New Dodge Charger is terrible

IM SORRY THAT I HAVE NOT SEEN THE NEW CHARGER,BUT I HAVE NEVER SEEN A GERMAN HOT ROD OR A MUSCLE CAR.I HAVE OWNED NOTHING BUT AMERICAN CARS & NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH THEM.

You should get out more if you've never heard of the BMW M series, especially the M6 (5.0L 507HP V10 0-60: 4.6s)

I will never buy another American made car again. My mind is made up. I'll take reliability and durability of performance and comfort (at least until I start making enough money to where $900.00 menchanic bills don't phase me).

Or I can afford a second car to drive when my primary one breaks down.

Toyota

Nissan

Mazda

Volkswagon

I'm past the age of trying to impress high schoolchicks

Sorry. That should have read reliability and durability OVER performance and comfort

shots wrote:

Toyota

Nissan

Mazda

Volkswagon

hey dude, i just want to let you know, that toyotas are built in Fremont, California (alameda county) at the NUMI (New United Motor Industries) plant, Nissans are built in Tennessee and Mazdas are built by Ford. there's no escaping it--America owns the Auto Industry; maybe becuase they INVENTED it!

Let's face it: Ford and Chevy are the be all and end all of automobiles. to the person who replied about land-rovers, they're owned and built by Ford. in 1995, Ford bought Jaguar for 5 Billion, and saved the car. now Jags are a great car, and don't break down. in 1932, Ford built the flathead V-8, the first of it's kind, and it was over 20 years later before any other car company could respond to it. Chevy introduced the small-block engine for their corvette, which is one of the most technologically advanced engines of all time. (But, the small-block chevy was designed by Arkus Duntov--who was known for rebuilding Flatheads for increased performance. today, ArDun Heads can be sold for as much as $10,000! Go read the "Rodder's Journal"

).

With Chevy and Ford dominating the market, Mopar tried to step it up with their chargers, cudas, etc. this led us into the 70's and 80's, where Chevy and Ford made cars and trucks with poor quality--pride came and they suffered. the Japanese auto industry came in with the Datsun 510 and built a great car. only by the early 90's did Ford and Chevy realize their mistake! Now, it is back to normal though. But Ford remains to be the leader in the automotive industry with the best selling truck of all time, the Ford F-series, and creating the ever popular SUV (Ford Explorer, which was also the first SUV to come with an independent rear suspension).

If you want to talk Speed, Shelby cobras is the king. why do you think they beat Ferrari? Carroll Shelby works with Ford!

if you think Porsches are awesome, wait until you have a slight problem on your hands--they are the most expensive car on the road to repair! German cars are great, i'll admit it. but if you want a great daily driver, with good gas mileage, and ease to wrench on, get yourself a Ford or Chevy. otherwise, you will have to pay enormous amounts for the precision of a BMW. Now, i'm not hating on german cars: grandfather has a benz, mom has an audi a4, and sister has a VW Jetta--all great cars, which work well for them, but we have had a few problems with them. Me? i have an '85 Bronco that has over 200k miles on the same engine and trans--no problems ever, a 2002 explorer which is one of the best cars ever produced, and a 1950 International L-110 for a street rod project.

I am not some average dude, i work in the Auto industry for one of the most premeire automotive dealers/rebuilders in the world. we handle cars that are built by the best, for people with the largest check-books. in other words, if you have to ask 'how much?' then you can't afford a car from us.

trust me--american cars are the way to go!

For all you American car lovers out there, check out this site or any other objective source in the world. The bottom line is this: compared to the Japanese, all other cars are crap when it comes to reliability.

...wickersham wrote:

hey dude, i just want to let you know, that toyotas are built in Fremont, California (alameda county) at the NUMI (New United Motor Industries) plant, Nissans are built in Tennessee and Mazdas are built by Ford.

Who cares where they're built? The point is the cars from the Japanes companies are much more reliable than the crap from GM and Ford.

>> Let's face it: Ford and Chevy are the be all

>> and end all of automobiles.

Then why can't they build a car that lasts half as long as a Japanese car?

>>if you think Porsches are awesome, wait

>> until you have a slight problem on your

>> hands--they are the most expensive car on

>> the road to repair!

