Brampton to build new Dodge Charger (planned for 2006)

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30, 2004. 08:02 AMBrampton to build new Dodge ChargerRear-wheel sedan planned for 2006 Could create need to add 3rd shift

TONY VAN ALPHEN BUSINESS REPORTER

The Charger is coming to Brampton.

DaimlerChrysler Canada officials confirmed yesterday the auto maker will rejuvenate the legendary Charger and build it at its Brampton assembly plant in the second half of next year.

The decision, one of a series of moves DaimlerChrysler's parent company is considering, could have a big influence on whether the Canadian subsidiary will add a third shift to meet booming demand for its other new models.

"The Charger has great potential," company president Mark Norman said in a brief interview yesterday.

The rear-wheel sedan, which disappeared in the early 1980s, will be built on the same platform as the hot-selling Chrysler 300 and 300 C sedans and Dodge Magnum wagon, all built in Brampton.

Company officials would not project sales volumes for the Charger, which is scheduled to enter dealer showrooms as a 2006 model.

The decision ends months of speculation that Brampton would be the logical plant to manufacture the Charger since it is the company's only North American plant equipped to build rear-wheel drive cars.

Dodge launched the Charger name in 1966 as a high-powered sports car and it quickly became popular among the street-racing set.

An orange 1969 Charger, dubbed the General Lee, was arguably the biggest star of the popular television series The Dukes of Hazard in the late 1970s and 1980s. The exposure generated free publicity for the model and boosted sales.

Chrysler phased out the model in the late 1970s and revived it briefly in the 1980s as a front-wheel coupe.

DaimlerChrysler is currently looking at several possibilities for its network of plants and the Brampton operation is a big piece of the puzzle.

The company is in the process of introducing 25 new products over a three-year period.

The Brampton plant, which employs about 3,000 workers, has been operating two nine-hour shifts five days a week, plus eight hours on most Saturdays and another six hours on some Sundays because of the popularity of the 300 and 300 C sedans.

Furthermore, initial reports show demand for the Magnum is also extremely strong.

A third shift would add another 900 jobs at the plant and create more spin-off work for auto-parts suppliers in the region.

Insiders say it will be difficult to add the Charger to production in Brampton without a third shift, considering the strong demand for the

300 and 300 C vehicles and apparent potential for the Magnum.

DaimlerChrysler is trying to determine whether sales volumes for the

300 and 300 C will continue over the long term, warranting the addition of a third shift in Brampton or retooling elsewhere.

"There are choices in how to best utilize the corporation's capacity," Norman said following a product review for journalists.

Norman said DaimlerChrysler has not set a firm deadline to decide on a third shift at Brampton, but industry insiders believe the auto maker will decide by the end of the first quarter of next year.

The company started negotiating with the Canadian Auto Workers earlier this month, seeking contract improvements to increase competitiveness, staffing numbers and overtime schedules in a potential third shift at Brampton. But the company has also suggested it could assemble the models at some U.S. plants.

At DaimlerChrysler's product presentation yesterday, vice-president of marketing Ron Smith described the 300 models as the best car in the company's history.

"It's head and shoulders above what we've ever done," he gushed.

"It's incredible to drive."

Reply to
MoPar Man
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I hope it does better than the new Pontiac GTO has done! Sales numbers of the "new" GTO are actually lower than the numbers for the (gag-me-please for saying it) Aztec model!!! Same for the "new" Ford T-Bird...nobody bought. It doesn't seem like the public has a desire for the true thoroughbred "muscle car" (except possibly the Ford Mustang, but is that even selling very well these days?) Buyers seem most interested in a "family", "luxury" or "utility" type of vehicle that has muscle. I guess we'll have to wait and see how the Charger does! The 300 and Magnum sales success sure did surprise me...so the Charger might as well!

Reply to
James C. Reeves

It would help if the muscle cars actually had some muscle.

Matt

Reply to
Matt Whiting

Speaking of the Mustang, I saw it at last year's Detroit auto show. You could not keep people away from this thing. A mob surrounded the car the whole show. It will be a hit. The problem with the new GTO is that it doesn't look anything like a GTO. It's just another Pontiac with a GTO emblem on it.

