The new Charger

[Jon Haigwood]

Found out today that Dodge finally wised up and is bringing back the 2 door just as it was supposed have. You can get the 4 door in a R/T version or the 2 door with the Scat Pack version. 2026 model will feature a high-output twin-turbo inline-six Hurricane engine producing 550 horsepower. 

Edited Monday at 08:28 PM by Jon Haigwood

[iamsuperdan]

The two door has been out since 2024. The four door is being released for 2026 model year.

And the Hurricane inline 6 engines are building now, should be at dealers soon.

Personally, I think the EV version is fantastic. Drives beautifully, looks great, fast, comfortable. And it's a heck of a deal right now.

However, I think they should have launched the car with the gas engine. And launched with both the 2 and 4 door models at the same time. 

People will still moan about not having a Hemi V8. Even though the basic inline-6 has more horsepower, more torque, better fuel economy, and cleaner emissions than the 5.7L. In the trucks, it's faster than the 5.7L Hemi ever was. And the HO Hurricane 6 is a better performer than the 6.4L SRT Hemi, with more HP and torque.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Meh.

AND...how many consumers are even capable of fully utilizing 250 HP, much less the wretched excess some of these things make?

Only stuff like this I see being driven around here are the dinkytwinks with semi-open exhausts and automatics making as much noise as they possibly can when the light turns green, and then backing off the throttle when they reach the speed limit.

It's all kinda like the huge pickups that never haul anything but fat butts.

Lookit MEEEEEEEEEEE !!!!!!!!!!

Back in the late '70s and '80s, my car-guy buds would call all the yups in Buckhead driving their Porsches and Ferraris around in low gears to make a lot of noise "first gear artists".

Nothing ever really changes.

EDIT: If you're not going to race (not many local drag strips anymore), and you can't even drive a stick (which implies a driver who's not really very involved with the man-and-machine driving experience), why do you need 500 or 600 or more horsepower?

 

Edited 21 hours ago by Ace-Garageguy

[1972coronet]

Inline six = good (better than a V6).

Turbo / turbos = avoid ! Especially with a daily driver ! 

( .C.A.F.E. standards need to get seriously revamped... if not entirely eliminated... at least when it comes to trucks/ vans / commercial vehicles ) 

[Russell C]

Might be just me, but I'd prefer if it was sectioned a bit and if the grille was opened up a bit ...

[Lownslow]

Theres one driving around sema its giving off Dodge Avenger with a v8 vibe

[Xingu]

Everyone complains about cars all looking the same and being an appliance. Something different comes along and we complain about that too.

[Rob Hall]

It's a good looking car in person, but wow it's heavy.  It's about the same length as the classic '68-70 Charger. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 hours ago, Xingu said:

Everyone complains about cars all looking the same and being an appliance. Something different comes along and we complain about that too.

It's bloated in the middle, looks (and is) excessively heavy (almost 5000 pounds for the gas version), and isn't particularly original anyway.

Russel C's rework is a much more attractive and balanced piece, even though he's not a "professional" car designer.

I'd like it just fine if it looked like Russell's rework and weighed 1000-1500 pounds less.

Not complaining, just truth.

EDIT: And even though I've been a high-performance hard-core car guy all my life, I STILL don't understand why any production street ride needs 500+ horsepower, especially in an age where we are constantly subjected to hand-wringing, pearl-clutching, and wailing about the "existential threat to humankind from carbon emissions".

'Splain it to me, Lucy.

Edited 18 hours ago by Ace-Garageguy
punctiliousness

[Brudda]

Beautiful car. It’s cool a car company has the grit to come out with something cool, not a suv. On the subject on horse power, 550? WOW. I agree with Ace , not many can handle the power. Muscle cars are the prime example. It’s not the horse power that ruins muscle cars , it’s stupid people. Back in the day, 400 hp was big, so people bought muscle cars but could not control the power and crashed. Hence the big insurance premiums. If people did not crash their cars , the insurance company would provide reasonable rates, but nooooo idiots who cannot control their mega horsepower cars are the ones to blame. For example: I drove a 1993 svt cobra on the ford test track in phoenix. It was way more car than I could handle. Great car , average driver. It was 285 hp. I even had a little race experience in sprint cars and midgets back then. 800 hp in a sprint car and about 400 in a midget back then. So I was not green by any means. But that 285 hp svt cobra was very quick and even I could not get its true potential out of it. Bob Bondurant gave us a quick lesson in being a road corse driver. I humbly learned that the car was more than me. Fast forward to today…. More idiots , a lot more and these guys crash. Same old story. I also agree with Micheal on complaining. If there’s something new , there’s some guy or girl complaining about it. My dad said ( about cars) if someone is complaining , they cannot afford it or are jealous of it. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

15 minutes ago, Brudda said:

... My dad said ( about cars) if someone is complaining , they cannot afford it or are jealous of it. 

