just a general question. if dodge would go back through and redesign one of the older coupes or start over which coupe should it be? (im just a little tired of these bubbley looking coupes > neon, focus. i like the look of the cobalt, should dodge follow suit with the sleek look. like what the avenger had?

They're talking about building the Challenger again.

very true and i am proud of that. but im thinking along the lines of compact. something to better take on the growing rice in our nation. something simple would be cool like the early 90's style compacts where someone who knew a little about power train and a little about electronics could build a pretty nice car. maybe dodge could even pull from the eclipse line and create a revamped laser... ild like to see that

Chrysler has done enough model sharing with Mitsubishi. The SRT-4 was one heck of a ride, hated to see it go. Compact sport cars are making a huge leap in the industry, but most people who are into that, are in their 20s & early 30s. Dodge/Chrysler tries to appeal to a more older, seasoned age group, thus as Bleed said, the reintroduction of the Challenger by 2009.

still though, they do have a young crowd of kids who like their small sport cars. im 18 and i have actually polled it out in 3 schools. dodge needs to enter the game with a sporty budget car. i mean unless the challenger can be afforded by some guy working part time at burger king.... i really think they should bring something for us(its hard to find a car payment for less then 200 a month). killing the srt4 will prove a poor move by dodge. just like when ford killed the zx2> escort (a staple in ford history for how long?) and the chevy cavilier( again those have been around a long time, and they killed it for an upper class sport car) other wise people who cant aford the upper class sport (ie cobalt) will possibly go more for a newer cheaper import. i mean i bleed detroit muscle. but if i cant afford a a nice sport car... ill go for the import beater. or used US made beater.

you raise an interesting point, but how many 18-year-olds can afford a new car payment (a brand new $15,000 car w/ 8% interest 60 month loan will run you around $360/month) when they have part-time jobs makinig maybe $600 a month? Yes, you have some kids that have rich parents, but still a brand new car for teens & young adults is a huge money pit when you factor in insurance, gas & car payments. The best bet for young adults, buy used, older cars (pay cash for) and save up some money to buy the newer compact cars. Yes $15,000 may not sound like a whole lot, but can be overwhelming for a kid just out of high school going into college w/ a part-time job, I speak from personal experience.

you raise an interesting point, but how many 18-year-olds can afford a new car payment (a brand new $15,000 car w/ 8% interest 60 month loan will run you around $360/month) when they have part-time jobs makinig maybe $600 a month? Yes, you have some kids that have rich parents, but still a brand new car for teens & young adults is a huge money pit when you factor in insurance, gas & car payments. The best bet for young adults, buy used, older cars (pay cash for) and save up some money to buy the newer compact cars. Yes $15,000 may not sound like a whole lot, but can be overwhelming for a kid just out of high school going into college w/ a part-time job, I speak from personal experience.
SOOOO true.

15 grand is a lot of money any way you look at it. my used 03 zx2 ( on behalf of me im sorry dodge forum) i had to pay 7500,< killed my childhood account that i had built since i was like 6. (i wanted a mustang, or firebird, or camaro, or an avenger)the only reason i bought it was because my laser (my handmedown from my brother was a fricken money pit) and i managed to do the math... if i bought this car wouldnt have to keep buying parts that were worn out... or cobble the car back together when it broke. ild actually be better off... and i was at my job for 3 months already so my parents agreed to cover insurence for the time being while i rebuilt my account. i was at my job for another year and built it back some... but this fall is college... so im goin to be broke a while. but back on topic. that would be cool if dodge could come out with an entry level car ( a basic parts bin car, one not so complicated that it cant be tuned, but not so stoneage we dont want it) if they could come out with a new car for 8 grand, i mean stripped down no cd, only stereo, mostly 5 spd, light econo car... with looks.

Do you work at Burger King or what?

Do you work at Burger King or what?
C'mon now.

well my first decent job was KFC (< funny huh), but now im working at a garage. and im making about the same. about 200 give or take every 2 weeks.

that would be cool if dodge could come out with an entry level car ( a basic parts bin car, one not so complicated that it cant be tuned, but not so stoneage we dont want it) if they could come out with a new car for 8 grand, i mean stripped down no cd, only stereo, mostly 5 spd, light econo car... with looks.
Yea, but the only problem is the [U]quality[U]of the car. But that would be awesome if DODGE could do that.

