ANOTHER MAGNUM BEING SCRAPPED RUMOR

[chargerboy69]

Alright, I am the one that started the Magnum getting scrapped thread last week. Here is another piece of information from the same very credible source. . . I was told the Magnum is being scrapped because of poor sales and the possability of the Challenger being produced on the Magnums old line. I heard DMX would not want to build a new plant for the Challenger. Sounds very reasonable to me. I am not stating this information as fact, but possabilities that are floating around Detroit.

[472 R/T SE]

I thought all models within that platform were built on the same line nowadays?

[Ghoste]

I think if the rumor is true, it's more an issue of the Bramalea plant already running at capacity.

[andy74]

I think if the rumor is true, it's more an issue of the Bramalea plant already running at capacity.

i agree,the charger sedan and 300 selll very well,and the magnum is the low man on the totem pole,so if one was to be whacked it will be the wagon

[KMPX2]

I was hopeing my plant would get it. We are set up to run 2 platforms . We were going to pick up the overflow of the new little SUV's but it was found out that our Paint shop dip tanks are not deeep enough for it.

[Ghoste]

What plant are you at?

[Headrope]

The Challenger concept is built on the LX platform used by the Dodge Charger and Magnum, but with a 4.0-in.-shorter wheelbase. That combined with Magnum's sales and the Neon's replacement possibly having a wagon option seem to doom the Magnum.

[chargerboy69]

I saw a Caliber last week ( I believe that is the Neons replacement). Looked like a decent little car. I live in the second largest city in Indiana and none of the Dodge dealers have one yet. I go to a Dodge dealer 60 miles away in a town with the population of less than 500 and they have one fully loaded. . . It is too bad if this is true. I do like the Magnum. One of my friends has a Hemi Magnum. It is a really nice car. It gives my Charger a run for the money. . .

[6670charger]

If it's true, it's too bad.  Given the choice between the Magnum and the Charger, I'd take the Magnum in a heartbeat.  It's a much better looking car.

[RT DAVE]

I think the "charger" that we all hate is outselling the magnum 3:1, so it makes sense that they'd kill.  The local dealer has seven 2005 models on their lot right now.   

[Ghoste]

Which of course is one the truisms about the modern car industry.  I think four door family cars always outsold wagons by that much or more but in todays marketplace, anything that isn't an out of the park homerun is considered a failure.  At one time, the automakers tried to build a vehicle to fill every niche but the Camry came along and taught them it was more profitable to offer one car with two option "packages" and three colors.

[Mike DC]

The entire auto industry suffers from an oversupply of cars & brands. I remember reading the statistic that the worldwide automaking capacity is 25% oversize.  The Asian makers got huge in the last 25 years and nobody else has gone out of business to compensate.

So the entire industry makes too many models, and every carmaker doens't sell quite enough of anything, so they all keep cutting & avoiding the less profitable models . . . So we get a million 4-door sedans that are virtually alike but nothing that anyone wants to own.

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Nobody in America wants to even hear this uncomfortable thought, but a lot of the worldwide automaking balance would probably be restored if GM would just go under for real.  (Not declare bankruptcy & get a government bailout so they can dump their old pension obligations to the UAW.  But rather if the entire GM would literally close down & cease to exist.)

                   

[Ghoste]

Maybe true but I'd rather see GM stay and Toyota go under.

[Mike DC]

                     
Me too.  But only because of the American jobs involved, not because GM deserves it.

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GM hasn't been a healthy company since the 1960s.  They're in so much trouble now because they've made short-sighted egotistical decisions for 40 straight years.  Sooner or later you pay the piper.

They may be boring as hell, but at least Toyota tries to make their cars work right.  Whereas GM was talking big about quality improvements on commercials with Bob Seger music, and quietly demanding double-digit price cuts from component suppliers as late as the 1990s.  (What the hell did they think was gonna happen?  Did they think the cars' reliability WASN'T gonna suffer?)

   

[8WHEELER]

If it's true, it's too bad.  Given the choice between the Magnum and the Charger, I'd take the Magnum in a heartbeat.  It's a much better looking car.

  I would buy Magnum before I bought a Charger, I think the Magnum is a better looking car, and is more versatile.

In my neck of the woods, I see lots of Magnums very few new Chargers, to me it seems there a lot more Magnums on the road.
So its hard for me to believe the Charger is out selling the Magnum. I have five friends with Magnums I don't know anybody that
owns a Charger.

Dan

[Ghoste]

I agree Mike.  I worked at a Pontiac Buick dealer for much of the 80's and back then the sales staff were told that they were paid less than other car reps in the city because GM cars were easier to sell and they "owned" (that is a direct quote that has stuck with me) 50% of the market, so in the end, they actually made more money in volume.  I also attended a service staff meeting once in which we were told that warranty costs were too high and it was the techs job to first prove that a repair was NOT a warrantable repair, and then to upsell to the consumer.

[RT DAVE]

If it's true, it's too bad.  Given the choice between the Magnum and the Charger, I'd take the Magnum in a heartbeat.  It's a much better looking car.

  I would buy Magnum before I bought a Charger, I think the Magnum is a better looking car, and is more versatile.

In my neck of the woods, I see lots of Magnums very few new Chargers, to me it seems there a lot more Magnums on the road.
So its hard for me to believe the Charger is out selling the Magnum. I have five friends with Magnums I don't know anybody that
owns a Charger.

Dan

The magnum has been out for a substantially longer time compared to the Charger which might explain this.  I agree with you about the Magnum being the more versatile of the two.  I'd buy a Magnum right now if I wouldn't have gotten laid off.  Maybe when I get another job.   

[Todd Wilson]

Maybe we will see a Challenger Wagon!   



Todd

[73rallye440magnum]

I really hope they make that challenger, it would be too bad to see the magnum leave though, I like it.

[mustanghater]

I think the magnum looks way better then the new charger. I think the charger should go.

[The Ghoul]

I think the magnum looks way better then the new charger. I think the charger should go.

I agree!
The calaber looks decent on the commercials but they are dancing that thin line between wagon and suv... the one the Matrix and vibe blurred.
I was thinking about a new car but cant affort the gto I wanted..
Im going to drop by the dodge dealer tomarrow... I think I could live with the $13K price tag on em.... Lets just hope its offerd in a manual, isnt too tall and stupid, and isnt a slug.

[SirNik73]

Sorry to say it, but most American cars SUCK! It wasn't always true, but they cut so many corners today to try and keep up that the end product suffers. Chrysler, thanks to the "Evil" Germans, seems to have put a lot of quality back into their cars, and low and behold they are the only member of the "Big 3" to make a profit! It's not the same world as it was back in the days of Harley Earl. As much as I'd love to live in those days, we live with gas prices that are through the roof, and we drive about 4 times further each day then we did in the hay day of American cars. So you need a reliable fuel efficient car. And sure enough, countries like Japan where people are sleeping in drawers have the most experience in building the type of cars that are expected by the modern buyer.
I honestly think that the Germans who are now operating Chrysler understand the importance of quality and they have the experience in building cars for a country that pays the equivalent of $5 a gallon for fuel.

With car buyers taking everything into account and looking for the best car they can it only makes since that car companies will be forced to make fewer cars, and specialize in select corners of the market.

If I want a Big truck I'd buy American in a heart beat, the American companies know how to build a big truck. If I want a small truck, well it would most likely be a Toyota; they know how to build small. If I want a powerful car, it's most likely going to be American, because they know power. If I want a fast car, then it would most likely be German, they know how to build safe fast cars. If I want a commuter car then its going to be Japanese, because they know how to build for traffic.

Its about who builds the best, plain and simple.

[SirNik73]

As for the Calaber blering the line between the SUV and Wagon, my Tercel did that in the 80s and you can't forget the Eagle 4WD.

[Mike DC]

     
Looks like something Mad Max would buy for his wife because it's "cute."