A fellow recently took delivery of the very first 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T delivered to Tomball Dodge and he was showing it off at the Niftee Fifties Drive-In this evening.

It is a very impressive car. The one I examined came with the 6.1 Hemi, premium sound and an electric moonroof (retracts into roof). It is a very large car when compared to the musclecar of old. It is taller and wider than its predecessor and about the same length. The wheel/tire combo positively dwarfs anything you'd be accustomed to seeing. A '72 'Cuda happened to be parked next to it for comparason. It reminded me of a 2-door, rebodied Chrysler 300 and the luxurious interior appointments bear out the comparason. In the power department, the car has plenty of pep, but the exhaust note is quite disappointing. I was left thinking 300 again. The owner assured me that at highway speeds, when you step into it, it sounds authoritative. But in the parking lot, the electric fan that kicked in when the A/C was turned on was louder than the tone at the tailpipes. Clearly some room for improvement. Underhood, there is enough plastic to make an OPEC chemist squeal with delight.

Also shocking was that the owner admitted to paying SEVEN GRAND above sticker for the privilege of owning one of the first. His drive-out price was $49,000! True, the first 6500 being built this year are available with the 6.1 whereas the big Hemi next year will be a return to the 5.7. Apparently in this case, bigger displacement does not equate to better power. A recent article in Road & Track indicated that the 5.7 makes more torque and peak power than the 6.1.

So my reaction is decidedly mixed. It has all the appearance of being a great car. In my opinion, it looks much better than the Camaro everyone is waiting for (now slated for April, 2009). But it is too tame and sterile to be taken as a full-tilt musclecar (ala the Viper). There is nothing brutish about the new Challenger, save for the price tag and what it takes to get into one today.

Since I was unprepared to witness this tonight (left my camera at home here is an ebay auction for a very similar car (same color but no sunroof) that features lots of pics:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dodge-Ch ... 0271737249

I've seen several around here lately. Got to look at one up close. I wasn't too impressed, yes it's a cool looking car from the outside but the interior wasn't all that great. Considering this is 2008, it looked plain and borish.

Im glad to hear that the V8 is alive and well, i thought that it was going the way of the dinosaurs!

Obviously i havent seen one for real ( there a little scarse over here ) but maybe when i get across i might.

As for the pricing, at todays exchange rate, that represents excellent value for money compared to what Europe offers.

I wonder how many well get?

I thought it was pretty cool on the first pictures released but now I think they didn't do it right...it's too thick (look at that rear bumper!) and the interior is ugly (black plastic everywhere )
I hope the Camaro will be better