Design of the so-called new dodge charger

[69charger2002]

the current charger was the only one that even looked remotely decent. this '15 looks like a super sized dart, and I don't think that's a good thing. But I also don't think the redesign of the challenger looks very good too, save for the interior. HUGE step up there.. But it's all just opinions like anything else..

[jaak]

I want an ex-police car, with a Hemi in it. Plain jane with a V8.....sleeper like in the muscle car era. 





I don't get the crying saying it doesn't deserve the 'Charger' name? Do auto manufacturers have criteria/specs to put a badge on a car? It doesn't matter if its called a Coronet, Cordoba, Monaco, Intrepid, or Charger (which it is), Its a good looking car. This is 'dodgecharger.com' I welcome them as part of 'Charger' Family.

Jason

[MaximRecoil]

I don't get the crying saying it doesn't deserve the 'Charger' name?

"Crying"? Is that like the "crying" from you and the other LX apologists that the Fiat is being unfairly picked on?

Do auto manufacturers have criteria/specs to put a badge on a car?

Logically, yes. For example, how about a Ford F150 sports car? How about a Chevrolet Corvette station wagon? How about a Jeep Wrangler subcompact hatchback car? How about a Dodge Charger 4-door sedan ... oh wait ...

It is funny how malleable some people are. If someone had made a poll on this or a similar forum in e.g., 2005:

"Do you think a new Dodge Charger should be a 4-door sedan?"

I highly doubt there would have been many, if any, "yes" replies.

Does anyone here think the Challenger should become a 4-door sedan? If they did it, apologists would soon be coming out of the woodwork, I'm sure.

[JB400]

Better a 4 dr sedan than just another nameplate faded into obscurity.

[Black Charger]

How about a Chevrolet Corvette station wagon?

In 1954, Chevrolet produced a Corvette Nomad that traveled to various auto shows. It was a cool-looking car, but there was so little demand for sporty station wagons (even the iconic 1955-57 Nomads were produced in very small numbers compared to other models during those years), so it never made it into production.

[Ghoste]

Indeed, there are kits now to convert your late model Vette into a wagon.

[jaak]

I'm not an apologist, I don't even own an LX car. I got a Dakota, Caravan, and 2 Classic Chargers. I'm just saying it's a good looking car, and I would have one. Some like 'em some don't. Hell there's folks that don't like our old ones.

Jason

[Mike DC]

Logically, yes. For example, how about a Ford F150 sports car? How about a Chevrolet Corvette station wagon? How about a Jeep Wrangler subcompact hatchback car? How about a Dodge Charger 4-door sedan ... oh wait ...

It is funny how malleable some people are. If someone had made a poll on this or a similar forum in e.g., 2005:

"Do you think a new Dodge Charger should be a 4-door sedan?"

I highly doubt there would have been many, if any, "yes" replies.

Does anyone here think the Challenger should become a 4-door sedan? If they did it, apologists would soon be coming out of the woodwork, I'm sure.

So, which one do you think they should have done - Keep the Charger in its original place in the car market, or keep it 2dr?  In the 21st century it hast to be one or the other, because things have changed in the last 45 years.  

Those two hitmen in "Bullitt" would have been in sinister black muscular 4dr sedan if the movie was made today!  No matter how frustrating, annoying, infuriating, sacrilegious, and evil this might sound, it is the plain and simple truth!  

[Baldwinvette77]

Yeah i do admittedly like the 2011-2014 Chargers, But still wish they would atleast make a 2 door version.. Freaking civics and accords have 2 and four door versions available 

[Mike DC]

                              
Civics have always been smaller models than Chargers.  More like a Dodge Dart than a Charger.  

A lot of those "modern" 2dr Accords running around are 20 years old.  Guys like us are the only ones who think of the 1990s as recent times in the car industry.  

[Ghoste]

Not to mention Honda has what, 3 models including that pickup-ish thing?

[Cooter]

No need to hate any longer on the 'Mercedes' Charger. Afterall, when you are out in a 2nd gen and roll up beside one, the owners almost ALWAYS give the 2nd gen. A "thumbs up". That porky 4dr, even faster than my old 2nd gen; wishes it will be revered,  respected, and cherished like the 2nd gens are now.

Those "Mercedes" Chargers will continue to be bought by the masses that 'think' they have a muscle car with twin exhausts, and a little badge here and there (with the kids in the back).
Look at it this way. There are the weekend warriors that cruise on bikes and there are the hardcore bikers.
The 2nd gen. Made the Charger name, the latest creation is just riding coat tails.
John Schneider and Tom Wopat would love to known for shows/movies/characters they have done in the last 35 years, but guess what? They will be "Bo and Luke Duke" till they die. Because first out the gate, wins the whole plate, just as with the "original" Charger. It was a Sports car, with muscle and style.
Today, as with everything else, it's been reduced to a 4dr so the soccer parents can take little Johhny/Suzy to practice, but not let "dad" feel like his balls have been unsnapped and put in wife's purse entirely.

[MaximRecoil]

So, which one do you think they should have done - Keep the Charger in its original place in the car market, or keep it 2dr?  In the 21st century it hast to be one or the other, because things have changed in the last 45 years.

Let the "Charger" name rest in peace if they can't do it justice. The Barracuda name is still resting in peace, as is the Road Runner name. The Challenger name was resurrected properly; more or less anyway. It is chunkier than it should be, but it mostly looks the part.

This "chunky" trend is asinine. I pulled into a parking spot at the grocery store today in my '69, and looked up at the car beside me, which sat up so high / was so thick in the middle that it seemed like an "SUV" in comparison to my car. Since I don't recognize many new cars by sight (they all look like minor variations of the ~same yawn-fest crap), I looked at the name plate as I walked by. It was a bone-stock Toyota Camry, which, last I knew, was supposed to be a compact car:

http://newartcars.com/data_images/gallery/toyota-camry/toyota-camry-12.jpg

Look at that bloated heifer.

When I was a kid my neighbors had a Camry. It looked like this:

http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/3/1684/3501/29209250001_large.jpg?v=0

[Mike DC]

I agree. 

But to say it again, times have changed.  People expect a modern car to be EVERYTHING, from comfy to safe to fast to agile to long-lasting to quiet to efficient to clean to cheap.  And the govt adds all sorts of things like demanding the front ends be non-injurious to pedestrians. 

Modern designers are painted into a corner. They end up doing these bulbous body shapes because it's the only way they can meet all the demands being put on them. 

[UH60L]

I have to say that the whole "go drive one" or "have you driven one?" argument is pretty silly.

Every day that I have had access to the internet since the announcement in 2005, I have gone onto google and searched for: "Dodge Charger" -sedan.  (that's "dodge charger" minus sedan)

I will continue to do that search at least once a day until either I die, or dodge makes a real two door charger again. 

There are few things in life I absolutely hate more than the fact that Dodge put that name on that car.  When I get my challenger serviced at the dealership I stay inside the waiting room because I don't want to be seen anywhere near one of those cars (and the dealership got mad at me for threatening to break all the windows out of every one they had if they kept calling them charger in front of me and trying to sell me one).  I am not now, nor will I ever be, in the market for a 4 door car of ANY name or brand.  I would not want anyone to see me in one of those cars.  I would not be caught dead in one of those cars.  I don't care if it goes a hundred thousand miles per hour and puts every '50s '60s and '70s mopar to shame, I would never buy one.

So, knowing that's how a lot of people feel, why would any sane human being suggest that I, or anyone else,  "go drive one"?  It's just not going to happen.

It's like telling someone who is allergic to cheese to go try the new cheeseburger at burger king...

[Indygenerallee]

I have to say that the whole "go drive one" or "have you driven one?" argument is pretty silly.

Every day that I have had access to the internet since the announcement in 2005, I have gone onto google and searched for: "Dodge Charger" -sedan.  (that's "dodge charger" minus sedan)

I will continue to do that search at least once a day until either I die, or dodge makes a real two door charger again.

There are few things in life I absolutely hate more than the fact that Dodge put that name on that car.  When I get my challenger serviced at the dealership I stay inside the waiting room because I don't want to be seen anywhere near one of those cars (and the dealership got mad at me for threatening to break all the windows out of every one they had if they kept calling them charger in front of me and trying to sell me one).  I am not now, nor will I ever be, in the market for a 4 door car of ANY name or brand.  I would not want anyone to see me in one of those cars.  I would not be caught dead in one of those cars.  I don't care if it goes a hundred thousand miles per hour and puts every '50s '60s and '70s mopar to shame, I would never buy one.

So, knowing that's how a lot of people feel, why would any sane human being suggest that I, or anyone else,  "go drive one"?  It's just not going to happen.

It's like telling someone who is allergic to cheese to go try the new cheeseburger at burger king...

Tell us how you really feel???.... (BTW Fiat will never make a 2 door Charger again and they will only look more European from now on, sorry to burst your bubble...)

[Cooter]

I agree. 

But to say it again, times have changed.  People expect a modern car to be EVERYTHING, from comfy to safe to fast to agile to long-lasting to quiet to efficient to clean to cheap.  And the govt adds all sorts of things like demanding the front ends be non-injurious to pedestrians. 

Modern designers are painted into a corner. They end up doing these bulbous body shapes because it's the only way they can meet all the demands being put on them. 

I don't buy it. I think there have always been the cars for the types of people that need 4drs. They are/were called "Station wagons, Imperial, New Yorkers, etc."

The name Charger was conceived simply to be a sports car. The fact that someone dropped all the 4dr vehicles, and decided to 'combine' the two using the sports car nameplate simply means times didn't/wouldn't have 'changed' if the buying public weren't watered down to the point that they simply buy anything that's put in front of them. Dodge forced the 'change' by turning the Charger nameplate into what it is today instead of leaving the 'family sedan' in the caravan/Intrepid arena. The sad part is, there are defenders of this.

[Ghoste]

The first time they named it, it was an expression of the youth market power crazy times.  The second time they named they took a list of names to market research groups (polls of soccer moms in malls) and asked them which one they recognized most as being associated with Dodge.  Same purpose both times but a different way of doing it and a refelction of where we are today.

[Mike DC]

The people who used to buy Imperials & station wagons & New Yorkers 40 years ago, are buying Durangos & minivans & quad-cab Rams & Chrysler 300s these days.  The people who used to buy Challengers & Darts 40 years ago, are buying Challengers & Darts these days.

The demographic for the new Charger is not so very different from the original.  It's arguably a bit older & more affluent but not dramatically.  That is just a reflection of the wholesale shift in all new car buyers.  New car prices have gone up while used cars are lasting longer & more socially acceptable.  


The new Charger holds roughly the same place in the market that the original did - which is actually an interesting coincidence since the name was assigned to it arbitrarily 9 years ago.

[Ghoste]

Good point Mike.  The Chargers we revere so much were a relatively expensive car in 1969.  You don't often hear stories of teenage gas jockeys buying them like you do road runners.  You saw Charger ads in Playboy as much as anywhere else so clearly Dodge knew the target was an older buyer with a little more money.
I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of Charger buyers then were late 20's, just married with a yound child and first home.  Not ready to let go of the road runner years yet and could afford the better looking Charger but maybe with a 318.  Because they sold a LOT of 318 Chargers back then.

[bill440rt]

Good point Mike.  The Chargers we revere so much were a relatively expensive car in 1969.  You don't often hear stories of teenage gas jockeys buying them like you do road runners.  You saw Charger ads in Playboy as much as anywhere else so clearly Dodge knew the target was an older buyer with a little more money.

Exactly. The Charger was never marketed as a "sports car". The Corvette was/is marketed as a "sports car".
The Charger was marketed as an upscale mid-size performance car, a "gentleman's hot rod" I believe was quoted in write-ups of the time. As the muscle-era came to a close, it transformed into a "personal luxury car". Then an econo-box. 
It's once again an upscale performance car, and yes it's selling, and like it or not has a HUGE following in both young & older drivers. 4-doors or not it's really come full-circle.

