2009 Dodge Challenger R/T: Good Guys Wear Black

Maybe you need a new Miata? I had a 97 from 05 to mid 08 and I bet I got about 3 comments the whole time. And I wanna say all were old dudes or a homeless guy.

Agreed on black! I got my GTI in black, looks great. But today its sunny, I washed it 2 days ago, and the swirls are indeed driving me nuts. I have some nice polish that makes it look fantastic, but I don't have the time to polish every time I wash. Its probably my first and last black car.

Unfortunately I think some cars you gotta get in that color though. The Challenger is one of them.

You past in front of old guys, young guys, Marines and spring break gals.
Hmm, you must have been driving a loooong time, posing in the Challenger...

I don't consider myself a muscle car guy. They never did anything for me.

But the first time I saw a Challenger, in black, was ~4 months ago in front of my gym. I took about 3 minutes to walk around it. I was totally impressed by how well done it was, it's presence, and it's overall look.

The muscle car feel is distinct as well. I can imagine the feeling in this car of slamming into the next gear as you floor it, seeing that long hood rise a bit in your sight as you barrel down the boulevard. Mmmm.
Joe

I think the Challenger also looks great in the Hemi orange, as well as white. With the 20" rims of course. ; )

I've had a...

'79 Z28
'85 Monte Carlo SS
'91 GMC Syclone
'92 Lumina Z34
'99 Z28
'04 GTO

One thing all these cars had in common was that they were all black. Yes when black cars are all waxed and shined, there's no sharper color.

HOWEVER...

Unless you have a fair-weather garage queen, they rarely stay that way for more than a couple of hours. Then they show every speck of dirt and streak imaginable (not to mention hotter than hell in the summer time). So when I got my 09 Challenger, one thing I absolutely was not going to do is get a black one - sharp as they look, I just wasn't willing to deal with the inevitable dirtiness look to it.

Which is why I chose Inferno Red. A nice, understated classy color. :-)

I admit, when I saw the Challenger, I was floored by it. Then I saw the new Camaro & I was smitten.

But I agree about dark colors. They're just IMPOSSIBLE to keep clean. They look stunning right after a wash. Few hours down the line, every little bit of dust or swirl show up.

Better safe with a lighter color.

God they're mean looking! Nice pic Scott!

I also enjoy the flagrant use of the foglights.

Joe, I don't know about the feel, but can you imagine the noise? I get shivers just thinking about it.

I would think a nice metallic gunmetal gray offers 90% of the great looks of black with about 30% of the headaches. Unfortunately, I don't know from firsthand experience, having owned one green and two white cars (white is a massive headache to keep clean too, by the way).

Nice blog entry, Scott! Can somebody please photochop black wheels on the car?

The car does *not* need dubs. Bling FTL (for the loss)!

If these cars didn't come along just in time for high fuel prices of last summer and today's credit crunch, Detroit would certainly be back in the game. It's sad that emotional machines like this are being put on the back burner in favor of....Volts and Priuses (Prii???). Excellent photography btw...that's the best I've ever seen the lines of this car captured in pictures.

Born in 1987, and I was listening to Al Green as I typed that. I feel old now lol.

Hilarous the senior photographer didn't get any photos of all this attention??

Needs a drop and some HREs.

Would look better in white. :)

I don't think that 18" wheels are small but the wheel along with the tall tire profile looks kind of ugly.

Did y'all pass me heading southbound on I5 just past the 78th street exit the other day?

One passed me exactly like yours...

I live at the end of a 1/2 mile long gravel driveway. When I had my black E24 M6 I think it looked clean for maybe five minutes total over the 3 years I owned it. :p

"By audisport on March 19, 2009 11:43 AM
I think the Challenger also looks great in the Hemi orange, as well as white. With the 20" rims of course. ; ) "

I agree. I normally don't like orange, and on any other car I wouldn't even consider that color, but on the Challenger the orange looks hot!

I am so EXTATIC about this car. So happy you bought it! I will own one at some point even if Chrysler goes under (I really hope not). I have a bad thing for Muscle cars and I wasn't born in that era. I was born watching Smokey & the Bandit, The Dukes of Hazzard, and Knight Rider (the original of course) though so can you blame me??? I cannot wait until you buy the new Camaro and have a Muscle Car Showdown! For now I drive me German Muscle Car 2002 BMW M3Cic.

