this forum is specifically for the new challenger. youd have better luck getting an answer in the classic muscle car sections on this forum.

if it were me though, id go with the challenger, depending on the year model that it is. and id also go with the 440 no matter what car you decide to go with. i think those are more powerful to begin with and there are gonna be alot more performance and rebuild parts available for that than there will be for a 331 hemi. or you could look into a 426 hemi. plus wasnt the 331 hemi in the earlier model hemi cars, like in the late 50s? i dont think a 331 hemi was ever put in a muscle car...

 

The problem I see that persists from website to website is the actual term "rice". If it's solely used as a means for derogatory comment, then that's just wrong. As for the car itself, I myself consider rice only when the idiot drivers of an Import car have that tendency to add a double-decker wing, an exhaust tip in excess of 3 1/2", those body kits that look like hell, and never once do anything to the engine. (unless you consider a bright green filter element dangling off the end of an eBay purchased chrome-plated cold air intake system they bought for $50.00.) As for an Import, I'd consider that any foreign motor company's car that hasn't been altered to look like something out of "The Fast and The Furious" with an "unlimited" top end speed.[sm=lame.gif] Many people don't realize there ARE actually tastefully done Imports out there and believe it or not, they are quick both in a straight line as well as the corners. Though I love my '73 Challenger through and through, I have to give it up to some of the more tasteful owners who have done a nice job with the engine modifications and such to their Import. I currently drive a '91 Toyota and believe it or not, I've racked up 238,500 miles on the original drivetrain without any major implications. Though the car is ugly as hell (Corolla 4 door), it gets me from point A to point B without any problems and great gas mileage on top of it all. When I get my new daily driver this summer, I'll be looking at something with the Dodge nameplate on it, but in reality it's a Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 with different body panels here and there. My parents are hesitant to see me switch from Toyota as they've been reliable as hell for our entire family, I'll give Mitsu motors a try with some of their older technology that have that sporty look I'm after....There's no way in hell I'd ever buy a Ford or Chevy, and considering the DaimlerChrysler products I'd like to own are currently out of my price range, the reliability and easy maintenance Imports provide will probably keep me coming back to them for my daily drivers. (Besides, I couldn't sleep at night thinking about having my fully detailed underbody out on the roads everyday, not to mention how stupid some drivers in this country are.) Anyone else, besides any white supremist group members, agree with my opinions here? (BTW: I know several Asian Americans who drive nothing but Dodge products, so think about that for a while.)

 

thanks for the reply. i could not afford the challenger and i priced the 440 and it was about 3000 dollars.but thanks again for your reply/

 

HEy, I will not trash jap cars... I love American muscle and thats how I role. The japs do have alot of cars beaten for handling. My friend has a G35 and it is a blast to drive, corners well and can reach almost 160 with ease. My Charger R/T has a speed limiter (BLOWS CHUNKS!) but from a dead stop from light to light... I destroy him! Many talk about handling blah blah blah, but on the street it matters most from light to light and freeway passing power... Ya the G35 handles better and is very very fast... nothing beats the look on his face every time I blow him away from a light!! He goes on about how much better his handling is but he tells the truth and it stright kills him that he can never ever get me off the line! So in my opinion handling is up to the drive. How many old farts you see driving 80+ thousand doller porche or Ferrari and drive it 5 under the speed limit.... All that power all that handling and it is wasted! Who owns a race course??? I prefer to just destroy from light to light and see them cry!

As for gas mileage... Dartman is correct... My freinds G35 with a 3.5 v6 gets about 16 mpg... I get 14 with the way I drive... guess who's payment is hight and his insurance is almost double mine.... I will never buy a two door again! to insure a two door sebring cost 70 more per month will less coverage than my R/T, so those who slam four doors too bad, you can pay more for less!!! I love my back seat and other things that two doors do not offer!! HATE TWO DOORS - TRUE HIPOCRIT - I WILL OWN A CHALLENGER SOMEDAY!! HA HA

 

The 440 is far better than a 331 Hemi, I'm actually shocked anyone even knows of or remembers the 331 Hemi or the other two small Hemi's, most only know of the legendary 426 Hemi. Plus, the parts are far cheaper and easier to find. As far as which car to get it all depends on personal preference and the intended use of the car, weekend fun, daily driver, future investment, etc.