[Cooter]

The only reason this Charger sells is because there's a lack of a 2dr SPORTS model.
all these kids can get is a granny 4dr. I venture to say put a 68-70 2DOOR SPORTS ROOF model against ANY SRT 4dr Charger, and even when it comes to the silver hairs, we'll see which one sells first, and possibly for more money.

If the huge following is such a testament to the success of the new Charger, then why is this 50 y/o bodystyle STILL (Given a choice which is the key here), more popular???

[odcics2]

  I don't think there is enough public interest in Dodge having 2 cars with 2 doors today. 

  In 1970, the Challenger came out and Charger sales PLUMMETED.  Various factors: recession starting, Charger styling "old", had vent windows, which were considered 'old'...   

If the current Charger was also available as a 2 dr., Challenger sales would drop.   TOTAL sales between the cars would be the same.
So, in essence, all that money spent on extra tooling for what??   No overall sales gain?       Just an opinion...   

The market was shifting even back then...  Who would have thought the '73 Charger SE with OPERA WINDOWS would be a huge hit??
I listened to rock in my 74 SE anyway, opera windows or not!!   

[MaximRecoil]

It's once again an upscale performance car, and yes it's selling, and like it or not has a HUGE following in both young & older drivers.

You're overselling it there a bit with "HUGE" in all caps:

U.S. Sales Figures:

2006 - 114,201
   
2007 - 119,289
   
2008 - 97,367
   
2009 - 60,651
   
2010 - 75,397
   
2011 - 70,089
   
2012 - 82,592
   
2013 - 98,336

In its best-selling year so far, it only sold about as many as the 1973 Charger. Keep in mind that the U.S. population in '73 was about 212 million (1 Charger for every ~1,782 people), and the '73 Charger was a 2-door hardtop or coupe. On the other hand, the population in the U.S. in 2007 was about 302 million (1 "Charger" for every ~2,538 people), and the '07 "Charger" was a more "mainstream" 4-door sedan. In the late '60s and early '70s, Plymouth Furys were selling at the rate of about 200,000 a year (still keeping in mind the significantly lower population back then) ... I guess those had a HUGE following.

The LX "Chargers" haven't exactly set the world on fire.

4-doors or not it's really come full-circle.

In reality, it being a 4-door sedan prevents it from having come full-circle, by definition. It is in a fundamentally different category of car than real Chargers.

[bill440rt]

It's once again an upscale performance car, and yes it's selling, and like it or not has a HUGE following in both young & older drivers.

You're overselling it there a bit with "HUGE" in all caps:

U.S. Sales Figures:

2006 - 114,201
   
2007 - 119,289
   
2008 - 97,367
   
2009 - 60,651
   
2010 - 75,397
   
2011 - 70,089
   
2012 - 82,592
   
2013 - 98,336

In its best-selling year so far, it only sold about as many as the 1973 Charger. Keep in mind that the U.S. population in '73 was about 212 million (1 Charger for every ~1,782 people), and the '73 Charger was a 2-door hardtop or coupe. On the other hand, the population in the U.S. in 2007 was about 302 million (1 "Charger" for every ~2,538 people), and the '07 "Charger" was a more "mainstream" 4-door sedan. In the late '60s and early '70s, Plymouth Furys were selling at the rate of about 200,000 a year (still keeping in mind the significantly lower population back then) ... I guess those had a HUGE following.

The LX "Chargers" haven't exactly set the world on fire.

Whatever, Rainman. 
You twist words to suit your agenda. Sales figures and having a following are two separate ideals. 4-doors or not, if you can't see the amount of interest groups these cars have created then you are f**king blind. The Edsel was a sales flop, yet these days they are amongst a pretty dedicated set of enthusiasts. And where are the enthusiast groups for those passenger car Furys? I rest my case. 

4-doors or not it's really come full-circle.

In reality, it being a 4-door sedan prevents it from having come full-circle, by definition. It is in a fundamentally different category of car than real Chargers.

In reality, 4-doors or not, it has.