just found this buried in autoblog from a few days ago

apparently dodge showed dealers the production car in vegas recently and someone didnt listen to that "no cameras" rule

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/15/c...dge-challenge/

the entire first run of 5500 cars will ALL be 6.1l Hemi SRT8s

 

yay! finally, the return of the challenger!!

btw, that car looks sick!

 

I like it...I also like the spy shots of the '09 3. Looks like a little CX-7.

 

WTF is this?

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/16/s...vette-concept/

 

I took pictures of that years ago at the DC auto show. They haven't changed anything.

I'll look around and find them again...

 

sweet...

 

the only thing i can see thats changed is the visible b pillar. amazing for a car to go that clean from concept to production

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/15/c...dge-challenge/

 

weird fixed thanks!

 

That thing is gonna be huge when it comes out. Can you say markup?

 

Looks real good, almost exactly like the concept, but WHY are they NOT offering a manual with the first batch? You have to wait a year to get a real transmission.

Not cool.

 

I like it, but there's no way in hell I'd pick it over the new Camaro.

 

Nice, now let's hope Dodge can keep the weight of the car say south of 4000 pounds.

 

oh wow, that is cool, mixing the old style with a little new. a bit more old compared to the new camaros styling

 

+1

 

yeah, this has been floating around all year. i realize this is the official "production" version of the concept, but nothing's changed. they coulda at least varied the color or something. i went to almost every auto show last season and it looks identical to the concept. that's good i guess, most manufactures aren't able to do that, but i don't get why they are so 'hush-hush' with this camera phone thing, it's the same damn car and we've already seen it, it's not a secret anymore!


i don't have a reason, but they're not the only ones to do it. every bmw m car that comes out now is only offered in smg tranny at first, then a year later it comes in manual. i don't know if it's a production/plant issue (maybe it's easier or quicker to make autos) or if it's some marketing research ploy to sell more, who knows, but it does suck.

 

an SMG is a manual tranny. auto trannies have a Torque converter. SMGs do not.

 

yes yes i know, i used to work for bmw. my point, that i didn't make clearly, was that most people want the "real" manual, with the clutch pedal, not smg. i don't know the reasoning for that, but it pisses a lot of people off that they can't shift traditionally, even when you tell them smg is a manual, and that it can even be faster than the traditional manual, they don't care, and i don't blame them.

 

I was hoping that they would leave the B pilalr out of it. I also heard that the rumor all along was that the 6.1 would be the standard V8 and that there was a 500 or so hp 390 ci (6.4) Hemi under development for the SRT model.

 

When the first pics of the concept came out and they said it was going into production I was convinced it would be my next car. I really like the way they look, I have a warm place in my heart for the Challenger line, but I just can't swallow the price point, I know it isn't crazy type money, but for a domestic "Muscle Car" looking at near 40G's just makes me think of the alternatives in other types of cars.

 

i know i re-read your post after posting and realised i read it wrong in the first place but. decided to leave my post anyway.

i think im going to start manufacturing after market clutch pedals for people who absolutely want that pedal experience with their smg. itll just bolt to the firewall and they can push it anytime they want

 

If it shifts for you it's still an automatic, even if you get to push a little button to tell it to shift gears for you.

 

ha ha ha!! i bet they'd eat that up too. "yeah, it's an smg, but i got an after market clutch pedal on there ... custom work, only 2 grand, it's worth it."