it themselves, that is a case of "jumping on the band wagon". 

But I have to say that it's a very good car and the latest is really nice looking.  A family guy can drive it and still feel a bit of the old musclecar fun factor....that is until the little one in the back has to use the bathroom.  Bottomline.....this subject is as dead as Mr. Ed.  Today's world is a lot different from the 1960's and 70's....and people tastes have changed.  Enjoy your classic and don't worry about what's parked in the showroom.

Not exactly. In general, 4-doors (and 2-doors big enough to be family cars, such as 2-door versions of the C-body) outsold performance-oriented 2-doors in the '60s and '70s too. For example, in the late '60s and early '70s, Plymouth sold more Furys than anything else. If you look at their list of models, most of them are family cars, and combined they drastically outsold the performance-oriented 2-doors such as the Barracuda, Road Runner, and GTX. If they could sell 100,000 of a performance-oriented 2-door model in a year, it was considered a smashing success. Meanwhile, they were selling ~200,000 Furys a year.

[odcics2]

      Saw yet another 2015 Dodge Charger.

This one was all black.   Until you see one on the street, in person, photos don't do it the justice it deserves.

This all black one had a '68ish look to the front.  (I owned a few 68s, back when they were a few years old, so I know a little abut them...)

Kinda like a Charger 500 with hidden lights...  Saw it in the rear view mirror, coming up.  I LIKE the daytime running lights.   

So, it pulled along side and went by.  The 3/4 rear view was cool, too.  Looks lean and serious.

I think it will be a sales success.     

[UH60L]

I'm glad they finally got rid of the truck front end, but unfortunately they gave it wrap around headlights and took away the indents in the hood.

They also made a horrid looking line/delineation between the "bumper" and the fender/headlight bulge on each side.  Should have made the bumper appear flat all the way across, looks stupid that way, like an afterthought.

I am hearing that the supercharged version will have a slightly different front end...hopefully better looking...


On a side note, anyone notice that the overall grill shape on the supercharged hellcat challenger has a very "early '70s roadrunner" shape to it?

[bill440rt]

      Saw yet another 2015 Dodge Charger.

This one was all black.   Until you see one on the street, in person, photos don't do it the justice it deserves.

This all black one had a '68ish look to the front.  (I owned a few 68s, back when they were a few years old, so I know a little abut them...)

Kinda like a Charger 500 with hidden lights...  Saw it in the rear view mirror, coming up.  I LIKE the daytime running lights.   

So, it pulled along side and went by.  The 3/4 rear view was cool, too.  Looks lean and serious.

I think it will be a sales success.     

X2 
They are not going to make another 2-door performance car in the lineup, they already have the Challenger. A retro 2nd Gen Charger isn't going to happen anytime soon (if not ever), but the '15 is the closest yet.
I happen to really like the redesign as well. It utilizes the most 2nd Gen styling cues so far: scalloped hood, sculpted doors, the swept upper belt line, etc. And there hasn't been a full width grille or tail panel treatment on a Charger since like when, 1974??  The interior looks very nice as well. Can't wait to get out of the minivan phase, I'll be in line for one.
This topic is dead already.

[1974dodgecharger]

They made the 2015 charger based off the 1969 charger!

http://media.chrysler.com/newsrelease.do;jsessionid=76DE62972CED50AC43EF88077BD55C58?&id=15536&mid=1

[Ghoste]

They got rid of the scalloped hood on the 15 though and I liked that styling cue.  I'm not crazy about the wraparound headlights so much either.

[wingcar]

The big question is why is this subject even being discussed?  The sixth generation Charger has been out since 2006....it's an old and tried story.  The new Charger is what it is because it sells...period.   Sorry for those that don't care for its looks or the fact that it has two extra doors, but the bottom line once again is...it sells.   Not everyone out there wants a 2 door performance car.  And, if they do, they have the new Challenger.  Is the new Charger the Charger of old...of course it's not...but for that matter it was never intended to be.  It's a car for today's masses, not a small group of enthusiasts.   For many only the early Chargers are true Chargers, and that's fine.  Enjoy your older Chargers, I do....but I have to say, modern muscle has its own advantages as I have come to know and love with my new Challenger.  My old 1970 RT/SE 440 Challenger is light years behind my new SRT....but then with 40 years of technical advancements...it should be.  I can appreciate both the old and the new Dodges for each offers something the other can't.  Lets move on......

