# Detroit 2006: Dodge Challenger Concept unveiled **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 7, 2006, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949 "2006-01-07T23:40:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/21 "2006-01-09T00:01:06Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Oh. Your God. That’s hideouser than the 300 it’s based on. Yeah, even the guys on the Mopar boards I frequent don’t like it. One of them described it as the product of a 300 raping an English cab. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/22 "2006-01-09T00:20:41Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Yeah, even the guys on the Mopar boards I frequent don’t like it. One of them described it as the product of a 300 raping an English cab. I was thinking more 1930’s Batmobile. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/23 "2006-01-09T00:22:36Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Oh yeah, here’s the [new design](http://www.chryslerweblog.com/images/uploads/01_02.jpg) for the Imperial. It’s _not_ pretty, IMHO. That looks like it belongs in Tim Burton’s original “Batman”. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/24 "2006-01-09T00:27:01Z")
Please tell me that was a simulpost. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/25 "2006-01-09T00:35:29Z")
I love the Challenger look. If I can crawl into that for under 30K, I’m in. The one thing that puzzles me is the ET’s. If it can do 0-60 in 4.5 then it should be able to pull through the 1/4 in the low twelves with 425 HP. Unless the thing has some crazy gearing to make up for the gas guzzling 1st and 2nd gears. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/26 "2006-01-09T00:42:10Z")
[Link to video.](http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=108756#1) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/27 "2006-01-09T00:45:21Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > I love the Challenger look. If I can crawl into that for under 30K, I’m in. According to _Car and Driver_ the estimated base price is expected to be $35,000. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/28 "2006-01-09T01:02:24Z")
the imperial looks like ass. i don’t mind the big blocky car that chrysler is trying to innundate us with, but the imperial looks like it’s trying to be cool and futuristic with the front and history conscious with the body. it doesn’t work and whoever thought it looked good should be forced to gargle motor oil while being sodomized by a million dipsticks. out of the list…the magnum, charger, challenger, imperial, and new camaro, i like the challenger the most. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/29 "2006-01-09T02:01:31Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Oh yeah, here’s the [new design](http://www.chryslerweblog.com/images/uploads/01_02.jpg) for the Imperial. It’s _not_ pretty, IMHO. The design, hideous as it is, does make sense. Imperials and 300s shared body styles for a _long_ time. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/30 "2006-01-09T04:11:25Z")
Remember the Fisher Body design contest? Teenagers could sculpt and submit scale model future cars and compete for scholarships. A good friend of mine submitted one that looked almost exactly like the Ford Reflex about 40 years ago. He got a low score; they said it was “too conventional.” ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/31 "2006-01-09T04:30:41Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Oh yeah, here’s the [new design](http://www.chryslerweblog.com/images/uploads/01_02.jpg) for the Imperial. It’s _not_ pretty, IMHO. The slab-sided look and the suicide doors are trying to echo the Imps of the early 1960s. The proportions are way off, though. When you slap on that big fat grill, it looks more like the dreadful late 80’s Bentley. It has an armor-plated look to it. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/32 "2006-01-09T04:42:51Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > The slab-sided look and the suicide doors are trying to echo the Imps of the early 1960s. The proportions are way off, though. When you slap on that big fat grill, it looks more like the dreadful late 80’s Bentley. It has an armor-plated look to it. It definately looks like the body’s too tall, sort of SUVish, the biggest problem with the car, IMHO is the ass end. Looks way wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/33 "2006-01-09T06:36:37Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > The slab-sided look and the suicide doors are trying to echo the Imps of the early 1960s. The proportions are way off, though. When you slap on that big fat grill, it looks more like the dreadful late 80’s Bentley. It has an armor-plated look to it. THAT Imperial is never gonna make it…just a gussied-up 300C with suicide rear doors. The only way Chrysler can market a new Imperial is to re-skin a 12-cylinder Mercedes. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/34 "2006-01-09T06:59:37Z")
