Some folks just can't be satisfied (new Challenger tale)

[Ghoste]

A guy I work with bought a new Challenger SRT8 and I asked him today how he liked it.  His response was that it was okay but he thought it would be a lot quicker.  I asked him how quick it was and he said the on board computer has shown a best of 13.3 at 107.  I pointed out that 13.3 for a 4000 lb car under warranty meeting current emmission regs and getting 20+ mpg is pretty much smoking but he was less than overwhelmed.  I offered to take it off his hands for 1/2 of what he had in it but he didn't want to do that either.  Some folks just can't be satisfied. 

[Dan T]

I agree. I don't understand how someone can be unhappy with a car like the Challenger. It's the best looking thing to come out in the last 35 years, goes faster than almost anything else on the road, and still gets decent fuel millage.
Some people are so unappreciative of  things. He probably paid almost as much for it as a Viper, and now wants Viper performance..
Too bad for him, he should have waited for an '09 with a six speed, and could have gotten it for half what he paid some dealer for his!!

[bull]

Well, the way they hyped the damn thing I'm surprised it doesn't outrun a top fuel funny car, get 48 mpg and give you a back rub all at the same time.

[Steve P.]

I wish I could get in and out of cars that sit low. I would own a new Chally in a heartbeat.....   

[Ghoste]

I think it is an 09, he's only had it 3 weeks.

[Silver R/T]

how much did he pay for it? He's gotta understand that it cant be dependable, good mpg, good looking/retro style, comfortable, roomy, etc all in one package. You have to sacrifice something for something. If he's loaded he can get upgrades for it and have it run low 12's on radials all day long and still get decent mpg and be street legal.

[Brock Samson]

the best part is it looks cool.

I'm tired of the orange though. 

[68charger383]

Well, the way they hyped the damn thing I'm surprised it doesn't outrun a top fuel funny car, get 48 mpg and give you a back rub all at the same time.

13.3 Sounds good to me. True, it should beat anthing on the road with all the pre-sale hype. However, I know from some reading of the mods done by new Charger/Magnum owners it is pretty easy and cheap to sqeeze some performance out of the stock car.

+ that beats the Mustang GTs and Shelby 500s in the real world with non-pro drivers........

The 2005 Mustang per Motor Week and the 2008 Bullit Mustang per Edmunds were only running 13.8 1/4s http://www.mpt.org/motorweek/reviews/rt2438.shtml

This guy in a Shelby GT 500 could only run 13.9 and the other posters in the forum had similar time results. http://www.teamshelby.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t32030.html

The Shelby GT 500 does a 12.7 1/4 (Pro Driver)  http://www.mpt.org/motorweek/reviews/rt2625a.shtml

[WingCharger]

  WTF?

[7chargers]

Maybe the guy came from the chevy corvette side of the houe, those guys are used to buying muscle where money seems to be no object! As I like to call them rich man's hot rod..

[Ghoste]

No Vettes, he's more of a Harley guy.  His past car ownership has been mainly Chevy's but he has had some Mopars in the past.  I think he's just a guy who can't be satisfied or isn't really cognizant of how quick low 13's actually are for a street car.

[TK73]

I'm perfectly happy with my high 13's/low 14's '08 GT at $15k less than an SRT   

[Mopar2Ya]

I think it's the way the newer cars drive/feel/sound/etc. My SRT would smoke my '70(in it's orig form), but the '70 felt faster & much more dangerous. The SRT is smooth & unsuspecting. The SRT's also have lots of electronic nannies, making them smoother. The computer pulls timing on shifts, as to save the tranny. I have no personal experience, but other owners use the Diablo predator w/a custom tune to get more of a crisp shift. I'm hoping the 6.4L shows up in the Chally very soon.

[CHRGR SE]

A customer of the shop that is doing my car has a new Challenger in for a supercharger upgrade after he got smoked by a newer vette and a mbz. To each their own, I would leave the new car alone, for a while at least... 

[Ghoste]

It'd be fun to mod it enough to turn the tables on the Vette though. 

[Mike DC]

He's probably annoyed for the same reason that half the automotive world is annoyed with the Chally --

The whole expected hit-list of hot stuff is there, but we can't shake the nagging gut feeling that it should have weighed about 3500 pounds.

 

[Ghoste]

So a new Charger with two less doors is still a... oh, never mind. 

[1969chargerrtse]

You would think one would do a road test or two, and study up on the car before paying over 30 grand?  13 seconds works for me in the 1/4 mile.

[Daytona R/T SE]

At 6'4" I have a tough time fitting in a lot of cars-Corvettes, Vipers, Mustangs-forget it, they're all too damned small for me. All of them seem to be designed by midgets-for midgets 

I tried forcing my fat ass into a Viper GTS coupe at the Conner Ave. assembly plant once, I thought they were going to have to bring out the jaws of life to get me out 

Today I had the opportunity to sit in the driver's seat of a Brand new Challenger   

I want one.

[5wndwcpe]

I'll bet you if you could rig that computer to say 11.9 he'd be happy as a pig in $hit.  Not that it would be any faster, he'd just think it was.

[Ghoste]

They should make some like that with recalibrated computers and call them "The Jaded Auto Writer Domestic Car Critic" editions. 

[41husk]

I am waiting for the 2010 in hopes they will have a vert and more color choices, but I did drive the 09 with a 5.7 and the only negative I would  have is rear view visibility.  Infact it was very hard to keep from getting it.  I guess you can't make every one happy but I feel it's the best performance car out there at the price

[Mopar2Ya]

The rumor is a vert will be here in 2010, & a 6.4L around the same time.

[41husk]

I thought the 5.7 had plenty of power.  I wonder if the 6.4 availability will drop the cost of the 6.1

[moparstuart]

is the 6.4  the 392  motor they talk about ?