The E-body's (Barracuda and Challenger) are slightly smaller and a little lighter as well as having only been built for 5 years (all '69 and older Barracuda's are A-body's). There are tons of aftermarket parts for them, it's almost like buying a Chevy there's so many parts out there for them. They are also very popular and usually fairly expensive because of this. The B-body's (Charger, Roadrunner, Super Bee, etc.) are mid-sized and only weigh 200-400lbs. more than the E-body's in most cases and there are more of them out there, but only certain models and years are well suported by the aftermarket. My Roadrunner for instance has all it's drivetrain, accessories, decals/badges and most interior parts available thru the aftermarket, but none of the body/sheetmetal except floor and trunk pans are available, no fenders or quarter or anything else. Both are very popular and will hold any engine, although the Hemi is a tight squeeze in the E-body's, but the lesser model B-body's (Satellite, Coronet, Charger, etc.) are far more inexpensive than the highly sought after versions (Super Bee, R/T, Roadrunner, GTX, etc.). The cheapest route would be the A-body cars like the Dart and Duster, the A-body Barracuda's arepretty pricey with a V8. These will also hold most V8's, the big blocks are a tight fit and the 426 Hemi's will require body modifications to fit. It's all a matter of what you want, what your willing to spend and it's purpose.

 

In response to the topic...

"anything but rice, right?"

Not necessarily. You want to compare all ricers to the Challenger, mustang or camaro, or any other muscle car then fine, Ill go with that. But to say all japanese cars are crap is dead wrong. Even compared to american cars. Would you choose a chevy malibu over a 350Z? if so, then an auto enthusiast's forum is the wrong place for you. And to say that a honda civic isnt as good as a mustang is crap also. Thats like comparing apples to manhole covers. Comparing civics, celicas, and eclipses up against ZX3's, Cobalts and neons and RX-8s, supras, and Z-cars against challengers and mustangs is more like it.

I base my preferences on the car itself, not who made it. So long as it has style, performance, handling, aftermarket supportand is a solid and well made vehicle, then it deserves consideration.

 

and each time you say this, you endorse them, you should visualize yourself slapping a detroit worker in the face and telling him that he has to be laid off because people like you would endorse a brand that's not even part of your own country. No i never comparedsedans to sports cars, maybe u should try reading. I compared sedans to sedans, trucks to trucks, and suvs to suvs. THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH OUR OWN CARS.!!!!!! so quit buying theirs, quit slapping detroit in the face. Is there really something foreign offers that our own don't? I DON'T THINK SO
and if you think so, go ahead and state ur liberal media induced opinion. I'm waiting to shoot it down.
If people won't quit endorsing the other country instead of their own, maybe they need a slap in the face, or maybe you should be deported if your so willing to stand for them. We live in america, we are american,buy american, keep americas companies rollin. It's not a hard concept.

 

Its not a slap in the face to anyone to exercise their ownfreedom of choice, thats what america's supposed to be all about. In my post, Im not endorsing any brand. Im endorsing stylish cars that perform and hold up. I dont care whose name is on the emblem. Now that most cars are pretty much appliances, Ill take a REAL piece of automotive greatness no matter who built it. And lame, same old crap is lame same old crap no matter who built it as well. Camry, Taurus, Caravan or Sienna, its all the same cookie cutter, no-imagination, poor resale, lousy performance boring waste of metal. I have my opinion on what's worthwhile or not, but Im not trashing anyone for making their own choice. Who are you to tell anyone else what to buy?

If you're looking to grind an axe over the bashing of american cars, why not write some letters to the likes of Consumer Reports, Road and Track, etc. Those are the ******** who smear all over american cars. Or, just look at our own government. Ill be right behind you on that. Who else is responsible for allowing the Japanese to sell all they want over here while our stuff is subject to huge tariffs over there? You want to attack something, then have at the skewed playing field. All that was put into effect after WWII to help Japan get on its feet. Once they were up and going and attempted to level the playing field, they squealed like stuck pigs and we let it go. So whose fault is that?

Who here is saying there IS anything wrong with our own cars?As to what you say about the Japanese not offering anything that we dont, you're dead wrong.The Challenger and Camaro aren't here yet, so that means that we offer just oneperformance coupe that's relatively affordable, the Mustang. I dont want to hear anything about the Viper or Vette, sincethose are dream cars, out of reach for most of us.Just like there's no Japanese muscle cars, there's no american equivalent to theRX-8 (right now NO ONE else makes a wankel engine'd car as far as I know) and no one else has the nuts to offer a car that has a real useable back seat with decent access that doesnt screw up the styling--and dont start screaming Saturn Ion, thats a joke. And we have nothing along the lines of the 350Z or subaru WRX wagon either to name just 2 more.Brand-wise Im mopar all the way. But I appreciate any auto maker making a genuine effort to offer something you actually WANT to own.Right here and now, all Mopar has to offer car-wise fora young guy whowants performance and styling is the Viper. Got $80K? Nope. Guesshe'll have to look closer at that Z car.

Furthermore, you're living in some alternate reality if you think that anything you buy is 100% american, japanese, or whatever else. Mazda's controlling interest is held by Ford. Isuzu by GM. Sebring and Stratus coupes are nothing more than re-pops of the Mitsubishi Eclipse. Which use many chrysler components.

Oh, and what about those of us who buy used cars?The only one reaping the money there is the dealer or private owner. So I guess thats a slap in the face to theentire industry.

Look man, for the most part I agree with where you're coming from. But I say in order to convince people to buy american, dragging down everything else isnt gonna cut it. The only thing thats gonna work is to get back to the roots of what American car makers do best, and that's build more exciting, high performance cars with killer looks. I know not everyone is in the market for that, but the minivan or sedanguy can find 10 of those anywhere. If the american makers can have something interesting to bait him in to drool over, thats where the sale will be made.

 

Actualy there is plenty of reasons to buy foreign cars, a large chunk of what detroit puts out is crap now adays, I do like Dodge as they make some nice looking vehicles, but they botch most of them one way or another so they don't really keep up with most foreign cars, the only thing out of detroit I really care for atm is the LX line (Magnum, Charger, & 300) past those three cars it's all jap or german cars because they are better, you get more for what you pay, they don't stiff you on the warrant with the pitifull 3/36 detroit gives, and lots of them give you free matainance for a while, that's a once in a blue moon special for american cars, not to mention customer service sucks. My mother will never buy a Chrysler product again cause of their customer service, she got a Sebring which was a lemon and was leaking water inside and they couldn't fix, took close to a year before they even honered the lemon law and finaly bought her car back.

Detroit unions are driving themselves out of work cause it cost so much more to build an american car because of them, and a huge chunk of foreign cars sold here are built here so I have no guilt in taking work away from Americans cause i'm not, American's are building Japaneese cars, while Mexicans are building a lot of american cars.

 

You make some good points too. Customer servicesucks based on the dealership though. On one hand, Ive heard the Toyota and Nissan horror stories where someone comes in with a real problem and they try to wish the problem away.My dad took my sister's supra in because of some clearcoat peeling on the hood and the guy was all "No way, toyotas dont have that problem." I also worked at a Dodge/Jeep dealership where much of the same went on. And as to trying to negotiate a deal when buying and/or trading, then forget it.
But on the other hand, the Ford dealership down the road from my parents has done nothing but give excellent service to my parents. I used to work there prepping cars in my first year of college and that attitude extended to all customers. New or used, they never once had anything I was in the market for myself, which was a shame since they backed up what they sold.

Ive had good luck with all 5 of myJeeps over the years and that just goes to show that if you want somethingsubstantial, not the cheapest econo-sedan you can find. It stands to reason that something built on a truck frame and designed to be crashed over mountains and rocks is going to last a lot longer than some 40mpg fwd tin box.

AndI totally agree about the unions. I think at one time unions did a lot of good, but now you have things like job bank where guys have been taking knitting classes for 20 years getting full salary because they dont want to move wherethe work is. Thats crap and if you eliminate that as well as about 75% of the ridiculous governmentregulations that have choked down our auto industry since the lat 60's we'll be a lot better off.

My point all along has been that when you get into arguments that sound like "All the american cars this" or "All the Japanese cars that" those arguments are pretty hard to back up. I learned a lot from those couple months of attempting to sell cars. When Id check out the used stuff whether taking a mustang for a little spin for my own enjoyment or showing one to a customer, I found out a lot about which cars seemed to be the most well made. Anything new will do just fine, but look at the same thing after 5 years of normal use. Chryslers and Fords were usually tight and felt solid, same thing with toyotas and hondas. Nissans were a mixed bag as were VWs. Pretty much anything made by GMsqueaked, rattled,felt cheap, and had an overall crappy feel to them. Outside of the 2 Eclipses (from what Ive been reading, those are as much Chrysler's work as Mitsu's) we had, Mitsubishis were just as bad.