2016 Charger R/T Scat Pack

[kevm14]

http://autoweek.com/article/car-reviews ... dailydrive

A 485 hp large sedan for $41k. That is great. However, I would still prefer the lower powered, better optioned, less muscly, more sophisticated, better handling and overall better balanced Chevy SS. But that's me, and it's great that Dodge sells something like this. GM should, too.

That said, I would be happy with a cheaper a decontended version of the SS (perhaps wearing more interesting clothing - but I don't need or want a GM copy of a Plum Crazy Charger) that sold for cheaper. By happy, I mean comfortable that they are competing. For cars that I would actually buy, I would look for the best performing, highest optioned, most depreciated example, as I always do.

[bill25]

So this article refers to it as the purple dinosaur. When was that a compliment?

I am not a fan of this style, and definitely still think the Challenger looks better.

On the performance for the money side though, they are on the right track. I am a little surprised that Dodge still hasn't seen that the other companies got the message to go on a diet. This is 4400 lbs, compared to the Camaro around 3700. That is a huge difference. I do support that not every car has to do everything. Dodge doesn't care about the lap time, they are building muscle. I support that. GM where is the Chevelle?( since there won't be a Chevy Judge!) When are you going to spank these guys back to the 60's?

Chevy, do you really need a Spark, Sonic, Cruze and Malibu? It seems like a waste of engineering dollars to make anything smaller than the Cruze. I mean maybe if the Sonic looked good, or had a redeeming quality. I have never even seen a Spark in real life.

[bill25]

Inside, the R/T Scat Pack is kind of a stripper. It doesn’t have navigation or heated seats or steering wheel. But it does warm up quickly. And at $41,000, this is smoking deal.

Wait, no nav, heated seats or heated steering wheel... How did people drive for 100 years without that? Oh, I still do... With every car I own. When did everyone turn into such a total bitch that they can't drive a car without a heated steering wheel? It is really getting ridiculous what is expected to have to be in every car. We aren't talking about a luxury car here. This isn't the next Town Car or CT6, it is a fucking muscle car. Man up or buy something else.

[Bob]

I had a 300C with a heated steering wheel for a rental in Detroit a couple weeks ago. It was a nice feature.

[kevm14]

My SRX has a heated steering wheel.

But yeah this is a muscle sedan truer than anything anyone else makes. I respect that.

Also it is the closest thing anyone makes that is a spiritual replacement for what my Caprice was supposed to be.

[bill25]

Look, I am not saying that the option isn't nice, but I don't see why every car should be expected to have it. The 300 is more of the luxury version of this platform, so that makes sense. I am waiting for the review of the Dart replacement if Dodge decides to build cars again, and have the reviewer say:

"Well this new compact is cheap and is great value for the money, but it doesn't have heated seats or steering wheel so I won't consider it."

I get that there should be some niceties in a daily driver that isn't just a drag car, but this is a Scat Pack Charger, not a Bentley. And I am sure it has a decent radio, some form of climate control even if it isn't auto, and AC. This isn't a first gen Viper.

[kevm14]

Some portion of this options push may be blamed on auto journalists who apparently want to be coddled regardless of what or where they are driving.

[kevm14]

The other thing you have to realize is, on the street, you can still use frivolous luxury options like 100% of the time. How often can you use 485 hp? That is why cars like this are so rare. The VAST majority of people would rather have a V6 Charger w/ options, an R/T with some options, or a different car (or crossover) entirely for $41k.

You may also blame price/option creep on leasing or financing in general, and some F/I asshole convincing you that the next trim level up for another $5k is only like $70 a month or whatever. I think the same thing of this $41k Charger as I do the new Chevy SS, as I do a Camaro SS or even a base Mustang GT: unaffordable and I would never buy as new. For GM to make a $36k Chevy SS with fewer options and possibly a lower output V8 doesn't change anything except mean I have to look that much harder to find the 6 year old SS that I really want down the road.

As I keep saying on these kinds of threads, I distinctly remember the dirty feeling I had when I started to convince myself that doing financing to buy a lower mile, 2007 CTS-V for $25-$30k was a reasonable thing to do. And as I have outlined in my resale comparisons, there was absolutely no justifiable reason for me to have done so. I made that comparison both driving it as infrequently as I have mine, and daily driving it. Either way, I would have been out way more money for exactly the same car (actually mine is better because of the FG2 shocks). Dodge Challenger Hellcat not available for $15k used? Then I don't need a Hellcat.

[bill25]

Some portion of this options push may be blamed on auto journalists who apparently want to be coddled regardless of what or where they are driving.

That was my exact point the whole time.

[bill25]

there was absolutely no justifiable reason for me to have done so

1. Life is short
2. It is ok to pay for things that are good
3. It is ok to have something that you want considering you work for a living
4. The financing is so low, you aren't paying almost anything in interest to drive it now
5. You can pay 300 a month on gas and at least 100 on insurance but you can't pay that much for the actual car?

I get that you can drive a 25 year old car for 2K, but why is that the only option? There are repair costs on that, even if minor.

If you finance a 35K car and drive it for 10 years, and sell it for 10 (F-bodies did this all day) that is 2500 a year to drive what you want.
If you get it used for 25K and drive it for 10 years, and sell it for 8, that is 1700 a year. That is half of what you will spend on gas.

You don't have to weigh these reasons highly when you make a decision, but they are valid and arguably justifiable.