2011 Dodge Challenger Details Revealed, Including 475HP SRT8

[Rustymuscle]

To Check Out the Whole Article and All the Details, Click the Link Below!
http://www.streetlegaltv.com/news/2011-dodge-challenger-details-revealed-including-475hp-srt8/

Today's newest generation retro-inspired muscle cars are just getting better with each passing month. We recently saw Ford's resurrected BOSS 302 making 460 horsepower. Then there's all the rumors swirling around the clandestine '11 Z/28 rumored to share the CTS-V Cadillac's 560hp LSA. All of this leaves the current Challenger back in a distant third...right? The muscle car that truly brought retro-styled muscle cars back in vogue, the Dodge Challenger, has not received any major updates since 2008.



Light 'Em Up,
Kevin Shaw
Editor
StreetLegalTV.com

[bull]

It does my heart good to see the "big three" duking it out in this arena again.

[69bronzeT5]

I can't wait to drive one at work....with the manager's permission of course Hey Kevin, how's your '69 coming by the way?

[Mike DC]

The muscle car that truly brought retro-styled muscle cars back in vogue, the Dodge Challenger, has not received any major updates since 2008.

Ford really has to get the credit for bringing retro back with the 2005 Mustang redesign.  It wasn't the first retro car but it was the one that broke the door down. 

The Krauts didn't think a retro 2006 Charger would sell until they saw what happened with the 05 Mustang.  The 2008 Challenger basically amounts to a bashful admission that they were wrong. 

[Rustymuscle]

Bronze, things are good. And now that I'm the editor of Street Legal TV, what was once the Mopar Muscle "Brazen Charger" will now be a SLTV project car.

Although we're about a month and a half away from a formal announcement, DodgeCharger.com has been a home-away-from-home, so I'll give you a sneak peek at the Charger's new name and logo:



The plan is for a naturally-aspirated, pump gas 4.250-inch bore, 4.5-inch stroked HEMI, high-stall, reverse manually-shifted 727, Dana 60 with 4.88 spool. All street driven. All motor. High 10-seconds using all the tricks Dick and Mike Landy used on their '68-'70 Chargers and just a couple extras, but still totally old school, DIY tech. No cheats. No computers.

(We were toying with the idea of inviting Hot Rod's Dave Frieburger to bring out his '70 HEMI Super Bee for a showdown at Fontana.)

What do ya think? Let me know!

Light 'em up,
Kevin Shaw
Editor
StreetLegalTV.com

[69bronzeT5]

Saaawweeeetttt!

[mopar0166]

Any new details on the 2011 challenger , or the new 2011 challenger rallye coming out?

[Landonsrt]

I can't wait to drive one at work....with the manager's permission of course Hey Kevin, how's your '69 coming by the way?

I drive them all the time when they come in. Usually while they are being inspected. Especially the 6 speeds!!! We'll see how much a difference it really makes..

[Cooter]

Boss Mustang= $$$$$$
475 SRT8 Challenger = $$$$$$$
425 HP Camaro 427= $$$$$$$


Where's the definaition of "Musclecar" in any of these today? Where's the elcheapo body with no frills and the huge engine with whatever options the CUSTOMER ORDERS on it, for a resonable price tag? Why do these vehicle cost What a small house costs to get?


If history really does repeat itself, this may be the last hoorah of the musclecars before the "Gas crunch" shuts 'em down for a second time, only this time, it will be the "Green" folks driving round in stupid cars doing the dictation..

[Ponch ®]

Boss Mustang= $$$$$$
475 SRT8 Challenger = $$$$$$$
425 HP Camaro 427= $$$$$$$


Where's the definaition of "Musclecar" in any of these today? Where's the elcheapo body with no frills and the huge engine with whatever options the CUSTOMER ORDERS on it, for a resonable price tag? Why do these vehicle cost What a small house costs to get?


If history really does repeat itself, this may be the last hoorah of the musclecars before the "Gas crunch" shuts 'em down for a second time, only this time, it will be the "Green" folks driving round in stupid cars doing the dictation..

What did the average new muscle car go for in the 'golden era' of the late 60's/early70's 1969? $4-5k? When you take into account that those $4-5k equal about $25-30K of today's money and you can buy a V6 Camaro that puts out 300hp for less than $25k or a base Challenger R/T that would probably blow the doors off most classic muscle cars OR a 430hp V8 Camaro for about $30K, it's not exactly a huge leap in price. Add in the huge improvements in suspension, fuel economy, safety, and overall reliability of even the most basic new car over an old one, and it all starts to fall into place.

Sure, the SRTs / SVTs / SS (or whatever Chevy is designating it's hi-po cars nowadays) are a lot more expensive than that, but so was a Daytona or a Judge back in it's day.

Perspective son, perspective. The good ol' days were never really as good as one remembers....

[bull]

In 1968 an R/T Charger cost about $3,500 which is equal to $21,577 today according to this: http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl
In 1968 the median household income was $8,630 according to this: http://www2.census.gov/prod2/popscan/p60-063.pdf

The median household income in 2009 was $49,777 according to this: http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p60-238.pdf (page 4)
The cost of a 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T was $39,055 according to this: http://cars.about.com/od/dodg1/gr/09challenger_rt.htm

So back then a 68 Charger R/T would cost less than half your annual salary. Today, a Challenger R/T costs about 4/5 your average salary. And the average salary today should actually be $54,138.87 according to the inflation calculator. So there's some perspective.

[Ponch ®]

In 1968 an R/T Charger cost about $3,500 which is equal to $21,577 today according to this: http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl
In 1968 the median household income was $8,630 according to this: http://www2.census.gov/prod2/popscan/p60-063.pdf

The median household income in 2009 was $49,777 according to this: http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p60-238.pdf (page 4)
The cost of a 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T was $39,055 according to this: http://cars.about.com/od/dodg1/gr/09challenger_rt.htm

So back then a 68 Charger R/T would cost less than half your annual salary. Today, a Challenger R/T costs about 4/5 your average salary. And the average salary today should actually be $54,138.87 according to the inflation calculator. So there's some perspective.

I guess that's a also a good way of looking at it, though I wonder how that stacks up against other things...housing, travel /  vacation costs, etc in the same context.

[bull]

One other factor I was going to mention but didn't is how debt plays such a big role today in auto purchases. I think debt itself has caused increases in inflation over the years because people are now more willing to purchase things they really shouldn't. And the prices of large ticket items can creep up faster than wages because people only have to afford the payment instead of the whole price tag. Look at how many things are financed today that weren't 40 years ago. And how many more monthly bills do people now have than they once did? Cell phones, cable, satellite radio, etc.

[tricky lugnuts]

I like that inflation-adjusted comparison between the 1968 Charger and the 2009 Challenger.

I have to say, there's a reason I don't and won't ever buy one: They cost too much. In many parts of the country, you can buy about two-thirds of a house, if not a whole house, for around $40K, the same price as an optioned out Challenger after taxes, title, plates, first tank of gas, etc.

They're nice for people with the disposable income and credit rating to support one. Otherwise, yawn. Give me a $40k line of credit and I'll build a 1968 Dodge Charger that does just about everything as nice as the new Challenger, performance-wise, and looks cooler, too.

And yes, the proliferation of credit certainly fuels cost increases - it's money that would otherwise not be available in the economy, which allows for new demand for goods and services. Think of it as a lever acting upon the rest of the money in circulation. And yes, that lever has grown pretty big since the late 1960s.

It'd be tough if not impossible to calculate percentages, etc., but the availability of cheap credit and a novel array of financing instruments seems to have really jacked up house prices over the last few years, if you know what I mean . . . And all of the deb that was refinanced into houses helped fuel the rising prices of muscle cars, I bet, too!

Now that we're completely off topic!