While I agree entirely with most of what you said, I have to take issue with that last statement.

I don't complain about (nor am I jealous of) Singer Porsches, or the really gorgeous Ferraris, Lambos, Astons, etc., or the wildly inflated prices that have driven many of the cars I grew up with, worked on, race-prepped, and later restored, entirely beyond my means.

I cannot possibly ever afford one, but I'm still glad to know that there are people who value beauty and performance enough to pony-up the big bucks.

And it's gratifying to see that some of those folks also actually race their cars, hard, risking heavy damage...as you well know.

EDIT: Is it a little annoying to me when some total bozo comes in the shop with his 356 or E-type or Bugbus or early Bronco or split-window Corvette or whatever and has no clue about what he's got, what kind of condition it's in, what it's crying out for in terms of work, or how to get the best out of the vehicle's particular performance envelope? It sure as jell is. But you know...the only reason HE can afford what he's got and I can't is nobody's fault but my own. So it'd be pretty stupid to be jealous, wouldn't it?

Edited 19 hours ago by Ace-Garageguy

[stitchdup]

hyundai would like a word

[Ace-Garageguy]

20 minutes ago, stitchdup said:

hyundai would like a word

There's a lot I like about that. The overall lines are good, and the proportions manage to avoid the too-thick-in-the-middle look of many recent vehicles. It has some nice sculptural surface development that, while reminiscent of several vehicles, combines what it borrows in a fresh way.

There's also a fair bit I don't like. A lot of the details appear stuck on haphazardly, with no attempt to integrate them into a clean package.

I think it could have been absolutely stunning with a little more editing and a little less design-by-committee.

 

Edited 19 hours ago by Ace-Garageguy

[iamsuperdan]

37 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

EDIT: And even though I've been a high-performance hard-core car guy all my life, I STILL don't understand why any production street ride needs 500+ horsepower, especially in an age where we are constantly subjected to hand-wringing, pearl-clutching, and wailing about the "existential threat to humankind from carbon emissions".

'Splain it to me, Lucy.

Probably for the same reason that diesel trucks need over 1000lb/ft of torque. It wasn't that long ago that we could buy a 1 ton diesel truck, with half the torque, and still managed to tow massive 5th wheel campers with zero issues.

Or why current trucks are so physically huge. I'm 6'6" and I cannot easily reach into the box of a new Ford Super Duty to put stuff in or get stuff out.

 

Or why any sportscar needs wheel diameters larger than 19".

As a massive lifelong Porsche nerd, I question why the GT3RS exists when the standard GT3 equals it in almost every way for $40-50k less. And to go a step further, for the majority of Porsche 911 buyers, why does the GT3 exist when the standard Carrera is already more car than they will ever use? And to go even further, why does the Carrera exist when the Boxster will be more car than most Porsche buyers will ever use?

 

Just because.

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 minute ago, iamsuperdan said:

Probably for the same reason that diesel trucks need over 1000lb/ft of torque. It wasn't that long ago that we could buy a 1 ton diesel truck, with half the torque, and still managed to tow massive 5th wheel campers with zero issues.

Or why current trucks are so physically huge. I'm 6'6" and I cannot easily reach into the box of a new Ford Super Duty to put stuff in or get stuff out.

 

I'm only 5'10", and last time I had to do an out-of-state job and needed a truck to actually work out of, I rented a 2021 Chevy pickup. 

The bed was so high, it was as close to useless as anything I've ever driven.

I took it back and rented a van with a reasonable-height load floor.

[peteski]

14 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

There's a lot I like about that. The overall lines are good, and the proportions manage to avoid the too-thick-in-the-middle look of many recent vehicles. It has some nice sculptural surface development that, while reminiscent of several vehicles, combines what it borrows in a fresh way.