[Road Dog]

I agree and well said.

[DTB]

I don't think they look that bad for what they are. You have to get past the fact they use the same name as the iconic car of the 60's. They don't look any worse than the big boat of a car the Charger became in its later years. I like the tail light design on the 13-14 model more than the new 15s.

[Ghoste]

I like the 14 style taillights too but the 15 may grow on me over time.  Do those led lamps get replaced as a cluster, you don't just pop a single led in if one fails do you?

[AKcharger]

This post is a lot like a combination of Hong Kong Disney land and waffle house...if you really think about it

[MaximRecoil]

I don't think they look that bad for what they are. You have to get past the fact they use the same name as the iconic car of the 60's.

I don't like that they add additional clutter to internet searches for "Dodge Charger", which wouldn't happen had they given it a more appropriate name.

They don't look any worse than the big boat of a car the Charger became in its later years.

I think they look way worse than even the fourth-generation "Corinthian Chargers". At least those weren't chunky 4-door sedans; "chunky" being a condition that nearly all cars made since about the early 00's are sorely afflicted with (the Ford Focus Effect™):



Ironically, a couple/few Fiat LX apologists on this thread have said that the 2015 "Charger" looks "lean". "Lean" is exactly the opposite of how it looks.

[JB400]

Manipulation of body lines and key characteristic features can give a vehicle a lean, sleek look regardless of its actual proportions.

Also, it can be just a matter of ones opinion

[Indygenerallee]

Safety features also play a major part of a vehicles design now, Nothing will ever look like a 66-74 Charger ever again and I think we can all agree on that!

[odcics2]

I don't think they look that bad for what they are. You have to get past the fact they use the same name as the iconic car of the 60's.

I don't like that they add additional clutter to internet searches for "Dodge Charger", which wouldn't happen had they given it a more appropriate name.

They don't look any worse than the big boat of a car the Charger became in its later years.

I think they look way worse than even the fourth-generation "Corinthian Chargers". At least those weren't chunky 4-door sedans; "chunky" being a condition that nearly all cars made since about the early 00's are sorely afflicted with (the Ford Focus Effect™):



Ironically, a couple/few Fiat LX apologists on this thread have said that the 2015 "Charger" looks "lean". "Lean" is exactly the opposite of how it looks.

Go drive one.   

[MaximRecoil]

Manipulation of body lines and key characteristic features can give a vehicle a lean, sleek look regardless of its actual proportions.

Also, it can be just a matter of ones opinion

"Chunky" never looks "lean"; those two words have precisely opposite meanings. I suppose you could say it looks lean relative to a UPS truck, but it certainly doesn't look lean relative to any previous generation of Charger.

Safety features also play a major part of a vehicles design now, Nothing will ever look like a 66-74 Charger ever again and I think we can all agree on that!

Regardless of why they do it, it's still chunky.

Go drive one.   

How would that change anything about it being a chunky 4-door sedan that clutters up internet searches? Practically all new cars drive well anyway, and I wouldn't buy any of them, even if I were a billionaire. And if for whatever reason I did want something along the lines of an LX platform car, I'd just go to the source and buy a Mercedes-Benz. At least they don't look like a malformed Durango.

[odcics2]

Car companies don't build aircraft carriers any more.   

I love my '69, but the world moves on.   

.24 cents a gallon for gas won't happen again.     

Welcome to 2014!   

[MaximRecoil]

Car companies don't build aircraft carriers any more.

What are you talking about?  

I love my '69, but the world moves on.

Yes, now "Chargers" are chunky, have wagon wheels, rubber band tires, 4 doors, and are ultimately a product of Fiat. By the way, "The world moves on" is a statement which points out the blatantly obvious, and which is effectively meaningless by itself; kind of like pointing out that the sun rises every day.  

.24 cents a gallon for gas won't happen again.

What of it?     

Welcome to 2014!   

Thanks, but you're about half a year late with your New Year's cheer.