Reply to
Threeducks

the reason no one is buying the GTO is that there is NOTHING that makes it distinctive from a grand prix/grand am...looks wise that is.

Reply to
Buhda

No, it isn't even a Pontiac - it is a slightly restyled Australian Holden with "Pontiac" and "GTO" badging.

Reply to
RPhillips47

| >

| | It would help if the muscle cars actually had some muscle. | | | Matt |

I believe the specs on the new GTO has a 0-60 time of just over 5-seconds. That is 1-second faster to 60 than my 1967 GTO had. Seems to be plenty of muscle to me.

Reply to
James C. Reeves

I knew they should have added the hood scoop. ;-)

| > I hope it does better than the new Pontiac GTO has done! Sales numbers of | > the | > "new" GTO are actually lower than the numbers for the (gag-me-please for | > saying | > it) Aztec model!!! Same for the "new" Ford T-Bird...nobody bought. It | > doesn't | > seem like the public has a desire for the true thoroughbred "muscle car" | > (except possibly the Ford Mustang, but is that even selling very well | > these | > days?) Buyers seem most interested in a "family", "luxury" or "utility" | > type of | > vehicle that has muscle. I guess we'll have to wait and see how the | > Charger | > does! The 300 and Magnum sales success sure did surprise me...so the | > Charger | > might as well! | >

| >

| |

Reply to
James C. Reeves

Except that with your 1967 GTO you could cheaply modify it's engine to make it go a whole lot faster.

With the new GTO you can't do anything to it's engine.

You also might compare the pricing. In 1967 list on the hardtop GTO was $2935 that is $16,652 in today's dollars, according to the CPI Inflation Calculator. The new GTO pricing is about $35,000 over double the pricing of the original when adjusted for inflation.

I'd still take your 1967 GTO over the new one.

Ted Mittelstaedt

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

You can do plenty, as the Z28 and Corvette guys have been doing it for years. This motor makes a lot more real power than the '67 389 tri-power, with better idle and nowhere near the emissions. Any goober can build a 500 hp motor if you don't have to worry about fuel economy, idle quality and/or emissions.

What could you buy a fully restored to factory specs 1967 GTO for today? More than $16K, that's for sure. One can easily drop 20 large on a restoration.

Reply to
Threeducks

| > Ted Mittelstaedt | >

| >

Me too. Definitely!!

Reply to
James C. Reeves

Rich man's toys. I can drive my '68 Torino on the street, legally, with a goober-built

500hp motor because back in '68 we didn't have to worry about emissions (save EGR they had that, then)

Your missing the point. Joe-Kid today can afford a 2-3 year old car that sold for $16K new. It's a stretch and he will be pumping a lot of gas for a while but he can do it. But the only kind of cars today that meet that criteria are 4 bangers that get turned into ricermobiles. Definitly not 2-3 year old $35K GTO's. And when the Joe-Kid's cannot afford the musclecars because they have been priced into the midlife-crisis-suffers-late-40s-men-who-have-too-much-money market, then nobody else can either.

Once upon a time a sports car was considered just another kind of vehicle and it was assumed that the average person could choose one among the many choices available. Lots of people did and used them for commutermobiles and spent a small amount of money and got a lot of driving enjoyment during their commutes.

Somehow the image was created that pure sports cars wern't for the average person any longer, and so they were priced out of the reach of most people. (I'm not talking sports sedans here which are just wannabe sports cars) When that was done, it killed the muscle car. Today the Corvettes and suchlike that I see rolling around aren't used for commuter vehicles, they are second cars for people that want expensive toys. When it comes to people not wanting to take their sports car to the grocery store to buy beer anymore because they are afraid it's going to get dinged, it's a sad end to the muscle car, and it's like what's the point of owning one?

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

The new GTO is too pricey, and has very little room for a car so big. Also, from some angles, it is hard to distinquish from a Chevy Cavalier.

Reply to
kokomoNOSPAMkid

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