G8gtnorth - The v8 burble is intoxicating, whether it's from a subdued german maker, an exotic italian, or an american muscle car. 90 degrees x 8 = bliss.

I love me some ferrari v12, a few BMW inline 6s, Porsche flat six, and a few others....but for some reason, the v8 just sings to the soul so consistently.

Regarding color - My father's 99 boxster is a deep blue. After detailing that car for him for the 25th time, I really fell in love with the color. It shows amazing depth, flash, class, and intrigue. It also never gets tiring to me, and whether it's that specific shade, the paint quality, or thr curves of the car....I swear it hides dirt better than my gray-brown metallic civic SI and definitel ybetter than my wife's white Subaru Legacy GT.

Silver still bests all as the color to get to not see dirt, dings, or scratches.

Joe

The Challenger is funny because you really can't get a sense of its road presence from looking at pictures. Pictures of this Challenger make the wheels look too small and the tires look puny, but I'm sure if I saw it in real life I'd be ooohing and aaaahing too.

The Dodge dealership in Parker has a display of three Challengers in front of the road, one Hemi orange one, a black SRT8 and a purple R/T (which looks cooler than it sounds) and DAMN they are good looking.

I saw a base V6 model the other day on the road (the only one I've seen so far on the road) and even that one had me taking the longer way home just to get a glimpse of it. Pulling away from a stoplight, even that engine made some pleasing noises.

Cut the fat, Dodge, and this car is a home run.

My bad. This car already has dubs. :( At least there's some meat on those sidewalls. :)

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=130955

Joe - They're good in all their flavours, it's the sound of win, but there's just something special about these Hemi's.

Every time I hear one I am overcome with the desire to fire up the same 7 minutes of Bullit. Every time. Maybe that's what those crazy Mopar boys were going for; whatever it is, it works.

Hey, IL, could you please post a video of this thing a idle? Thanks.

How's the handling on that Bad Boy? (No, I'm not being sarcastic. I just want to know if it's better than what you typically get on a muscle car).

As far as color goes, I've found silver to be an excellent choice. Many cars look good in silver. Tough to find a model that doesn't. Silver also hides minor scratches better than other colors. A deep gouge is one thing, but a minor scratch is something many folks decide to live with. It's easier to live with if most folks can't see it at a glance.

On a sunny day though, you have to turn on your headlamps; assuming the car doesn't have day-time running lamps. Otherwise some idiot might not notice you, and then... Well, you don't want to re-enact James Dean's last moments on Earth.

The car looks great. A buddy went to buy one recently but they wouldn't meet him on price, so he's going to wait a bit.

As for black - the thing is, we're the only ones that see the swirls, guys. I can't tell you how many times I've grumbled to myself about how I need to wash my car again, only to have someone compliment me on it moments later. Unless you're flat-bedding the car around inside a glass display case with flourescent lights, the car looks better than you think.

I love it in black, but I think I'd spring for the dark gray. Then I'd get some black steelies, tint the windows and rock the primer look.

...I just drooled on my keyboard.

They should have called this car the "Charger" anyway, so I can't blame them for calling it that. I still find it funny that this car outweighs my giant, roomy, 4 door G8 GT and it's not light. My last car was 800lbs lighter (BMW).

OK, I do like muscle cars. I like RWD performance cars. I like Detroit and want them to succeed. Still, I can't see any reason why anyone would ever want this car. It is large by huge. It has more weight and less power than the Camaro. It can't turn, and sitting in the driver's seat feels like you're driving a cruise ship from your stateroom's bathtub. The interior is a complete lift from the the Charger, and that isn't exactly a good donor. The only thing it has going for it is that it looks exactly like the original. If that's what you want, why wouldn't you just buy the original? The economy popped that bubble so you can get some for reasonable prices. If I'm going to pay new car prices, I want a car that's really new, with modern performance.

I would just get a Charger over the Challenger. It looks just as good but has a useable back seat. The Challeneger lacks the sleek look of the Camaro (or Mustang) too which kind of takes away from the whole point of getting a two door coupe.

I was wrong again! The long-term Challenger has 18s, not 20s. :o) :thumbsup:

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/LongTerm/articleId=144466/pageId=163703

The Challenger in the Full Test had optional dubs on it. :unamused: