Posted on Friday 31 August 2007
The upcoming Dodge Challenger will not be sold in European markets as the car will only be manufactured in limited numbers with many American fans likely to miss out as well. The decision was apparently made by Chrysler’s new owners, Cerberus Capital Management, who actually overturned plans made by Chrysler’s previous management team, reports AutoTelegraaf.
The final production version of the new Dodge Challenger will be revealed at the Chicago Auto Show on the 15th of February next year, and is expected to enter production at Chrysler’s Brampton plant later that same year.
All is not loss for European fans of American muscle. If there’s enough demand, private importers may sell the car across Europe in limited numbers but potential buyers will undoubtedly be facing a substantial markup. There’s no word if Chevrolet’s new Camaro will make it across the Atlantic but Ford offers some solace with its Mustang range.
I just don’t see how a large, marked up, ineffecient musclecar would sell well in Europe anyhow? I mean of course there will be some die-hards who love that sort of thing, and can afford it, but to bring it to Europe officially (safety tests, the whole thing) takes a lot of effort, doesn’t it? They are just very different markets, with advantages and disadvantages to each…
If Vauxall can sell Holden’s 6.0 VXR8 in the UK then why can’t Dodge sell the Challenger. The VXR8 aint new either, this is the second or third gen model with a big V8 to come from Australia - Pointiac GTO/Holden Monaro was also sold in the UK so as different as the markets are there’s obviously some demand there.
Except the Monaro is much smaller than the gigantic Challenger. The Challenger, thanks to it’s donor chassis, is just huge by any standards.
Jeff, both displace roughly 6.0L, the Challenger probably less at 5.7. I doubt the Dodge will weigh much more than the Monaro at 1698kg. I’d expect the new Challenger to weigh less than the Chrysler 300 (1873kg) on which it’s based because of its shorter length and only 2 doors.
Also, the Holden VXR8 (1812kg) sedan is roughly the same size as the Chrysler 300 and it sells in the UK too.
Challenger gigantic? Not to me, part of the appeal of those muscle cars are their size and as you can see, the sedan will always be bigger so the size argument is not really an excuse.
It probably falls down to an issue of money. Chrysler in Europe is not in the same position as Vauxall/Opel. The Challenger will probably be too expensive to sell.
That’s what I’m thinking.
It just wouldn’t sell in large enough numbers.
Oh I don’t know - I have friends waiting on that car as initially we were told it was coming to the UK in RHD - now it won’t appear at all? That’s silly. A sale is a sale, surely?
Personally, I’m waiting on the Camaro - but I won’t hold my hopes too high now. Still, I do have a Monaro VXR so my V8 fetish is being held in check for now
I too have a Monaro VXR here in northern Ireland and I was looking forward for a while now for the Challenger to come and last week when I checked at N.I. main Chrysler dealer all they knew was that a car called the Charger would be coming later this year. I assumed that perhaps they were going to market it here as Charger as many people here remember the Dukes of Hazzard and they could easily play on that. So perhaps the real 4 door charger is coming instead. It wouldn’t be the same though. Chrysler here sells more SRT versions of the 300c than standard petrol versions. Diesel outsells of course. boo. The Camaro may or may not make it here but if it does and the challenger doesn’t it will still be good.