You gotta be kidding? Repair Costs?! If you have to worry about more expensive repair rates, you don't belong in a Porsche. Nobody buys it on a budget. They buy it because it is ultimate performance car.

>>trust me--american cars are the way to go!

Yah, if you are a moron.

As the owner of a vintage and pristine 1970 Charger, 383 Magnum, I feel compelled to weigh in on this topic for whoever gives a damn.

The new Dodge "CHARGER" is a joke. I don't care about the hemi, and the 0-60 time, nor its cornering ability - I care about the Charger heritage while, obviously, Dieter Zetsche and Jurgen Schremp do NOT. These guys don't know or care the first thing about what they bought during their hostile take-over, er, uh, "merger of equals," as it were.

Don't get me wrong, this may be a fine automobile. It might be a great sports sedan. It might be fast and it might be a great cornering car. It might be a great grand touring car. But I'll tell you what it is NOT - it is NOT a Charger.

Lutz would have never allowed this to happen - in allowing Lutz to go to GM, Zetsche and Schremp also allowed my $30,000 to go there too. I'll buy the GTO - at least it's only got 2 doors and is actually worthy of the nameplate.

Charger, indeed. Humph!

Cool, did you rebuild/restore yourself? I agree Schremp and the rest of the team don't understand the Charger heritage. They're trying to appeal to the married schmuck who wants a muscle car but sweetheart wants a sedan. Yeah, it's a shame.

To the guy who posted earlier about the 6 series, here are more pictures of it. It really is a beautiful car...

Audi wins lemans in almost all classes fairly regularly so I would say they know a little more about performance and durability. They especially outperform in the fastest class, that is definitely saying something.

So, Ford won it convincingly in 66 (1,2,3) 67 (1,4), 68 (1), and then 69 (1,3,6). I'm sure if a manufacturer puts enough money into a program they could win Le Mans with the right driver and some luck (ie no crashing or mechanical mishaps).

Spider, damn right man! That 68 Charger in Bullitt is awesome, the Stang is nice too! There's just something about having over 450lbs of torque controlled by your right foot! Tire melting good, haha!

The new GTO is bland, I'll definitely support that. I think they should have done some more R+D instead of rebadging a Aussie Monaro. But the 2004 with 350 hp and the 05 with 400 hp, coupled with a six speed make for a fast and very fun car.

Lastly, the person who talked about Foreign cars being assembled in the U.S. your right. However, the profits go back to those countries not here.

Ultimate wrote:

You should get out more if you've never heard of the BMW M series, especially the M6 (5.0L 507HP V10 0-60: 4.6s)

That's freakin sick! And I thought the M5 was ridiculous. Ah well, I say BRING IT ON!!! My little Japanese 4-banger will take all y'all on (it does 0-60 in 4.6 too...stock!).

The new M5 will be offered with the same powerplant as the M6.

Yeah, I love all the American Car bashing you see on these threads.

Here is my thoughts.

Japanese cars are very reliable. And bland, and most that I have been in are rattletraps over 100K. I guess that is why the score high on INITIAL quality ratings. If you want to drive a boring, generic, souless little car, buy a Japanese or Korean car.

German cars can be reliable, but I have not seen any more reliability with them than American cars. I owned both a BMW 328 and a 740IL. Both required brake jobs all the time, and my wife drove them mostly. In addition to that, the 740 interior pieces cracked and broke, most under warranty thank goodness, as just the cracking wood console was a $600 part. The sunshades for the windows broke, and the car ran hot right before I traded it in. To do the service that requires filters and all sorts of changes, I had to really hunt for an independent dealer I could afford. One catalyst blew out internally too. When have you heard of a catalyst going out on a car?

I have 195,000 on my 1988 Ford Mustang GT. I have done almost all the work myself. Fuel pump, brakes, radiator, smog pump, waterpump and one fuel injector is all that I have ever replaced. My dad has a 1985 Mercury Marquis with 160,000k+ on it, no major work done. So much for the theory that Fords suck.

I realize that everyone has their own experiences. But every time I corner someone who bags on American cars, either they admit it is not firsthand experience, or they are some a-hole who never changes oil in their car.

Oh, and for the wag that said it didn't matter if you buy American cars, because the foreign ones are built here too and American cars use some foreign parts--just remember who OWNS the foreign car companies, and where the money is going to.

