So where do you see the Charger name going into the future?

[Ghoste]

It's clear the name has some impact with the public at large and its equally clear the future for it will not be a two door retro throwback.  I think it will be around for at least another platform but I also think they will downsize it.  Somewhere above where the new Dart sits and the current Charger exists.  I also think the polarization of two door versus foor door Charger fans will lessen over time.
Opinions?

[odcics2]

The old farts that can't get with the 4 door program will die off, leaving the younger crowd to enjoy the name plate.   
Personally, growing up with a 68 as my first car and driven daily back in 1973, I don't have a problem with the amount of doors on the latest offering to carry the name Charger...    That's where the majority of the market resides.   If it were a 2 door, and had to cost more because of lower sales, would the 2 door lovers buy a new one??


I can see some changes as far as taking weight out to meet mileage rules in the short term.  8-10 years from now???   Hmmm, gunna have to be smaller... 

I know guys with the 3.6L 8 speed getting 35mpg on strict highway runs.   That's incredible for a car that size!   

[Alaskan_TA]

Charger on a battery operated car may be the next evolution for the name. They could call it the...........






Battery Charger.

[Ghoste]

Ouch!  And no ba-da-dum drum roll smiley just when you really need one.

[Alaskan_TA]

I added one for you.  

[JB400]

Short term, I'm seeing a hybrid   It wouldn't surprise me if there is a reincarnated 80's version as well   Either way, our American celebrity is going to leave a lasting impact on the auto industry

[Ghoste]

Do you think hybrids are about go industry wide?

[JB400]

Within 10 years, I say every car will be available as a hybrid.  I'm sure other engines will be available, but hybrids will definitely take over the industry until alternative fuels become more readily available.

[stripedelete]

I think the scenario you laid out is plausible, if not likely.  However, my guess is they will retire the name for a while before they use it again.

If the Charger name goes on the shelf look for Intrepid.

[Ghoste]

I agree, if only to meet the looming CAFE standards they will need to do that.  It may even be sooner than ten years.  It's interesting to me to think of the Charger nameplate moving into the future and see if its "core meaning" (I don't really know how to describe it) changes for the modern buyer or clings to the romanticized ideal of the past.

[Scaregrabber]

I see a 6 door Charger in the future. With the new Hemi/Six pack/ Max Wedge/Slant Sicks engine option for good measure.

Sheldon

[F8-4life]

NO way are hybrids going to take over in 10 years, the u.s has so many problems on their plate already they will gladly lean on gasoline as a crutch as long as possible.

[Alaskan_TA]

There are a dozen or so battery cars here in town that I know of maybe more.

We have hydro-electric power.

When water levels are low, usually in the winter they fire up diesel powered generators.

So, for at least part of the year, the green cars here are not so green. 

[JB400]

Our celebrity and CAFE have set it up to where the car companies have to average 35 mpg by 2015 ( I think) and average 50 mpg by 2025.  What that means is,  Dodge can build the Viper that gets 15mpg, but they have to build a vehicle that gets better gas mileage to average 35 mpg (2015). 

The only way car companies can acheive this is to either build smaller, more effiecent engines or use hybrids, or electric.

[b5blue]

I'm thinking a four door Fiat 500 with a cross hair grill and R/T stickers........or possibly a mini van.

[cdr]

ha ha the new name will be        CHARGEUR        

[F8-4life]

The only reason the charger name was ever brought back in the first place was because it still held some kind of meaning (to buyers-read easy $$$$) So that essentailly is a direct complement of the greatness of the classic chargers we all love. Just because a corporation can figure out how to make $$ by playing on their past does not mean I have to consider a new turdmobile as a "Charger". Just because I call a penny a nickel does not make it so...

[F8-4life]

lol sorry just kinda venting, but that is essentailly the reason I dont bother with new charger threads/

[67RedCharger]

I believe the CHARGER name will go to sleep in the future, unless someone in Mopar land realizes it should have never been made as a 4 door car.  ~ 67RedCharger~

[Ghoste]

I quite agree F8 but do you think they are going to continue or let the name drop?

[F8-4life]

I think as long as the "charger" name holds water for the buying public then yea it will be used. But otherwise I dont see any reason for the company to keep using it. Like in 1958 belvedere was top of the line, but by 1970 it was bottom of the barral and then dropped all together.

[hatersaurusrex]

I think as long as the "charger" name holds water for the buying public then yea it will be used. But otherwise I dont see any reason for the company to keep using it. Like in 1958 belvedere was top of the line, but by 1970 it was bottom of the barral and then dropped all together.

Whatever dude the Belvedere name was still top-drawer in the 80's:

[TheGhost]

I see it sticking on the fullsize sedan platform.  It's a popular car, not to mention the fleet sales it gets to police departments and the like.

