2009 Dodge Challenger R/T: I've Got Hood Ducts, How 'Bout You?

Erin, you missed the obvious, 'Is that a Hemi, or are you just glad to see me?"

The difference between them is black and white.

"On the other hand the Challenger will still be 'An American Icon'"

...an American icon in the Evo's dust

badblackrt
RT
BADBLACK

I sense some bias here. A Honda bike will still leave a Harley in the dust, along with the 50-year-old that's riding it.

Evos fall apart at what... 36k miles?

I love how every Challenger post is pretty much about how mean and awesome it looks. I am in agreement.

I'd say overweight. Camaro FTW!

Yeah, I know a 'Stang is lighter. But I prefer the look of the MY2005-2009 to the current one. Short of being a GT500, a 'Stang is slower than the Camaro, too.

badblackrt

The Challenger might be an "American icon" but the EVO is a legend around the world.

They are both great cars and they are both fast but that's all they have in common. No one will cross shop them because they appeal to different markets.

BTW: Harleys only look better the Hondas if you are into cruisers. For the rest of us, Harleys are just image bikes for aging boomers.

Yeah, I see Harleys as mid-life crisis presents.

I see the Challenger in the same light, honestly. It does look badass, though.

Err, the Challenger's hood ducts are fake whereas the Evo's are all functional. Challenger should now take it's foot and place it directly in it's mouth.

@demostheness642

The Challenger R/T Classic & the SRT8 have functional hood ducts.

Every model below that doesn't.

I'd choose the Challenger for driving around town or cruising on the freeways.

For the track or winding back roads I'd take the EVO any day.

http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/2009/04/2009-dodge-challenger-some-details-are-better-than-others.html

Apparently that challenger lacks the functional scoops.

@demostheness642

Their are after market parts out there that can be bought and installed to make the hood ducts functional on the Challenger. I heard its about $20.

How much does it cost to turn the Lancer into a 2dr coupe?

estreka

Just because the Challenger has retro stylings doesn't make ia a mid-life crisis car. Its not the car that shows a crisis, its the person. Trust me, someone I know is in full blown crisis mode, and they bought and use a BMW to do their cruisin' in. Nice.

I'm 29 and would buy the car tomorrow (if I could afford it), not cause I want to pretend I'm 19 and back in the glory days (I earn to much to be classified as 19, which is still less than my 40yo crisis friend), but because it reflects what I like in a car, the car is different from what's out there, and the car just seems fun.

If I could afford either, I'd enjoy them both as they both look bad ass to me, but I still prefer the Challenger.

Maybe I like Challengers because I grew up on Dukes of Hazard and car stunt shows, not the cartoon anime from Japan that's out now?!

From Challenger to Evo, "I've had turds bigger 'n you."

"How much does it cost to turn the Lancer into a 2dr coupe?"

I'm pretty sure you can weld the passenger doors shut quite easily, but I'm not sure what you'd achieve by making ingress/egress more difficult :P

@sabre

I don't think that people who bought Evo's wanted a 2dr to begin with. I'm just being hard on dodge for taking off the sweet metal butterfly hood ducts on the concept and putting in plastic plugs.

These definately arn't cross shopped cars. The photo is just an amusing and interesting juxtaposition.

@demostheness642

Agreed, but the witty banter and debate is still fun.

Is it just me or does the Evo look like an Audi with that front?

@demostheness642

I knew IL's long-term Challenger doesn't have functional ducts as they bought the R/T J Package.

I do believe it's a cheap move on Dodge's part for not making them functional on all of their trim levels or at least installing them on all R/Ts.

@sabre52270

I agree, the EVO's grill looks like an agressive version of an Audi grill.

At first I thought the Nissan GT-R copied the EVO's grill, but later found out it was likely the other way around.

"Just imagine if they could mate."

:O

"One of these whips is definitely going to be around for the next model year. Care to guess??"

On the other hand the Challenger will still be "An American Icon."

Yep, American iron built in Canada and imported to the US.

^ Hi-yo!!!

@Monocrom: I think that'd get you a Conquest.

These two cars are from different worlds and driven by different types of people.

The Challenger is rear-wheel drive coupe with little performance. People love it since it's an American icon.

While the Evo is a 4-door all-wheel drive rally machine with sharp handling. People buying it because it's fun to drive and you can't ignore the fact that 4-door is more practical.