> [@Enola Straight](#): > > THAT Imperial is never gonna make it…just a gussied-up 300C with suicide rear doors. > > The only way Chrysler can market a new Imperial is to re-skin a 12-cylinder Mercedes. Like the Maybach? ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/35 "2006-01-09T12:17:02Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Ewww. This is something I’d like to wrap around a tree. Don’t worry. With the amount of horsepower it will probably generate you’re likely to see many of them wrapped around trees. I prefer the Challenger. Both of them would be pretty much useless except for a few months in the summer in Calgary (along with the 97 Mustang Cobra I had for a couple years). I’ll stick with my WRX thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/36 "2006-01-09T12:41:31Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > According to _Car and Driver_ the estimated base price is expected to be $35,000. No problem, we’ll wait to get an '07 in '09 then. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![YellowTail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5ac83/32.png) [@YellowTail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YellowTail)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/37 "2006-01-09T22:34:47Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Oh. Your God. That’s hideouser than the 300 it’s based on. “You think you hate it now, but wait till you drive it!” – Nat’l Lampoon’s Vacation I like the Challenger. I don’t get how the new Camero is supposed to look like a '68. 😕 Maybe retro is the way to go because the designs were just better back then. Easier on the eyes, I mean. The Detroit 3 certainly can’t compete with the Camry’s and Civics. Why try? And it could be the reason that Chrysler was the only one of the three that didn’t lose market share in 2005. Hell, I say keep 'em coming. It’s a hell of a lot better than the new Ford Fusion. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/38 "2006-01-10T02:31:00Z")
Maybe retro is the way to go because the designs were just better back then. Easier on the eyes, I mean. The Detroit 3 certainly can’t compete with the Camry’s and Civics. Why try? And it could be the reason that Chrysler was the only one of the three that didn’t lose market share in 2005. Hell, I say keep 'em coming. It’s a hell of a lot better than the new Ford Fusion. [/QUOTE] that’s their problem. they aren’t spending anything on design. it’s nonexistent. kaput. those are the jobs that got outsourced. that’s why the fusion eats ass. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/39 "2006-01-10T08:33:43Z")
Well, the [Camaro Concept](http://www.autoblog.com/2006/01/09/debut-of-the-chevrolet-camaro-concept/) was unveiled today at the Detroit Auto Show. That has to be one of the agressive, in-your-face cars I’ve seen, especially that view from the front side. It just looks mean. If I were 20 again, I’d be lusting after this thing, although as a Camaro ‘purist’ I wish they hadn’t gone with that peaked front end - the 60’s era Camaros had a straight hoodline in the front that was very distinctive, and also looked better, IMO. But this is a pretty cool car. And 400HP and over 30MPG on the highway is amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949/40 "2006-01-10T08:36:58Z")
> [@Least Original User Name Ever](#): > > Maybe retro is the way to go because the designs were just better back then. Easier on the eyes, I mean. The Detroit 3 certainly can’t compete with the Camry’s and Civics. Why try? And it could be the reason that Chrysler was the only one of the three that didn’t lose market share in 2005. Hell, I say keep 'em coming. It’s a hell of a lot better than the new Ford Fusion. that’s their problem. they aren’t spending anything on design. it’s nonexistent. kaput. those are the jobs that got outsourced. that’s why the fusion eats ass. [/QUOTE] You have to be kidding. First of all, the Fusion looks to be a great car, adn the design is perfect for what it intends to be - a slightly sportier, slightly more aggressive version of a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry. Second, this is currently the best era for car design I’ve ever seen. Just go look at the Auto Show stories on autoblog to see the huge variation in car design. Or would you prefer the era where everything was a 3-box sedan or coupe, and the most radical design around was the Chrysler minivan? IMO, beautiful car design died around 1974, and didn’t become resurrected again until the late 1990’s. It’s now better than ever. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-2006-dodge-challenger-concept-unveiled/338949.md?page=3)