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Automotive News & Views Daimler's abuse of the Dodge Charger legacy.
659 messages, Last post on Jun 21, 2006 at 2:03 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: xtec (Feb 10, 2006 3:08 pm) with a Hemi weighed 3800lbs.That was a small car so to say that these care weight to much is wrong.My Charger has the V6 and has no problem moving this car.What do you drive?I bet I'll to you its not as good as the Charger.Thats why they call it opinion,but I backed mine with facts. -end quote- I am not sure I would classify the difference in looks between the 300 and Charger as "sport", but then-again as a pure definition of the term, yes indeed. The 300 as sort of a Bentley classic style, does hit the mark. I don't think 1970 performance standards is what Chrysler needs to achieve in 2006. Less weight equals better cornering, best gas mileage, and faster zero to sixty. Seems your 0-60 is no better, or worse than a '96 Miata I owned last year. And that is no powerhouse of an engine. The 3.5V6 is a good choice for powering the Chrysler, and should be the base engine in the 300. The gas mileage is good, and if they made a smaller and lighter Challenger, and Charger car, the 0-60 would go down a second, while MPG would go up a couple. Tires last longer and the cornering improves. Those are facts. Would I consider a 300 - yes. Should it be lighter, and not so aggressive with the stability control to allow faster cornering - yes. For the weight, the 3.5V6 mileage is pretty good. The 5 star crash rating is a plus. Another RWD car with good crash test scores is the Mustang. And yeah, I know it is 3500#, and a bit porky too. Not sure why you are curious as to what I am driving, but here is the answer: PT Cruiser. Loren
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that the new Challenger will weigh much less than the Charger. After all, it's based on the same platform. All they really did was take 4 inches out of the wheelbase, all of it in the back seat. So you still have a car on a 116" wheelbase. FWIW, that's still a longer wheelbase than most other cars out there, even the bigger ones. And it's not any narrower, as far as I know. When you take a big car and make a smaller derivative of it, usually you don't save that much weight. Unless you do so much restructuring and redesigning that you practically end up with a new car, anyway. As for the 1970 Challenger, it was an awesome performer in its day. Now sure, none of the panty-waists at Consumer Reports would have liked it. Heck, if they had their way back then all cars would have been small, 4 or 6-cyl pillared sedans that would do 0-60 in about 20 seconds! Probably the biggest detriment to the Challenger's performance was the wheels, tires, and transmissions of the day. They most likely rode on bias ply tires, and even if you could get radials, they'd be crap compared to the radials of today. The wheels were probably 15x6, which is compact terrritory today, or Buick Century at best. And the trannies were limited in their number of gears. The automatic only had three speeds, and I think the manual was a 4-speed. So you could gear them for a great 0-60/quarter mile time, or a high top speed, but not both. I've had a few old Mopars from the 70's, and these were just generic full-sized cars. But swapping the standard wheels for some 15x7 road wheels, or better yet, the copcar wheels with the wider offset, really improved handling a lot. And nowadays I'm sure they're using something wider than 7" for high performance jobs like the Hemi Charger or Challenger.
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Replying to: m1miata (Feb 11, 2006 11:02 pm)  Rocky |
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Replying to: andre1969 (Feb 12, 2006 5:23 am) The 300 is a pretty good value too!
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Replying to: m1miata (Feb 19, 2006 11:26 pm) Rocky
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does seem a bit wide for the Challenger, considering the 300 and Charger upon which they're based are only around 74" wide. Honestly, unless you're trying to make a car where you can get 3-across seating, I don't think there's any need for a car to be 78" wide! And I don't think 5-passenger seating is top priority for cars like the Challenger!
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Replying to: rockylee (Feb 19, 2006 11:39 pm) Meanwhile back on the subject.... The Charger is not so much an abuse of the legacy due to it being a four door sedan, but rather it being an awkward looking version of a luxury car. A modified 300, which is suppose to be Bentley, or Rolls Royce like, not a sports sedan of American breed. Sorry, but it is just odd. May even be a value in power and performance, while being a good enough car to own. But it looks like a high school project to turn a formal, big heavy, Euro looking model into a Charger. The great Houdini could not do that trick. Loren
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Replying to: andre1969 (Feb 20, 2006 6:34 am) The size should be around the BMW3 sized auto. With sedan or coupe at $20K, and 21K for a Challenger. All starter, without most extras, like anti-lock brakes, and fancy stereos and such. Have upgrade package for say $3K. Loren |
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Replying to: m1miata (Feb 20, 2006 6:57 pm) Better watch it that Mazda Tribute is UAW made.  Rocky |
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80's;The Charger was an Omni based coupe the Omni. It was called the Omni 024 when it was introduced in '79, Omni was dropped in '81, Charger was added in 82, and the 024 was dropped in 83. The base engine was either a 1.7L 70hp volkswagen, or a 1.6L 62hp Peugoet. Dodges own 2.2L was available in 84, 96, 110, 146 and 174 horsepower versions through its lifespan that ended in 1987. 70s-80s; Dodge revived the Ramcharger name for its full-size SUV in 1973, which recieved only minor updates before it was cancelled almost 2 decades later. 60s-70s; Dodge introduces a aerodynamic coupe based on the B-body format in 1966. It is considered the replacement for the larger (but also B-bodied) Ramcharger, but the name is shortened to just Charger. The styling is updated in ’68, 71, and 75, and is then renamed Magnum when the 75 design is freshened with square headlights. Early 60’s; Dodge introduces its own track ready superstock under the name Ramcharger in 1962. It is basically a light weight, race ready version of the full-sized Polara/Monaco. It inspires such songs as “Shut your down” and “The little old lady from Pasadena”. It carries over to the Coronet in ’65 before being replaced by the Charger in ’66. |
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