Dodge Challenger AWD !!!

[Mal X]

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/...-model-wide-body-hellcat-before-2019-redesign

So this is a concept that has been mentioned by Dodge as a very strong possibility, i'm not sure about its engine though, it's the same massive Challenger but with wider arches.

this sounds stupid to be, the Challenger is a Classic RWD muscle car only, it has totally the wrong body shape, the correct shape is much more like their latest Dodge Dart 4 door.........or a Subaru/Evo etc

they're trying to improve its poor road holding, without loosing it's identity, but its identity is that of a RWD tyre smoking muscle/Drag car.

this looks like one massive mistake

 

[Mal X]

Well no, otherwise AWD versions of normally RWD cars wouldn't sell well - yet they do, infact most 535's you'll see in the North Eastern US are 535Xi models for example.

AWD is a very favoured option for people in these states. I'd imagine the Challenger V6 AWD will sell well to those after a sporty looking Coupe with about 300bhp and all weather usefulness.

yes the Subaru WRX STI sells very well over there too, it's hugely popular, but not here, so there's deffo a market for the Challenger AWD, it just feels wrong that's all.

the Challenger and Charger are separate cars, they always have been, the original Charger was 2 doors only...........this latest heavyweight Charger looks nothing like the original muscle car at all.

the new Challenger is a long way off yet, but Gibbo's right about its specs, my guess is the Hemi wont be around much longer, it'll either be a V6 or a Small Block Chrysler............the new Dodge Dart concept car is quite nice though

 

[Mal X]

Wat.

There are a million US cars worth having. Just 'cos they're not Celicas doesn't make them crap


(Low blow aside, I'd love many, many American cars)

same here, i prefer the really old ones though, something like a 1965 Plymouth Belvedere.

http://www.allpar.com/cars/concepts/SEMA/2015/dodge.html

here's the Dodge Dart, looks very similar to a Subaru from the front, isn't that odd

nothing wrong with the Chrysler, the 440 and Hemi are the best engines ever (almost) but they just cant get away from making these damned heavy cars, that Charger is much heavier than the Challenger, which in turn is damned heavy too.

 

[Mal X]

Because it is? It's the same platform, engines, etc as the Charger - virtually the same interior too. It's effectively a Charger Coupe.

all Chrysler muscle cars back then shared the same engines, gearboxes and axles, across all models ...........as did Chevrolet

 

[Mal X]

Fair enough. Mustang looks better too IMO.

i prefer the look of the Challenger by a long way, but unfortunately the mustang is a better car..........

 

[Mal X]

We're talking about the current generation.

yes i know, but the current generation is the same as the 1970s Barracuda and Challenger and even the Plymouth Roadrunner...........they all had the same components used across the range, just a different body shell.

these are ``Stars and Stripes`` Muscle cars, the Mustang was different back then as it is now, it's not a Drag car, it always out handled the Muscle car esp the iconic early Shelbys, Chrysler/Chevrolet Muscle cars from about 1958 onwards, were built for the new generation of speed freaks......... these were all High School drag racers but Ford were off to one side doing their own thing, yes you saw Mustangs drag racing back then, but nothing like Chevy or Mopar

 

[Mal X]

Mal, your ramblings are even confusing yourself now. And they are so off topic it's untrue.

Fox's original point that the current Challenger is simply a two-door version of the Charger is absolutely true. It's not just a few shared components: they are very much related. It would not be correct to call them 'entirely separate'.

..

both cars are very similar because they share the same components, but different because one is 4 door and the other 2 door.

the Challenger is a 2 door Charger ! ...........this is the same as saying a 2 door Ford Capri is a 4 door Cortina, a Challenger is nothing like a Charger, it's also for a totally different type of buyer..............if there is a mistake, it's putting the Hellcat engine in the Charger, it's a total waste of time in such a heavy car.

it's not me that's derailed the thread, it's Gibbo coming here and mentioning his damned Mustang.

 

[Mal X]

I still dont think you understand. They took the same platform, shortened the wheelbase, took off two doors and changed the styling. The 'hard points' are otherwise the same.

It's not the same components, it's an adaption of the same platform (they took the LX platform a shortened it for the LC platform). You need to look past what you can see, and look underneath.

So yes they did the above to appeal to a different type of buyer, but underneath they are very similar indeed. Certainly not 'totally separate'.

i would say that's a totally different car, because those are massive changes......they dont just remove 2 doors do they, there's about 3 years complicated design work there

the Challenger looks and behaves nothing like a Charger, it is indeed similar to a Ford Capri and a Cortina, they share many components but at heart they are totally different cars.
.

 

[Mal X]

It's like saying a 4 Series is a two door 3 Series or a Ford Cougar is a 2 door Mondeo.



Have you driven either of these cars? It's 'very much like' rather than 'nothing like'. You seem to be taking this as a criticism against the Challenger - it's not at all.



Where are these opinions of yours coming from? The Charger and the Challenger are as near as makes no difference identical in terms of weight. If the Hellcat engine is a 'waste of time in such a heavy car' than this applies equal to the Challenger, as it weighs basically the same.

Challenger Hellcat: 2015kg
Charger Hellcat: 2068kg

Neither cars are, or are intended to be, lightweight. They are both very much heavyweight, but then Muscle cars were never about ultra lightweight tech, they were about muscle, and muscle overcomes mass in a straight line.

this 4 door Charger unlike the original Charger, is not your traditional muscle car, the Hellcat is best suited to an ``old school`` muscle car.

it's not the Challenger that's wrong, it's trying to make the Charger into a muscle car that's wrong to me..........the Charger should never have had 4 doors, it should have been called something else........it's not a true descendant of the original.

i havent driven either no, but i have owned a Firebird formula 400, a Superbee Roadrunner and a Dodge Dart Magnum..............not all muscle cars were heavy, but the Dodge's were....esp the Roadrunner

 

[Mal X]

Looks lovely to me. I even like those colours.
I don't need 700BHP, but I'd not complain if you gave me one!!

yes it does look good and i'm starting to get used to the idea of it being AWD

 

[Mal X]

. or are either hideous to look at or look like they're completely plastic and will fall apart (and too big) on British roads.

no, not at all................my main complaint with the Muscle car is...............if the 440 Chrysler fits easily into a MK2 Cortina, why was the Roadrunner so God damn huge...yes i know why, but it doesn't half look wrong when you've been spending the previous 2 hours looking at Evos etc.......you go onto a yank site and say ``flipping heck that muscle car is way too big``

anyway that's enough or i'll get called a ``troll`` soon

 

[Mal X]

At this stage in my driving career, it doesn't really matter what TLAs something has as long as it looks pretty and goes fast enough that I don't miss my motorcycles too much!!

Unfortunately you wont be able to get that AWD Challenger here in the U.K, you'll need to go over there and buy it and get it imported + VAT etc.

but it's deffo the best version for U.K roads.............my guess is it'll handle very well, simply because Chrysler and Chevrolet are well aware of the competition............Subaru and Ford, the WRX STI is extremely popular over there..... and so will the RS

 

[Mal X]

I don't know why everyone thinks it's the US that's pickup mad, I drove through a surburb of Hinton the other month in Alberta and the only houses which didn't have 1 Pickup on the drive had 2 It was nuts!

dont forget that Yanks have large appetites, so a pick up is perfect for the weekly shopping, most Yanks have 3 fridges, they keep dead Reindeer and Mouse in the other two

`` you've got an odd accent fella``.............``yea m8 i come from England``..........``oh gee New England, great for hunting``............``no England as in G.B it's next to Europe``.............``ooooooooooh yea, that little island, you have a queen right?``............Florida 1984