[Cooter]

Like in 1958 belvedere was top of the line, but by 1970 it was bottom of the barral and then dropped all together.

The FURY was the "Top-o-the kine" in 1958. The Belvedere was the "poor mans Fury" in 1956-1958.

[F8-4life]

Indeed cooter you are right about the furys. p.s your profile pic is great, good for a laugh.
Also another thought, regardless of heritage the Charger name in and of itself is pretty badazz, especailly when considering all the crappy names they are pasting on cars nowadays.

[bill440rt]

If the Charger name is kept, it will probably be on a car that has evolved over the times just as it's always has been.

[UH60L]

Hopefully they will stop using it soon either due to slwoer sales or stricter cafe regs.

At this late in the game, it's unlikely they will build anything TRULY resembling a '66 to '74.  If that was going to happen, it probably needed to be done with the 2011 redesign.

I will say that every now and then car companies surprise me (nto usually a good surprise in my opinion though), so maybe the rumored challenger redesign will actually be what the charger becomes.


Seems like (to me) that over the last 3 years, chrysler has become a lot more tight lipped (or tight camera'd) about future releases until they are almost here.

I think perhaps if nothing else, they've learned not to say anything about using certain names until it's too late for the public to say WTF!  (they are already getting an earfull about "'cuda", even though it hasn't been officially announced...)

As to the evolution remark above, I don't think making the name a trim level on another car after having been it's own model for 8 years was evolving it. 

Also, evolution does not usually include long periods of extinction.......and then whoosh look a new version of an iguana popped out of that rock over there!   

When I think about a car "that has evolved over time", I envision a car that has had a continual, or mostly continual, existance.  A good example would be the mustang.  It has existed, in one form or another, since it first came out (yes, even the mustang II was a mustang, though not a great one, it at least still had....wait for it....two doors!           ).

[bill440rt]

You probably misunderstood the post.
Think about it. The Charger model wasn't always a musclecar. After '74 it became a luxo-barge (en vogue for the time). Then a 4-banger hatchback (again, popular for the time). The Charger model evolved with the changing times. That is a FACT.
Would I like to see a 2-door current model Charger? Of course! But, 4-door family sedans are popular right now (i.e. SELLING), so here it is. Like it or not.
What will happen in the future? It will probably evolve into whatever is popular at the time, maybe keep some styling cues of the past. Who knows. Maybe it will become a hybrid. Quite possible.   

[Ghoste]

Thats why I'm thinking it may see a return to a smaller platform if marketing tells them the name is viable.

[Dino]

Who cares about Chargers in the future, I want my flying Delorean dammit!   

I'm with Bill on this one.  The Charger name was not supposed to go on the current car but it did, and the next car they build where someone says 'hey I bet kids would love it', get the name again.  If something proves to bring in some coin then they will reuse the formula again and again until it fails.

[TheGhost]

Who cares about Chargers in the future, I want my flying Delorean dammit!   

We still have 3 more years to go, don't give up hope!

[Ghoste]

Unless you're a Mayan.

[UH60L]

You probably misunderstood the post.
Think about it. The Charger model wasn't always a musclecar. After '74 it became a luxo-barge (en vogue for the time). Then a 4-banger hatchback (again, popular for the time). The Charger model evolved with the changing times. That is a FACT.
Would I like to see a 2-door current model Charger? Of course! But, 4-door family sedans are popular right now (i.e. SELLING), so here it is. Like it or not.
What will happen in the future? It will probably evolve into whatever is popular at the time, maybe keep some styling cues of the past. Who knows. Maybe it will become a hybrid. Quite possible.   

Again, all I'm saying concerning "evolving" is that it usually does not include periods of extinction.  The ford F-250 has evolved.  The camaro evolved until what, the late 1990s (or was it early 2000s?).   

The charger evolved until 1974, then the name was just stuck on a few cars, then it died out completely,  then they stuck the name a couple more cars.  That's not evolution.

Nope, what they did with the charger name, would be more like Jurasic Park.  They attempted to extract the DNA, and it didn't quite come out right in the late '70s or '80s, so in the 2000s they cloned a car they called a "300" and then attempted a cross polinisation...still not right, in 2010/2011 they inject more 1968 to 1970 DNA....better but still not quite there.......what will happen next?  Only chrysler knows at this point.....and as I said, they seem to be the most secretive of the big 3 when it comes to future products.

I guess we'll find out in 2 years.

[JB400]

I think for Chrysler, it's best to stay secetive.  With Ralph Gilles running things, they're leader of the pack when it comes to most of the cars.  Besides, I don't understand what all the hubbub is all about when it comes to the new Charger.  If it's just a couple doors your complaining of, the rest of the car is worthy of calling itself a Charger

[200MPH]

I think for Chrysler, it's best to stay secetive.  With Ralph Gilles running things, they're leader of the pack when it comes to most of the cars.  Besides, I don't understand what all the hubbub is all about when it comes to the new Charger.  If it's just a couple doors your complaining of, the rest of the car is worthy of calling itself a Charger

well put..it could be a hell of lot worse..malibu, impala ss,gto

[Ghoste]

For sure there are many worse looking name droppers.

