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2005 Detroit Auto Show Index by TCC Team (1/8/2005)
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What may very well be the most controversial car of the year is scheduled to take its formal bow at this year’s North American International Auto Show.
subscribeAfter a long absence, Dodge is
reviving the Charger but in a decidedly new form. And the decision to go from a
muscular two-door coupe to an edgy four-door has sparked a decidedly divisive
debate.
“They killed the car with four doors,” wrote a reader of TheCarConnection under the screenname, “Hammer.” Indeed, the release of some early sketches, followed by TCC’s publication of spy shots of the actual car prompted perhaps the biggest reader write-in campaign this magazine has ever seen. While our editors did not take a tally, the reader response clearly ran towards the negative.
Which is just fine as far as Chrysler design director Trevor Creed is concerned. “They’re thinking old-think,” he says of skeptics. “I’d say our Charger is as exciting as the (old) four-door.”
This week, the new Charger will finally have a chance to prove itself.
The look is a lot more edgy than the Chrysler 300 sedan, which shares the same platform as Dodge’s reborn muscle car. The goal, claims Chrysler Corp. designer Rick Anieros, was to give it “a fast, coupe-like character.”
Ironically, what has evolved into a modern four-door
design started out as a two-door fantasy car, penciled by one of the stylists at
Chrysler’s advanced
First shown at the 2004 North American International Auto Show in concept form, Charger will initially hit the streets with a pair of powertrains, including a relatively tame 3.5-liter V-6. But expect Dodge to put the spotlight on the 5.7-liter HEMI-powered version.
And, like the original muscle car, which was introduced in 1966, the reborn Charger is all but certain to keep beefing up. Expect a truly high-performance version, wearing the automaker’s SRT badge, sources hint. It will boast the new, 6.1-liter, 425-horsepower HEMI under its hood.
The original Charger went through
a series of changes – and powertrains, including the original, 426-cubic-inch
Hemi V-8 that was one of the fastest street-legal engines ever sold in the
If past is prologue, Dodge is likely also to follow up with an array of accessories, from appearance packages to performance parts. The automaker has already begun making forays into the profitable aftermarket for other models in its line-up, and it would be natural to appeal to this need-for-speed with the reborn muscle car.
The new Charger will once again play a critical role in the Dodge racing effort. Look for it to make its tire-spinning debut during the NASCAR series-opening race in Daytona next month.
The new Charger also will make a cameo appearance in the upcoming remake of the old Dukes of Hazzard TV series, now a film starring Jessica Simpson. But the good ol’ boy Duke brothers will continue drive around in the original Dodge muscle car, the General Lee.
It’s anybody’s guess what they’ll say about the new four-door.