There's also a fair bit I don't like. A lot of the details appear stuck on haphazardly, with no attempt to integrate them into a clean package.

I think it could have been absolutely stunning with a little more editing and a little less design-by-committee.

That Hyundai looks like bad copy of De Lorean with lots of "stuff" tacked on.  All those black "ground effects" look like some newbie modeler customized a model kit of a De Lorean by adding some unrelated parts from other kits.  I also don't understand that black (pseudo air inlet?) "thing" on the rear quarters.  It ruins the otherwise decent lines of the car.  I guess my mind doesn't work like today's 20- and 30-something car designers.

Edited 4 hours ago by peteski

[stitchdup]

18 minutes ago, peteski said:

That Hyundai looks like bad copy of De Lorean with lots of "stuff" tacked on.  All those black "ground effects" look like some newbie modeler customized a model kit of a De Lorean by adding some unrelated parts from other kits.  I also don't understand that black (pseudo air inlet?) on the rear quarters.  It ruins the otherwise decent lines of the car.  I guess my mind doesn't work like today's 20- and 30-somethgin car designers.

its a modernised version of their own car, the delorean had nothing to do with it

 

[Jon Haigwood]

To me it looks a whole bunch better than the last 4dr version that look like a Magnum with a "sports roof" . This very similar to the new Challenger. For me I would like to see a Hellcat in it. 

[iamsuperdan]

3 hours ago, Jon Haigwood said:

 For me I would like to see a Hellcat in it. 

SEMA starts this week. I'd be shocked if there wasn't a Hellcat swapped new Charger there.

 

[Jon Haigwood]

From what I just read there may be a V8 in the new gen Challengers

 

Performance and powertrain

Engine: Supercharged 6.2L HEMI V8 engine.

Horsepower: Approximately 850 horsepower and 790 lb-ft of torque in the SRT model.

Acceleration: A 0-60 mph time of 2.9 seconds.

Hybrid assist: A 48V mild hybrid system for instant torque.

Transmission: Available in a 8-speed automatic or a 6-speed manual transmission. 

Edited 12 hours ago by Jon Haigwood

[1972coronet]

11 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

I cannot easily reach into the box of a new Ford Super Duty to put stuff in or get stuff out.

I'm only 5'10", and I have a devil of a time even reaching into the centre of the bed of the '22 Ranger (company vehicle) ! 

The 1994 F-150 longbed I drove for a long time (another company vehicle) had a bed that I could reach-into with zero issues !

I dunno whose idea it was to raise the bed rail by 77 feet (only 59 feet on the Ranger) on newer pickups , but they should be publicly stoned for it (and the jerk stores who approved that asinine rubbish for production) ! 

[iamsuperdan]

4 hours ago, Jon Haigwood said:

From what I just read there may be a V8 in the new gen Challengers

 

Performance and powertrain

Engine: Supercharged 6.2L HEMI V8 engine.

Horsepower: Approximately 850 horsepower and 790 lb-ft of torque in the SRT model.

Acceleration: A 0-60 mph time of 2.9 seconds.

Hybrid assist: A 48V mild hybrid system for instant torque.

Transmission: Available in a 8-speed automatic or a 6-speed manual transmission. 

One correction...there will be no Challenger. 

It's all Charger, either 2 door or 4 door.

 

People can say what they want about the engines, but you have to admit this a bad ass looking sedan.

[Ace-Garageguy]

29 minutes ago, iamsuperdan said:

...People can say what they want about the engines, but you have to admit this a bad ass looking sedan.

From that angle it does look pretty good, but I still like Russell's sectioned version with the enlarged grille opening better.

[peteski]

13 hours ago, stitchdup said:

its a modernised version of their own car, the delorean had nothing to do with it

I was not aware of the other car. Still, doesn't change my opinion - to me both have some De Lorean flavor in them.

[sfhess]

26 minutes ago, peteski said:

I was not aware of the other car. Still, doesn't change my opinion - to me both have some De Lorean flavor in them.

It might have something to do with the fact that the same person designed the DeLorean and the 1974 concept car that inspired that Hyundai - Giorgetto Giugiaro.

Edited 4 hours ago by sfhess