[Mike DC]

Nope, what they did with the charger name, would be more like Jurasic Park.  They attempted to extract the DNA, and it didn't quite come out right in the late '70s or '80s, so in the 2000s they cloned a car they called a "300" and then attempted a cross polinisation...still not right, in 2010/2011 they inject more 1968 to 1970 DNA....better but still not quite there.......what will happen next?  Only chrysler knows at this point.....and as I said, they seem to be the most secretive of the big 3 when it comes to future products.

I think this viewpoint still attributes more intention than the naming decision ever had.  

The Germans truly, madly, deeply, did not care about the history of the "Charger" name.  If "A-100 Van" had tested better than "Charger" then the new LX sedan would have been named the "A-100 Van."  They would not have been trying to convince the public that their new 4dr sedan was somehow related to the old A-100 vans.  

The Germans took an old name out of the pile.  That's all they did, and that is what they originally told the public they were doing at the time.  The attempts by Daimler/Chrysler to tie the new Chargers to the old ones came after they discovered how popular the retro connection was.  

[UH60L]

Nope, what they did with the charger name, would be more like Jurasic Park.  They attempted to extract the DNA, and it didn't quite come out right in the late '70s or '80s, so in the 2000s they cloned a car they called a "300" and then attempted a cross polinisation...still not right, in 2010/2011 they inject more 1968 to 1970 DNA....better but still not quite there.......what will happen next?  Only chrysler knows at this point.....and as I said, they seem to be the most secretive of the big 3 when it comes to future products.

I think this viewpoint still attributes more intention than the naming decision ever had.  

The Germans truly, madly, deeply, did not care about the history of the "Charger" name.  If "A-100 Van" had tested better than "Charger" then the new LX sedan would have been named the "A-100 Van."  They would not have been trying to convince the public that their new 4dr sedan was somehow related to the old A-100 vans.  

The Germans took an old name out of the pile.  That's all they did, and that is what they originally told the public they were doing at the time.  The attempts by Daimler/Chrysler to tie the new Chargers to the old ones came after they discovered how popular the retro connection was.  

Yeah, actually, right after "polinisation" it should say "....public outcry,".

I did notice that the guys speaking the loudest at chrysler at the time about it "not being a muscle car" were muted at one point (maybe even fired/moved to a different position) in favor of attemtping to make a connection between old and new.

For what it's worth, and I've said it before, even WITH 4 doors, if they had come out with the 2011 model back in 2006, I think there would have been far less resitstance (even from me) because it at least would have looked more like a charger.

[UH60L]

I think for Chrysler, it's best to stay secetive.  With Ralph Gilles running things, they're leader of the pack when it comes to most of the cars.  Besides, I don't understand what all the hubbub is all about when it comes to the new Charger.  If it's just a couple doors your complaining of, the rest of the car is worthy of calling itself a Charger

I like Ralph, he seems to be more of a car person than a lot of the people you see at the heads of car companies or divisions.  I think in the big picture he will at least try to right by car people when it comes to redesign and new designs.  At least he will listen, unlike many people.

I haev never personally attacked the sedan Dodge is selling.  It's probably a decent car (wouldn't know, have never so much as touched one, and never will).  If it's as fun to drive as the new challenger then it's probably great.  It's never been about the car, so much as it has the name. 

As for worthiness, you know what they say about opinions....

Dodge can call their cars by any name they want, they own the rights to do so.  I on the other hand, don't have to.

While I would love to see a proper two door, I think the first thing they need to do with any next refresh/redesign is drop to RAM truck front end.  I think that is one of the worst looking front ends on any modern car out there right now.  I mean hey, since they HAVE made the connection to the muscle car with the 2011 restyle and the so-called daytona and superbee "packages" and such, then they might as well give it a more "muscle car" looking front end.

But hey what do I know....I'll just cross my fingers, hope that Ralph will make the changes I want, and keep doing my two daily google searches that I've done since 2005.  ("dodge charger" -sedan) ("dodge charger" coupe -sedan)

[Dino]

I guess there's a few ways of looking at this.  For me, the car gets worse the more they try to make it look like the classic.  It's like putting hood and door indentations on a Civic.  Before it was a plain sedan, now it's a wannabee muscle car that is still a plain sedan.  The name is unfortunate, the redesign is pathetic.

I know a lot of people don't agree with this and that's fine, I don't mean to start a war over something as trivial as this.  It's just my opinion, nothing more.