Dodge Swamped With Challenger Orders -- but Hints at Expanding Production

Date posted: 12-06-2007

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AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Dodge told Inside Line on Thursday that it has not decided how many Challengers it will build. This word comes as the Detroit automaker is swamped with 6,600 orders for the 2008 version of the muscle car in the three days since its dealers began taking orders on Monday.

"We have not said what we are going to build," said Kathy Graham, Dodge Challenger public relations specialist, disputing the 5,000 volume number that keeps popping up in the media and on blogs. "We haven't decided yet. It will be less than 10,000."

Dodge also released the first photos of the production Challenger SRT8 on Thursday morning, highlighting only details, such as the fuel filler cap. "They show areas of the vehicle we think customers will be interested in," Graham said. A full official image of the vehicle has yet to be displayed. Dodge said the new Challenger will be shown publicly for the first time on February 6 at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show.

The images and production update about the new Challenger come as the media frenzy over the car reaches a crescendo. Graham confirmed that Dodge will kick off production with the top-of-the-line SRT8 model only as a Limited Edition model, which goes on sale in the spring. "We decided to do it this way because it gets at the heart of the real performance enthusiast," she said. "They tend to be more of a zealot." Base pricing on the Challenger has not yet been announced.

Zealots aside, Graham also noted that Dodge has taken personal information from 50,000 so-called "hand raisers," potential Challenger buyers who have shared their contact information with the automaker. "It's higher than the number we had for the [Dodge] Charger," Graham said, but she could not provide specific Charger hand-raiser figures.

"Obviously, for a two-door coupe, the market is not huge," Graham said. "But this car has really resonated with people."

A posting late Wednesday on Chrysler's media blog reported that in the first day of orders, 4,300 people put down a deposit on the Challenger. Graham said 6,600 people had placed orders as of the close of business on Wednesday. A vehicle brochure and the Chrysler blog confirm that the car will be available in black, silver or Hemi Orange. More than half of the orders taken thus far are for the Hemi Orange spec. The Challenger SRT8 is powered by a 6.1-liter Hemi V8 and features a numbered dash plaque, plus dual "carbon fiber" hood stripes.

Dodge has priced the car at $37,995, including a $675 destination fee. Pricing is already controversial, since at least one dealer is offering a Challenger through eBay at a minimum of $10,000 over MSRP. Graham admitted that Dodge cannot control what the dealers will charge for the Challenger. "The dealers are independent franchisees," she said. "Dodge works with them closely, but ultimately, the transaction is between the customer and the dealer. There is not much we can do, according to franchise laws. But how a dealer performs can affect future allocations. All of those things will come into play eventually, but we can't say legally [to a dealer], 'you have to do it this way.'"

Her advice to consumers who worry about being gouged by a Dodge dealer in the rush to get their hands on a Challenger? "There are other dealers available," she said.

What this means to you: You'd better hustle to place your order if you want the 2008 Challenger SRT8, and you'd better expect to pay well over the sticker price. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent