Intrepidation

Actually when Motor Trend compared the GTO VS 300 SRT-8 (which is similar to the Charger SRT-8 ) and the CTS-V, the 300 outperformed the GTO in 0-60 (4.9 vs 5.0 seconds). The CTS is most likely the sporiest of the group, but again the Charger is roomier. As for interiors...the Charger's ain't horrible, and the amount of soft stuff doesn't effect performance, which is what this car is about, so drop it. Jeez. Once again, The topic of the thread is if the Charger SRT-8 is a good value. Considering that it's undiscounted (compared to the CTS), you get a bigger, roomier car, with a lot of mucsle and performance to boot. The GTO is indeed cheaper, but smaller and less practicle, so it can't make as stronmg a case for practicality. That and it looks like a Cavalier on steroids. It's not perfeerect, but to quote that British king of yore "Nothing has any business being perfect". No car is perfect, but it's still a damn good car for a damn good price for what you get. One other things is that while the 3 cars are similar in price, a more accurate comparison would be with the STS-V...in which case the Charger or any LX car wins hands down as far as value-per-dollar goes. No gripes about the interiors, cuz the Charger is way cheaper and isn't marketed as a luxo car. Thank you and goodnight.

Again, the whole point of this thread is if the Charger SRT-8 is a good buy or not. Short answer is yes, to get a Caddy it's power and size would mean the STS-V which is way more expensive. So yes, it's a great buy.

you're welcome

You know it's funny, a lot of people who've replied this thread seem to think it's not a big deal about interiors, however when it's Charger SRT-8 VS GTO everyone is all for pointing the tiniest bits of soft touch trim that somehow makes the car a better performance car (in reference to people's opinions about the GTO having more soft materials). Personally, I think all cars should at least have soft armrests and upper dash. If my `89 Shadow can have them, a 30k+ SUV should too.

Well damn, I was just curious. I don't plan to buy one of those anyway. Plus even you must admit putting you arm on something soft is more comfortable than gainy plastic. If i remember right, some of the complaints about the interior was that the plastics also felt hollow and not solidly made. So, yeah.

I haven't looked these up, nor do I really care, but it is unfair to judge the Neon, it's ancient after all, and also since it's being replaced by the Caliber. I'd like to see how that does in cash tests.

lmao :rotflmao:

Sadly, the GT-500 will e the last SVT, they even did away with the Sport Trac Adrenalin, which I throught was really cool.

You know I have to say I rather like the new Toyota Yaris, particularly the sedan in "S" trim. It's cute, like a baby Camry. It's only got one flaw. Why oh why did Toyota yet again stick the guage pods in the center of the flippin' dashboard?! I mean seriously, it's such a stupid place to put them, you have to look down and away from the road to check them. Everyone gripes about them, I'm sure Saturn won't do it again with the next Ion. It just baffles me why Toyota is so dumb. Oh well.

That's too bad, it's a pretty nice looking interior. I heard reading a review on auto123.com that the Grand Cherokee was designed before Chrysler Group became profitable like it is now, so they cut costs on the interior, but according to someone at Jeep the reviwer alked to, the GC should get improved interior materials when it's refreshed. Lets hope so, it's a nice `ute aside from teh interior. Thanks for replying!

oh i see it now, my bad, eheh

I was just wondering if the Grand Chaerokee interior is as bad as the reviews have said. I mean early reviews said it had soft touch materials, but more recent ones said everything is as hard as a rock. Does anyone own or been inside one that knows? I'm just curious I guess if there's anything besides the seats that are soft.

Northstar, I agree with that the GTO has a nicer interior overall, at least from the looks; I don't care for the Charger's design, but I don't hate it either. However, from what I've read at least, the Charger outperforms it. I like the GTO, but I like the Charger better, especially where looks come into play (subjective). The Charger is also more practicle as muscle car a family can own and use, which also gives it an edge. The whole arguement of the thread, at least originally was if the Charer SRT-8 is a good deal or not, and to that in I say, "Hell yes!" BTW I like your avatar Northstar, it's the MXK (Mmm-Kay-X, har har) headlight right?

So..did you give up on bashing the pricetag and interior and now switched to bashing..the kicback in the rear? Clever.

Some of the posts on this thread are pretty funny, particularly with some of the negative comments. Ok, tell me this: SRT stands for Street and Racing Technology, does it say anywhere that that they stand for Fluffy Interiors? No. For the clueless, the Charger SRT-8, like every SRT product, is about performance, and a hell of a lot of it. Their mission is to give you maximum performance for the best value. You show me a car this big with this much power for 44k and I'll show you a Vice President that can tell humans from Quails FYI according to the the SRT site, the Charger SRT-8 starts at 38k Anyway, if you're gonna be picky about the interior and think it's too pricy cuz it's not made with baby seal hide or something, go buy a Caliber SRT-4...it's supposed to start under 25k. There are certainly fancier cars for 44k, but none of them come with a fire-breathing 425 horsepowe Hemi, sport tuned suspension, and other performance goodness. As for looks...well that's always subjective. I wasn't fond of the Charger at first, but seeing them in real life is much more gratifying than pictures. Plus, once I saw a photo of the SRT-8...well that just looks badass. Not everyone likes Dodge's designs, but credit to Dodge for not being afraid to build something that actually creates an opinion, not a collective yawn *coughgtocough* Permission to start drooling!

D'oh! I shoulda known that...lol. Thanks XD

Here is something that baffles me about today's compact car interiors (and even some midsize). I have a 1989 Dodge Shadow. It's no luxery car but the dash, door armrests and center armrest are all made of soft-touch materials, and the doors themselves are covered in soft fabric. The hard plastic portionson the pillars and lower dash are nicely textured, at least I think they are. So why is it that an 80's subcompact has nicer materials than most of todays? I wanna go and take a look at a Caliber up close, and poke around for myself still though.

The American Caliber and the Euopean Caliber are the same, at least exterior wise. btw can someone tell me how make the quote show who it's from please?

I dunno why but the other Aero X thread was locked, which sucks. So i wanted to make a thread to post some cool pics of the Aero X and some thoughts about it. I'm sure a lot of people have seen these already, but they're still sweet to look at. Check out that altimeter style speedo...it's sweet. This is what Saab should have, as like a halo car. I mean, it's the only car to really back up the "Born from Jets" slogan. It looks absolutely stunning. I'm sure they won't build it but you know...they could if they really wanted to. Granted, building it off the RWD Corvette platform goes against the FWD tradition of Saab...but you know I think building the Saabaru and the Saablazer aready went agsinst tradition. Instead of spitting in Saab's face like the other two cars do (although I must admit I kinda like the 9-7x), this takes the brand to a new level. RWD and the twin turbo V6 will make it a better perfomance car than it could ever be as an FWD (can you say "torque steer"?). Plus, since it'd be built of an existing and very good platform, it'd cut costs down. I think the canopy is so cool, and it's different, and like a jet, just like Saab's tradition. People wonder how how expensive or complicated it would be to make it...but think about this: the Volvo C70's 3-piece hardtop is uber complex, as is other hardtops. If they can build a G6 hardtop with a decent price, they should be able to build that canopy. In fact the only issue I can see with it is the window. I'd have to be sections so you could actually roll down the windows, lol. That speedometer is freakin' sweet...I think Saab, if nothing else, should make a funmctional speedo like that to put in their cars. Anyway, those are just my thoughts, it's a sweet concept!

SO much for annalists thinking that Chysler Group was starting to loose its momentum. Considering that not only are the Charger and 300 at record monthly sales, and the PT Cruiser is even up (bet you annalists didn't see that coming) they'll be doing even better as the Caliber becomes more widely available. I'm surprised that the COmmander is selling well, I heard it wasn't, I guess it's doing better now. If they keep these sales up, they'll be in great shape when the Nitro, Avenger/Sebring and minvans are launched. They'll only get stronger at this rate. Keep it up Chrysler Group!

First off, the Avenger is the sibling to the Sebring, it doesn't use the LX platform. Second, I think DCX did a fine job at seperating the LX cars. The 300 and 300 wagon aren't sold in teh states, giving dodge the wagon as the Magum, with it's own front end, so it's totally unique in this market, and the only thing the Charger has in common with them (besides the interior) is the windshield. You can tell they're related, but not the same. Plus each has it's own driving characteristic. That's certainly better than slapping a Pontiac grill on an Equinox and calling it a Torrent.

3 March 2006 By Robert Farago It’s official: bankruptcy is good for GM. In their recent ass-covering exercise for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), The Ford Motor Company listed "adverse effects from the bankruptcy or insolvency of a major competitor" as a significant risk to its financial future. Translation: if GM goes bankrupt, The General will slough off its excessive labor costs and become… wait for it… competitive. So competitive, in fact, that Ford reckons GM’s products would gain an important price advantage. Well how about that? Obviously, there’s more to it than that. Ford’s SEC filing also alerts investors that GM’s Chapter 11 could destroy The Blue Oval’s supply chain. Both automakers share a large number of mission critical parts suppliers; if GM’s submersion sucks vital parts makers into bankruptcy-- which it most assuredly would-- Ford will lose access to the bits and pieces it needs to build Fords. In fact, it’s hard to see how Ford could survive a GM bankruptcy. Or why it would want to. The automotive community is slowly (and quietly) beginning to conclude that bankruptcy is both the only thing and the BEST thing that can happen to GM, and, by extension, Ford. To review: GM can’t build competitive vehicles at a profit. It’s got too many models, brands and dealers. Too much bureaucracy, waste and inefficiency. Its labor costs are too high, its capital investment is too low and its supply chain is about to snap. And GM can’t change a thing. The United Auto Workers (UAW)’s contract prevents any wage or benefits cuts, and precludes any alteration to their Byzantine working practices. Legal obligations also stop GM from trimming its distended dealer network or euthanizing fatally wounded brands. To survive, GM needs to lower its costs and revamp its business. And it can’t do that without Chapter 11. Oh, OK, it could, if everyone pulled together: investors, management, unions, dealers, suppliers and customers. But they won’t. It’s not in their nature. And even if it was, GM CEO Rabid Rick Wagoner is singularly incapable of tackling this monumental leadership assignment. And even if Rabid Rick could unify all the negatively charged particles in the GM universe, it’s too late. The General doesn’t have enough cash to weather the turbulence between business-as-usual and the end result of a lengthy, radical, difficult and dangerous overhaul. Nobody’s going to give them the extra money-- at least until The General declares bankruptcy. As Ford publicly acknowledged, only bankruptcy can give GM the wiggle room it needs to implement necessary changes to the way it designs, builds, markets and sells its products. So be it. As I said at the beginning of this odious odyssey, GM will emerge from this multi-decade debacle a smaller, leaner and better automaker or, preferably, automakers. And that’s why Ford’s worried. Of course, they’re not the only ones. The prospect of revolutionary change is making everyone involved apprehensive, frightened, angry, defensive, aggressive, desperate and, well, crazy. We’re already seeing some strange behavior emerge from GM World: a public pledge to end to discounts followed by a “March madness” incentive campaign, exciting new cars announced and cancelled and re-announced; a Board Member and Car Czar squabbling over a moribund Swedish car brand, etc. It’s the End of Days, Detroit style. As GM’s fate reaches its terrifying conclusion, workers will get all the attention. The moment the axe falls, whether by a slow strike or a lightning default, the spotlight will shift to “the little guy.” Needless to say, the media will depict them as victims. They’ll highlight the most desperate cases and blame their fate on management incompetence, outsourcing, the Japanese, the Chinese, foreign trade policy, currency manipulation, oil prices, George W. Bush, the anti-GM press, anyone and anything other than the workers themselves. Never mind that a huge number of these workers performed two hours work for eight hours pay. Never mind that thousands were willing to receive full pay and benefits for doing nothing whatsoever. It will always be someone else’s fault. Understand this: GM’s workers are no better or worse than any of the other players in this sad saga. All of them work for a company where personal responsibility doesn’t exist. Where everyone thinks they deserve to be well-paid, no matter what they or the company does, or doesn’t do. Yes, there are plenty of good people within GM. And here’s the kicker: most of them can’t wait for the company to file. They want to see an end to the waste, laziness, greed, corruption, inequality and stupidity they see around them. When GM becomes the world’s largest bankrupt, these good men and women will be satisfied, knowing that there is justice in the world. And they’ll be hopeful; that something good will replace something bad. from The Truth About Cars -- So what does evryone think of this article? Some things make sense, some I dunno. I just came across this while looking at car reviews, heh.

Yeah it was quite the powerhouse. But even if they didn't put any of the performance upgrades, just puuting the ram air 6 package on the stock GTO would have done wonders for it. I emailed Pontiac once saying they should build it. they said something along the lines of "We're glad you like it, but we don't plan to build it, sorry." Idiots. I know what you mean though, it keeps the essance of the stock GTO but spices p the design. BAM! Too bad it as never built.

I really do feel bad for the GTO...it definitelly deserves better than this fate. Yes, the main reason is cuz Holden is phasing out the platform, but it's like no one in the mdeia seems to care. Do you guys remember the very first GTO commercials where it was dark and all you could see was the rear tires making a smoke show. What a teaser, I got so excited about it. Still, styling is a bit of an issue. Without the scoops and stuff it kinda does look like a Cavalier's big brother. The interior looks great, and the LS2 is a sweet engine. If Pontiac had been smart, they would have offered the Ram Air 6 appearance package. the concept looked badass, had they put it into production it would have shut all the critics up about it's styling. I do hope the GTO gets another chance later on, it deserves it. Look at that sexy beast!