The Stratus was based on ther Mitsubishi Galant line and shares the Galant architecture underneath. The sketches released by Dodge have a bunch of Galant ques [look at the tail lights] and the cars on the trailer look too much like the Galant for me to think this is some all wonderful muscle car that is going to resurrect the Charger name. The Intrepid didn't shre it's lines with anything from Mitsubishi so why would the new Charger look like a Galant??

 

thats a pretty damn good comeback. what do u have to say in return Robert

 

All of this talk of how the sketchs released earlier are the Dodge Charger, and I only now thought to ask... Where on these sketchs does it say 'Charger?' Even the Nascar vehicle being tested doesn't claim to be a Charger -- not to mention that the skin on it looks like camo. Dodge has released sketchs of two cars together -- one is the NASCAR vehicle, which they have stated in the past will be based on the Charger. The other is a retail version vehicle. Yet they have never pointed to these drawings and claimed, 'this is the Charger.' The have merely released the drawings to reporters, and left it up to those reporters to make their own statements. Is this 4-door Magnum looking car the new Charger? It might be, but then again it might not. Does anyone have anything, directly from Dodge, that indicates that this is the Charger? For fun, everyone has been to the Dodge site, correct? So, you all know that the following link is for the Magnum...
http://www.dodge.com/magnum/index.ht...pe=vehicleLink
Well, sub in charger for magnum in that link. What do you get? A little pop-up that asks for your email so you can be updated when information is released. Why would they do that, yet no where on the Dodge site itself do they have any of these artist sketches which they have released? They are obviously up to something, either that or they know there are a lot of unhappy people watching them.

 

Actually, if you go to http://www.media.daimlerchrysler.com/gms_frame you will see that DaimlerChrysler has indeed called it the Charger. They have the sketch w/ NASCAR and production vehicles next to each other, with the caption "Dodge Charger is Back!" (It takes some navigating to get to it, you have to enter the site as a "guest" and accept some legal terms yada yada then browse to Chrysler Group then Dodge, and you'll see the Charger link)

Now, I'm still holding onto that one grain of hope that this is still a bait-and-switch campaign, but that's just a matter of faith... all evidence up to this point indicates that we've already seen the new Charger more-or-less.

And for what it's worth, the sketch of the NASCAR charger is merely a promotional drawing for marketing purposes. Look at how small the window opening is, no driver would be able to get in/out through there. The car is also way too rounded. That car might fit the new "boxy" templates that are rumored to take effect sometime soon in NASCAR, but not the current templates, no way. Besides, I was rooting around through some boxes in my basement yesterday, and i found a Dodge brochure from the year 2000, and there were tons of similar marketing sketches of the then-new Intrepid NASCAR entry... and the actual race car ended up looking very different from those images... so I wouldn't place too much credibility on the NASCAR sketch.

 

I am not saying the Charger is or is not the car in the sketches but the sketches do not fit the car that Dieter Zetsche described when he taked about the the new Charger. I think the cars look like a good replacement for the Stratus or even the the new Enforcer. But I guess we will all find out sooner or later.

 

ok..for the record...that drawing of the nascar charger next to the concept, evidently is an accepted version becuase i have the new "dcx times" on my desk..and those pics are in there..

 

Is there any text which explicitly states that this is the approved NASCAR body? I don't know what "dcx times" is but it sounds like it might be similar to the dodge mailer I mentioned earlier. This was perhaps a quarterly mini-magazine sent out by Dodge for promotional purposes, with articles about their vehicles etc. I've got one of these from 2000 and it's packed full of sketches and renderings of the 2001 NASCAR Intrepid... and the real race car ended up looking very different upon careful inspection.

I'm just curious if the "dcx times" publication is similar.

I looked closely at the NASCAR/street Charger sketch, and I don't think the race car will look exactly like this. The window opening is too small for a driver to get in and out of, and that grille doesn't look at all like a racing grille. This looks to me more like just a modified street Charger dressed up to look like a race car. There will probably be major differences between the NASCAR entry and the production car.

Remember, the only similarities between a NASCAR entry and its production model are the car's name, and a few areas of sheetmetal (can't remember for sure, but I think it's the roof panel and trunk lid or something like that).

 

I wonder if Dodge will start with this style, then drastically change it in the future. If the new Ford Mustang does well in sales, with it's well done retro styling and departure from other recent models, I'll bet the Dodge boys will follow suit with another Charger or other badge done right, hopefully. It'd be unfortunate that Ford would do a much better job on the Mustang than Dodge does on the Charger. Well see.
[8D]

 

well i work at a dealership, and dcx times is the paper we get every week or so, updating the dealership on any changes that will be made about purchasing computer systems..so on

 

Look for yourself... go to http://www.dodge.com/charger

redriderbob