2012 Charger first photo

[markstealth91]

Hey guys saw this today...



link: http://jalopnik.com/5397115/2012-dodge-charger-first-look

[RD]

looks like the concept from way before...

[bull]

looks like the concept from way before...

Yea, from that little bit of the side it looks just like the '99 concept to me. They'll probably keep the butt-ugly grill though.

[Forza]

Looks like they still have 4 doors....  I guess if it had 2 doors it would make sense... you know with the end of the world happening in 2012 and all.

[Silver R/T]

Looks like they still have 4 doors....  I guess if it had 2 doors it would make sense... you know with the end of the world happening in 2012 and all.

You mean "war of the machines"

[Nacho-RT74]

looks like the concept from way before...

99 concept

[miller]

looks like the concept from way before...

99 concept

It does look like the concept, but it has different proportions.

http://www.velocityjournal.com/images/full/1999/s99021201/dg99ch04.jpg

I'm not sure if you meant that it was the 99 concept, but it definitely isn't.

[Charger440RDN]

The idiot designers at Chrysler just don't get it. They have the greatest design ever created in the 2nd gen Charger for inspiration and it's like they are scared to go too retro on the Charger. This design looks better than the current charger but it still should be a coupe.   Hideaway headlights, sunken rear window, flip top gas cap should be requirements on the new Charger design and I know all of this can be done in a modern way.

[stripedelete]

The idiot designers at Chrysler just don't get it. They have the greatest design ever created in the 2nd gen Charger for inspiration and it's like they are scared to go too retro on the Charger. This design looks better than the current charger but it still should be a coupe. 

Solution:  Just buy the Pontiac division from GM and produce a retro GTO.  Bet you will start seeing 2DR Charger pics then .

[Nacho-RT74]

looks like the concept from way before...

99 concept

It does look like the concept, but it has different proportions.

http://www.velocityjournal.com/images/full/1999/s99021201/dg99ch04.jpg

I'm not sure if you meant that it was the 99 concept, but it definitely isn't.

I meant, inspired at least. The rear door has an extra pillar that concept doesn't have. Gas acces is at the opposite side and diff design, handles etc...

[Mr.Woolery]

I know I could pen a better design myself.

[Mike DC]

    
The 1999 concept's dimensions were never even close to practical for a production car.  The new Camaro's roof chop is widely considered to have been taken too far and it still looks higher than the 99 Charger concept's roof.



The reason that Mopar won't go fullbore after the 2nd-gen Charger styling is obvious - that idea makes way too much goddamn sense.  

[Cooter]

IMO, the Charger in 4dr form is that way for a reason...Chrysler was aiming at the "Too fat (Me )/old/crippled/too many kids but still wants a musclecar to haul the family in for his/her mid-life crisis" type people and they ARE BUYING them....The Challenger will Always be MORE Popular than the Charger at shows, On the street, popular opinion, etc. because people identify with it looking close to the '67-'69 Camaro...Everybody knows EVERYBODY loves those..

Chrysler answered the public's cry for a ponycar/musclecar by retroing the most popular car..The E-body cars...

If they had TWO musclecars out that were two doors, that would cut out a whole network of buyers that wouldn't buy them due to "no room", which defeats the entire purpose of a musclecar in the first place IMO...
I do agree that a 4dr Charger is like a Mustang GT Station Wagon.

[bull]

Looks real similar from the side. Same color too.

[stripedelete]

IMO, the Charger in 4dr form is that way for a reason...Chrysler was aiming at the "Too fat (Me )/old/crippled/too many kids but still wants a musclecar to haul the family in for his/her mid-life crisis" type people and they ARE BUYING them....The Challenger will Always be MORE Popular than the Charger at shows, On the street, popular opinion, etc. because people identify with it looking close to the '67-'69 Camaro...Everybody knows EVERYBODY loves those..

Chrysler answered the public's cry for a ponycar/musclecar by retroing the most popular car..The E-body cars...

If they had TWO musclecars out that were two doors, that would cut out a whole network of buyers that wouldn't buy them due to "no room", which defeats the entire purpose of a musclecar in the first place IMO...
I do agree that a 4dr Charger is like a Mustang GT Station Wagon.

Yep, why cannabolize your muscle car segment? There are three nice Pony's on the market now, leave it alone.

IMO a good strategy might be to drop the Charger name plate right now.  Then when the retro Pony's get long-in-the-tooth, drop the Challenger and roll the retro 2DR Charger. 

[mauve66]

a Mustang GT Station Wagon.

wheres the pic of that??

[Silver R/T]

still ugly imo

[billschroeder5842]

Heritic I am. The "New" charger is not. I love my '69. I'm not going to buy a new one. My "regular" daily drivers are BMWs and they fail by any comparison. Challengers are cool and If it were equiped with a twin turbo I buy one. New Dodge can't represent themselves as a performance company and have the germans blow them away.

[TexasStroker]

I used to get excited about viewing the new models...now I just brace myself to see if my expectations can be lowered any more that I had anticipated.

I think there is a market for a roomy, 4dr, performance car with good styling, handling, and potential.  I think if the revamp of the Charger had initially been slated as the Dodge "Insert Model Here" it would have been well received.

The fault with the current Charger and subsequently all their revisions is that it falls well short of the legacy of the storied Dodge Charger.  You do not screw with history and flirt with destroying a legend.  In my opinion the "Charger" name plate was brought back without reverence by the former company and thrown on the car with the sole purpose of increasing sales by name recognition...If you really want my honesty opinion they did the same with resurrecting the Hemi nameplate.

I do not take kindly to such unabashed abuse and neglect of legends all at the sake of turning (or trying to) a profit.

If I was given a new Charger that was well equipped I would gladly accept it and begin modifying the car to perform to my standards.  I think the model as it is now does fill a niche market and offers something for the "family" without having to sell your soul and get an econobox or the vehicle with the most cupholders. If I was married and had a kid I would definitely see the current Charger as one of the few "cool" options out there.  Lets face it, when you can pick between a 5.7 Hemi and an Avalon or Honda Pilot I would hope you would still consider the Charger as the most exciting option.

I try and make myself look at the current design as an "evolution" and "adaptation" to the modern world, but it is only of minimal help.  The new Challenger is a much more faithful redesign of the original and has been much better received because of that.

That said I am glad the model is still out there and hope that those who own and drive the new Chargers develop a pride and get the most from their vehicle.  I gladly welcome them under the Mopar umbrella and hope they will do their part to maintain the legacy as best they can with what they have to work with. 

Regardless of if the car has 4 doors and isn't a faithful standard bearer, if you can drive it everywhere and shame the other cars on the road that is alright by me 

[Ponch ®]

I think there is a market for a roomy, 4dr, performance car with good styling, handling, and potential.  I think if the revamp of the Charger had initially been slated as the Dodge "Insert Model Here" it would have been well received.

The fault with the current Charger and subsequently all their revisions is that it falls well short of the legacy of the storied Dodge Charger.  You do not screw with history and flirt with destroying a legend.  In my opinion the "Charger" name plate was brought back without reverence by the former company and thrown on the car with the sole purpose of increasing sales by name recognition...If you really want my honesty opinion they did the same with resurrecting the Hemi nameplate.

the only issue with the "it doesn't deserve to be called a charger" argument that we've been hearing since the car came out is that the only ones who care are guys like us, who own an old one or are into mopars in general. Compared to the general public, who couldn't give a rat's ass about the name, we're like .0001%. And out of that .0001%, about two thirds are old timers/blowhards who even before the new Charger came out insisted that theyre never buying a new car again anyway because their beat up 87 ram is good enough for them and it's paid off.

I own a new charger, don't care for the name either, but the car is pretty cool in it's own right. As Orange Crush once put it, I'd own a car named the "Veiny Shaft" if it was cool enough.

[ac_knight]

the only issue with the "it doesn't deserve to be called a charger" argument that we've been hearing since the car came out is that the only ones who care are guys like us, who own an old one or are into mopars in general. Compared to the general public, who couldn't give a rat's ass about the name, we're like .0001%. And out of that .0001%, about two thirds are old timers/blowhards who even before the new Charger came out insisted that theyre never buying a new car again anyway because their beat up 87 ram is good enough for them and it's paid off.

I own a new charger, don't care for the name either, but the car is pretty cool in it's own right. As Orange Crush once put it, I'd own a car named the "Veiny Shaft" if it was cool enough.

I have to agree that it is mostly the die hard Charger fans that hate the name.  Someone that doesnt know a Charger from a Challenger couldnt probably care less.  When naming a car the company should take all this into consideration.  Dodge has failed to do this on several occassions with the Charger, i.e. the late 70's and 80's models.  But with all the retro cars coming out, they needed to stick with what worked.  They wouldnt go putting the Ram name on midsize truck, because it isnt a Ram.  Same with the Charger, you dont put the name Charger on a 4 door sedan, because it isnt a Charger.  They should have kept the Charger  name for a care that was cool and based off the Chargers of the past.  Not just throw the name on a car and all it a Charger.  Dont get me wrong, I like the car, I call it the Intrepid, but I dont think its a Charger.  I drive one at work everyday, but I dont think for one second it is a Charger worthy of the storied name.   

[Ponch ®]

the only issue with the "it doesn't deserve to be called a charger" argument that we've been hearing since the car came out is that the only ones who care are guys like us, who own an old one or are into mopars in general. Compared to the general public, who couldn't give a rat's ass about the name, we're like .0001%. And out of that .0001%, about two thirds are old timers/blowhards who even before the new Charger came out insisted that theyre never buying a new car again anyway because their beat up 87 ram is good enough for them and it's paid off.

I own a new charger, don't care for the name either, but the car is pretty cool in it's own right. As Orange Crush once put it, I'd own a car named the "Veiny Shaft" if it was cool enough.

I have to agree that it is mostly the die hard Charger fans that hate the name.  Someone that doesnt know a Charger from a Challenger couldnt probably care less.  When naming a car the company should take all this into consideration.  Dodge has failed to do this on several occassions with the Charger, i.e. the late 70's and 80's models.  But with all the retro cars coming out, they needed to stick with what worked.  They wouldnt go putting the Ram name on midsize truck, because it isnt a Ram.  Same with the Charger, you dont put the name Charger on a 4 door sedan, because it isnt a Charger.  They should have kept the Charger  name for a care that was cool and based off the Chargers of the past.  Not just throw the name on a car and all it a Charger.  Dont get me wrong, I like the car, I call it the Intrepid, but I dont think its a Charger.  I drive one at work everyday, but I dont think for one second it is a Charger worthy of the storied name.   

I can see where you're coming from with that as well. I do think it's inappropriate that a 4 door car with a 175hp 2.7 engine is called a "Charger". I guess a nice compromise would have been to call the car something else and then give the "Charger" name exclusively to the HEMI / Daytona / SRT cars as a performance package.

[ChgrSteve67]

CORONET

[mauve66]

the only issue with the "it doesn't deserve to be called a charger" argument that we've been hearing since the car came out is that the only ones who care are guys like us, who own an old one or are into mopars in general. Compared to the general public, who couldn't give a rat's ass about the name, we're like .0001%. And out of that .0001%, about two thirds are old timers/blowhards who even before the new Charger came out insisted that theyre never buying a new car again anyway because their beat up 87 ram is good enough for them and it's paid off.

I own a new charger, don't care for the name either, but the car is pretty cool in it's own right. As Orange Crush once put it, I'd own a car named the "Veiny Shaft" if it was cool enough.

I have to agree that it is mostly the die hard Charger fans that hate the name.  Someone that doesnt know a Charger from a Challenger couldnt probably care less.  When naming a car the company should take all this into consideration.  Dodge has failed to do this on several occassions with the Charger, i.e. the late 70's and 80's models.  But with all the retro cars coming out, they needed to stick with what worked.  They wouldnt go putting the Ram name on midsize truck, because it isnt a Ram.  Same with the Charger, you dont put the name Charger on a 4 door sedan, because it isnt a Charger.  They should have kept the Charger  name for a care that was cool and based off the Chargers of the past.  Not just throw the name on a car and all it a Charger.  Dont get me wrong, I like the car, I call it the Intrepid, but I dont think its a Charger.  I drive one at work everyday, but I dont think for one second it is a Charger worthy of the storied name.   

I can see where you're coming from with that as well. I do think it's inappropriate that a 4 door car with a 175hp 2.7 engine is called a "Charger". I guess a nice compromise would have been to call the car something else and then give the "Charger" name exclusively to the HEMI / Daytona / SRT cars as a performance package.

i also wish it would of had 4 doors or looked more like the 99? version but, there were 6 cyl Chargers in the old days................ least we forget.................

[FastbackJon]

Hmm.... well at least we know it has the roofline of a nissan altima.

[bull]

Yes, except the line continues down to form a quasi-Charger door scallop design of sorts. Hey, I'm just hoping a step in the right direction would be a move away from the Silverado grill...

[Ponch ®]

Yes, except the line continues down to form a quasi-Charger door scallop design of sorts. Hey, I'm just hoping a step in the right direction would be a move away from the Silverado grill...

hahah...i had one of those grills on my car...for about 1 minute. put it on and hated the look, took it off and put it on the lx forums for sale section. got a black crosshairs grille instead.

[ChgrSteve67]

Funny how today every line is a rip off from another car.

I use to tease a friend of min that his Infiniti J30 looked just like a Ford Taurus

[FastbackJon]

Looks like it apparently also shares it's roofline with the 2004 Mitsubishi Galant...    

Hmm.... well at least we know it has the roofline of a nissan altima.

[SG1022]

Looks like it apparently also shares it's roofline with the 2004 Mitsubishi Galant...    

Some VERY big similarities between that galant and the current chargers 

[Charger440RDN]

Hmm.... well at least we know it has the roofline of a nissan altima.

When you look at the body line on the Altima it appears to mimic the 2nd gen Charger body line a little   Just a coincidence? Or have the nissan designers been studying old Mopars?
I guess since Chrysler is scared to use the old 2nd gen design on the new Charger, some other company is bound to copy it sooner or later