C'mon now.
What? He mentioned it...

let's face it everyone, American's are lazy. What regular person would buy a car w/ no A/C, manual windows, AM/FM radio (no tape), no power locks, basically a stripped down car? Now myself, I don't care, as long as it has 4 wheels an engine and I can get in & out of, I'd do it. But honestly, no "normal" American would go for that, even if the price brand new were around $8 grand. You could buy a 2006 Hyndai Accent with power windows, A/C, ABS, side airbags and a 5 speed for about $12,000! I'm a die-hard Dodge fan, but the Koreans are eating our lunch with cars like this. The only car remotely close that Dodge is making is the new Caliber, which in my opinion is an abysmal vehicle.

After the Detroit Int'l Auto Show last week, the new hotness is rear-wheel drive sports car, with retro styling; thus the Dodge Challenger & Chevy Camaro. When the other American manufacturers saw Ford's success last year with the Mustang, they wanted to capitalize on it. If Ford would have continued the Focus SVT and widely marketed that, you would see also Dodge trying to keep the flame alive w/ the SRT-4 or another sport compact. But, as I said before, the new growing trend for older clientel is rear-wheel drive sports cars. I personally am happy to see that Dodge is finally making a 2-door sports car after a 30+ year hiatus (when I mean sports car, I mean rear wheel drive w/ a V8, not the Shelby Chargers of the '80s or Dodge Daytona of the '90s).

he's right. as cool as it would be no one would. but how are we (by that i mean ALL of american auto makers) supposed to keep people from buying imports? besides the few domestic guys (and girls) who are tried and true detriot fans, its getting harder to buy american. i mean even chevy the suposed "american's best selling brand" is going bankrupt (WTF). im just wondering what it will take to take back the nation. i dont know what it will take to get people to buy american cars again but, god i hope it happens. im getting tired of these civics hot rodding around... especially those guys who have tried to take my cougar down.

but before i go ild rather spend that money on say a 02 firebird with the ls1 and a 5 spd then buy that hyundai (which are going for about 12 grand now)

here's what the Big 3 need to do: get rid of these fuel hog SUVs and make more economy, rather fuel efficient cars. Look at GM, Every car in their division has an SUV, Chevy, Pontiac, Cadillac, Buick, Saturn, Isuzu, Saab, whether it's model sharing or not, they all have SUVs. Ford, the same way. Chrysler's the only brand that doesn't flood all brands with SUVs (the Chrysler Pacifica is technically a 4-door minivan, thus it's not classified as an SUV). Get rid of SUVs & have family sedans that can get 20 MPG overall. With gas prices spiking AGAIN (no surprise) to $2.40/gallon and expected to go up to as high as $3 by the end of the year, it's becoming annoying to pay for an SUV that gets on average 15 MPG.

the tech is there to make an even more fuel efficient family sedan hell our decked out 92 grand prix (someone liked the floor shifter and added every other option possible) with the 3.4 got 25 mpg, and we have a 91 skylark with a 3.3 that gets 30 (consecutively). and the prix would smoke the tires, on half throttle, the skylark wont only because it;s the 3speed tranny not the 4. so its possible to have economy and power. it just needs to be aplied more. (and i hope noone out there blames this on the oil companies, ive heard that arguement way too many times)

Chrysler thought in the '90's that there would be a market for cheap stripped down light weight cars that had some power. Their effort was the Neon, at first it did not do very well b/c well... it was too cheap. They responded to the slow start to more equipment and packages and the sales took off. I believe that in some of the years the 1st Gen Neon production was around 250,000 a year. Chrysler learned that what people say they want in surveys and what they actually want to buy are very different. It is hard to put a lot of R&D into an inexpensive vehicle that has low profit margins based on surveys. BTW SUV's are not going to go away. They may not get very good gas mileage but considering most people I've seen driving a Hybrid were alone, if they get 50 mpg for one person then... I win b/c I get 20 MPG and I usually have 5 people in mine (5x20=100 MPG per Person). They say the most economical vehicle for transporting people is the FORD (I hate FORDs) 15 passenger van, it gets 15mpg x15 people = 225 MPG per Person.

that is a very odd way of looking at it. (especially since one could argue the same with 5 in a hybrid). but i do get your point about the neon, of which i think too is a decent example. same with the laser. <(just cuz i speak laser geek fluently) for instance the laser had the base model >1.8 ussually stick, that car you had some power i could smoke the first 2 gears and it would wind down in 3rd. and on top of that on 2 octane boosters i got 50 mpg. then it had the 2.0 (which wasnt very good only becuase the added weight overcame the added power) then you had the 2.0 turbo, and that car is a little speed demon, and finnally i hear (but im not sure ) they also had a awd version (<but not as prevolent as eagle and mitsubishi took it) so here was a good little car for your money that ranged from gas saver to peppy little turbo, this is the style car i think dodge should come back out with.