http://www.challengerblog.com/blog/1...are-not-needed

Of course they want to do the fuel efficient cars, but axing the Hemi would drive away a decent portion of current customers.

 

:icon_ rant:

 

I'm guessing they will keep the Hemi around at least through it's current lifecycle, but longterm who knows.

 

try and find a 2 year or newer hemi 300 C or a Charger with a hemi on a dodge used car lot, thier not out their, but thiers a hell of lot 3.5 or 2.7 powerd rwd cars, Hemis in rwd cars are what the public wants.

 

With the standard 5.7L getting 25-26 mph on the highway, what is the point of killing it? Lighten the Charger and Challenger by 500# and that could easily bump close to 30 mpg. With FIAT in control, who knows what will happen. They control the board now, so what any American thinks is irrelavent. I am hoping that the Hemi is around next year. Around June of next year, I'll have my two cars paid off and want to buy a new Charger-with a Hemi. I may just try to find a used one, but I'd rather buy new. Lime green with Hemi decals. That's my dream car.

 

I'm pretty sure the current customers have already drove away. Hence the current state of Chrysler (Fiat) :-(

 

I see no reason to remove the hemi-ette as an option - they could do pass on whatever penalties

 

I said this about a week ago on DC and I feel that it applies here as well. I cleaned it up a little after re-evaluating some of the original words used.

What I have to say about this situation is this:

"Dear Sergio Marchionne or as I will refer to you Dr. Z the II (for potentially twice as stupid until you stop making decision that are so stupid that Dr. Z wouldn't have even done them)

You are about to demonstrate what traditional European arrogance leads to when you try to change the American consumer. What amazes me is a man like yourself is actually this foolish not to learn from current history on how you do NOT run an American car company. You like Daimler hold this out of touch, idiotic view that American will do what you want them to do and will buy the cars they don't want instead of the cars that they want because you are an elitist and somehow smarter than they are. I advise you to first take a close look at Chrysler's history starting from when Lee Iacocca took control of Chrysler until now. The portion for you to study are companies that performed badge engineering with Chrysler and how well the models sold.

Mitsubishi has to be Chrysler's longest partner through this time. During this time, very many models were sold such as the Stratus/Avenger/Sebring coupe, Talon/Laser, Colt/Summit, Stealth, 78-83 Challenger, Conquest just to name a few. These models did NOT sell nearly as well as the Chrysler equivalent models as they did not fit the desired state for the consumer as they were not built with the American consumer as the priority.

Renault for a while did badge engineering after the purchase of AMC by Chrysler. The Premier/Monaco didn't sell worth a darn for its 6 year run (for Dodge 3 years). The Medallion didn't sell at all.

The only Mercedes models that had any success WERE ones that had the engine you hate so much. The Crossfire was a complete flop.

The thing that is laughable is your talk about the Hemi being a problem in the category of fuel efficiency considering that your microsized V8 in the F430 gets WORSE fuel economy at 16mpg than Chrysler's traditional tech OHV 510 cubic inch (that's 8.4L in your terms) V10 gets 22mpg! In fact, none of your Ferrari line manages to come close to the Viper's elephant sized V10 engine's fuel economy, not to mention that Chrysler the company you have so much contempt for managed to get much better fuel economy out of much larger, lower tech V8 engines than you have been able to do thus far with your V8s.

Also, it is a joke to say that you are somehow going to teach Chrysler a thing or two on how to design an engine when you were foolish enough to get stuck with an engine that is so lame they gave it a name that you could expect from Wal-Mart (fyi that is a retailer who's reputation is they have cheap quality products), from a manufacture who is on their fourth (or fifth if you count the Atlas I6 engine) try to make a competitive 4 valve per cylinder V6 engine and only now with the addition of GDI has managed to surpass an engine Chrysler made before the merger took effect back in 1999. Chrysler is already about to release a V6 that will make that engine look like a joke in fuel economy, cost, and power. Also, if you are so superior to the lowly Americans then why did you buy a I4 from Chrysler who's design was practically ten years old and wasn't even state of the art for its time.

I will also point out to you to study very carefully what you are planning to throw out in comparison of what you are planning to install, since the Mercedes-sourced W5A580 failed to yield faster acceleration times, better fuel economy, or better cost than Chrysler's 42RLE did.

My suggestion to you is this. Get rid of the all the CVTs. Dissolve the pointless relationships with Nissan, Mitsubishi, & Hyundai for good immediately. Only keep the LX/LY platform continue from Mercedes, but cut all other ties as they are a lazy, overpriced, uncompetitive, foolish company trying to stay alive off a non-deserved reputation. Get rid of the W5A580 & 42RLE immediately. Get rid of the "World Engine" & the 2.7L V6 now. Replace the 3.7L V6 with the Pentastar engine the moment it is ready. Keep the 62TE if it proves to be reliable. Provide a 6-speed to replace the 545RFE and W5A580 applications. Replace the Avenger/Sebring with a car nearly the size of the current Charger in length only lighter and FWD with competitive I4s and Pentastar V6 engines. Get rid of the Compass altogether, make the Patriot a Dodge and give it a V6. Offer an economy car that is interesting and fuel efficient like the Neon was. Consider cutting down on the versions of the Town & Country to just the top of the line model as being affordable and competitive is Dodge's role, not Chrysler's. Beside updating the V6 and transmissions and interior in the Challenger/Charger/300 (and increasing the room in the sedans)...LEAVE THEM ALONE!!! The formula they already have is working, don't ruin it!

The underlying point is this, you do the European cars the European way and they will appeal to people who like European cars, but keep the American cars done the American way and they will sell, they just need a few minor tweaks is all.

 

My only real disagreement with the above is that the 300/Charger have not been selling all that well these last few years. I wouldn't suggest just leaving them alone. A better V6 would be a start and a lighter overall car, for better fuel efficiency, would also help.

 

A 2 door version would help the Charger line. I was quite disappointed with the rear leg room in the Charger as well. It is also time for a facelift. I like the looks of the car but it is getting a bit dated.
Perhaps a 2dr version with the Hemi could be called "Road Runner". I loved my 69 that I had.