I like the Challenger, BUT;
It is a recycled Mercedes Benz chassis...that's not necessarily a bad thing.
The Bean counters are ruining this thing. 4 spd automatic in the SE? WTF? I know they want to keep the costs down but c'mon. The clutch hydraulics are already in production, the six speed manual is already produced in large numbers, and I don't think that the 5 speed automatic costs that much more anyway.
I don't know why they didn't just drop the new Ram 1500's 4.7 (that's supposed to make 290-310 hp depending on which magazine you read) and six speed in it. Maybe CAFE concerns?
Maybe they're expecting to sell a LOT of the updated Rams next year?
(even though fullsize truck sales are down so much that you can get a new V8 F-150 Supercab for less than a Civic) Maybe the new 4.7 doesn't meet emission standards for cars.
IMHO, A 290 hp V8 Challenger under $25,000 would sell in large enough numbers to make it worthwhile.
Resurrect the Plymouth name. Give us a Barracuda variant. Hemi 'Cuda....oh, I got goosebumps just uttering that name.
GM can resurrect Oldsmobile too although I'm not sure how to make 442 work on the Zeta chassis. 400 hp, 4 passenger, 2 exhausts? Sell it at Buick dealers. 'cause their not selling anything anyway.
PISTOL GRIP! Dammit Dodge! you retro-style everything else and then stick a shifter in it that looks like a cross between a Porsche Boxster and a Mitsubishi Eclipse shifter.
And the Avenger. Charger Jr. Way to recycle a Hillman name.
You don't even offer a manual transmission. What exactly is this car supposed to "avenge" with a slushbox?
And while Dodge is at it, they can stop wasting perfectly good SRT/4 engines in that ugly jellybean Caliber body. Maybe an Avenger SRT/4?