As for the new Charger, I was appalled at the styling. Really sad. You can have a nod to the past and have a fresh vision, like the new Mustang and the Ford GT. Dodge missed the mark, but the unit will still sell well I predict.

. wrote:

For all you American car lovers out there, check out this site or any other objective source in the world. The bottom line is this: compared to the Japanese, all other cars are crap when it comes to reliability.

Well I tried it, and the link is down...maybe it is just temporary.

I love the "Japanese Cars are Better". Where do you always hear statements like that? Either by people who own them and want to justify how smart they are, or car magazines who have tons of ads from, guess what, Japanese car companies!

I have a question for my friends here. If Japanese cars are so great, where are all the old ones? Oh sure, every once in a while you see an old Accord floating around, but not many. I do see alot of 80s Mustangs though, you know, the ones that certain wags claim were built so badly. I see old Cadillacs, old Buicks, Fords, and every once in a while a beatup Nissan Sentra smoking wildly with 4 guys in it. On my old sales team, two different guys had Hondas with 100k+ on them, and they both rode terribly. So where is all this reliability, the first couple of years? I know where all the old Japanese cars are, in the scrapyard, where they belong.

Oh, and yes, my experience is also personal. My wife had a Toyota Celica GT. Smooth, not bad performance, and we could not wait to get rid of the most boring, no-personality car we have ever owned!

This whole debate is hilarious really. Not going to ever buy an American car again!? What kind of idiot thinking is that?

The dude who mentioned that most "foreign" cars are built here in America has the tone right.

The days of pitting American cars against the rest of the world is long past. Cars now have individual problems, meaning that Ford might produce a champ or a skunk.

Someone said GM cars aren't reliable. That's hilarious. I've been driving a Saturn SL1 for 10 years and I've only had one repair on it ever, and that was just $300. It's just about to turn over to 100,000. I change the oil about every 4000 miles and put gas in it. The thing is a tank. It's been to the ocean and over the mountains countless times.

I had a Buick Skyhawk that I bought used for $900 and drove it for 6 years. Would have kept it longer but I gave it to charity, took a tax deduction worth almost as much as I paid for it 6 years earlier and bought a minivan - A Ford Windstar that has been going strong for 5 years and 50,000 miles now with no problems at all.

What to do then? Read Consumer Reports if you're in the market for a new car and take their advice. They do as good a job as anyone when testing cars. Then, once you get your car, treat it with care. If you Bo and Luke Duke your car, you'll have problems with it in no time.

Tom the link is not down. Put your cursor over the link in my post above, and click on it. Your magical computer will take you right to an objective rating of vehicles. One reason old Japanese vehicles are not common is that people put 200-300 thousand miles on them and then they are junk. The things are made to be used like that. Do you actually think that a GM vehicle from the 70s could last if it had been driven 20,000 miles a year? Give me a break.

Tom Anderson wrote:

If you want to drive a boring, generic, souless little car, buy a Japanese or Korean car.

This statement exposes your inexistent knowledge of sports cars. You really need to get out more or read some enthusiast magazines like Road&Track or Automobile.

Are these "boring, generic, souless(sic) little cars?"

Just to name a few:

Acura NSX, NSX-T, NSX Zanardi edition

Acura Integra Type-R

Honda S2000

Nissan Skyline GT-R

Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo or 350Z

Toyota Supra Turbo

Toyota MR2(not the current fag MR-Spyder)

Mazda Miata

Mazda RX-7 Twin Turbo

Mazda RX-8

Subaru WRX Sti

Drive these and see if "boring, generic, and souless(sic)" comes to mind.

Actually we hear it from the people who collect and maintain numbers on automobile reliability. Repair records, mileage, defect rates, owner rankings. Try consumerreports.org. Japanese cars are more reliable. And they have been for 30+ years.

Wrong. They're still on the roads. The numbers don't lie. Japanese cars last longer.

Your personal experience is not a substitute for hard data. Show us some NUMBERS that indicate how much more reliable American cars are and we'll talk

[/quote]

.,

Not that I'm disagreeing with you, but why do you call the Toyota Spyder a "fag"? I'm not going to argue - I'm just curious why you say that.

Also, I agree with your list of cool Japanese cars. My brother has the Subaru WRX, and it is one cool car - all that and all wheel drive too.