With regard to the Charger SRT not the other Chargers. They were and are a limited production item. The dealers are asking list and in some cases list+ That is why they may sit. When I decided to buy mine there were 3 from Philly north. Reading last night, they are now tough to find in new england and the nothwest. I sorta figure the popularity will increase as a 4 door they are a heck of a lot more practical than a vette and straight line performance and stopping ability is about the same. .
Highly doubtful. The Calibers are available with a 5 speed but only account for about 15% of sales and only on the base models. Manual transmissions are just not very popular. Every single one of my cars from 1984 till 2000 were manuals and I struggled each time at the dealers to find one. No, they weren't out of stock because of high demand. The dealers stocked so few because they don't sell. People want automatics.
Yep. The public demands automatics FAR more than manuals.
Taken seriously? Ok, so they produce a manual but it accounts for only
10% of sales of a particular model. Does that make the public take it seriously even though they don't buy it with a stick?No Tom. Fact is people prefer automatics. You seem to be saying that more cars of a given model will be sold if they simply have a manual available even though people won't buy it.
An auto cooks when it continually shifts up and down. A typical car will not cook climbing a hill if its held in the proper gear. We're not talking about towing a heavy trailer with inadequate cooling here Tom!
Dealers here in Arizona have a large stock of Chargers and Avengers. Both models are selling very well.
I see far more Chargers here than Mustangs. But then I see far more Dodges than Fords in general here despite Ford outselling Dodge nationwide. Depends on where you live. Arizona is Dodge country, not Ford.
Miles, you are only partially correct here. If you are refering to just the Lance, like the one they show in the commercial with the new paddle shifters, yes, it is a sporty looking but not a sports car. If you are generalizing the "Lancer" this is where you are incorrect as the Lancer EVO is a sports car.
azwiley1 wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@x35g2000prf.googlegroups.com:
I wouldn't consider the EVO or the WRX STi (EVO's main competitor) "sports cars" by any means, as they are both 4-doors and have their roots as FWDs. The original American sports car is the Corvette.
These days, makers' marketing departments are doing their damndest in trying to convince potential buyers that weeniemobiles are "sporty- cars" or "muscle-machines". Unfortunately, it's still just marketing.
innews: snipped-for-privacy@x35g2000prf.googlegroups.com:
Why just because it is a FWD vice RWD, has 4 doors vice 2 and is a "ricer" is it not a sports car? I never saw/heard any of those being "required" to classed as a sports car.
I'll give you that "back in the day" only the US made "sports cars" and yes they were all (almost at least) manuals, with only two doors, but wake up and smell the coffee, this is not "back in the day" anymore.
How is the EVO and the WRX STi a "marketing ploy, please explain. Though I personally don't care for either of them, what they are able to do in both performance and handling right out of the box is far from a ploy.
I had a similar discussion with a guy I use to work with (an Indian) that absolutely would not budge off of his position that to be considered a "real sports car" it had to be RWD. He consider the Honda S2000 a "real sports car" because of this.
I still get a good chuckle from that.
Wanna talk about a "real sports car"? Aston Martin DB9. That car gives me a chub.
Craig C.
Wasn't there some sort of deal that a car had to have two seats only and so many horsepower per pound?. Or maybe cubic inches of displacement per pound to qualify as a sports car..
I would love to be able to get my hands on a Porsche 911 Cararra tt!
Maybe back in the late 60's and early 70's that was the case. You take the EVO and it has as much or more power then some V-8 that are coming out today, and pound for pound they are lighter. A true EVO comes with a lot of carbon fiber and light weight panles already on it.
Then that would indicate a possible 15% increase in sales now, wouldn't it but I think that it could go higher.
No, the automatics can be sold to anyone since anyone can drive them. It is not just a matter of demand, it is a matter of faster sales and since many will just buy the automatic off of the lot rather than order it and wait but those who really want one will order it so they normally don't lose the sale by not carrying the standard shift in stock.
Demand has little to do with it since most dealerships are heavy in auto's and light to non-existant in standard shifts.
Yep, because many of the trend setters are enthusiasts and in a sports car or roadster, they are looking for the standard shift and if they don't buy them, then the trend has a much harder time getting started.
In the sports car, muscle car, and roadster arena, yep.
No, we are talking about sports cars and driving them as such where the gears are being used to control the cars speed and forcing the auto into lower gears at high speeds will cause excessive heat and is for the most part boring as well.
azwiley1 wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@q75g2000hsh.googlegroups.com:
Then what's your definition of a sports car? The EVO and STi are known as "compact sport sedans".
WTF are you talking about? "Back in the day" as you say (I certainly didn't) there were a lot more sports cars than the Corvette. Dude, you might want to have a few cups of that stuff yourself.
They're not. If you'd have read, you would've seen that I said the marketing ploys pertained to weeniemobiles. The EVO and STi are the real deal. The Lancer mentioned earlier in the commercial is the marketing ploy.
Exactly.
"Craig C." wrote in news:1Wyei.2696$vi5.2394 @newssvr17.news.prodigy.net:
What FWD is considered a sports car? BTW, I'll agree 100% with you on the DB9. The Vantage and Vanquish are no slouches either.
"Roy" wrote in news:_8CdnRZszKcPXOfbnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:
I don't know that there's a specific definition, but it's probably easier to figure out what isn't a sports car.
azwiley1 wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@i13g2000prf.googlegroups.com:
If an EVO is a sports car, then what's a Neon SRT4 or even an Omni GLHS?
Well, a hand full come to mind that are AWD, but only one that I can think of that I personally would consider a "sports car" that is FWD. That's the Mini Cooper S. Not so much for the power (although it's no slouch), but the maneuverability. I took a test drive with the sales guy and I'll never forget it. He took a 90 degree turn going 70 mph. The only skid marks were the ones in my underwear. It was amazing.
Yeah ... I wouldn't refuse one if it was given to me. :-)
Craig C.
innews: snipped-for-privacy@i13g2000prf.googlegroups.com:
quoted text -
I would class the SRT4 in the same category as the EVO and the WRX, can't comment on the Omni, don't know anything about it.
Again though, a car can be a "sports car" with 4 doors and FWD, but hey, you are free to feel/think as you like, just as I and anyone else is. This is prob as bad a subject to discuss as politics and religion.
innews:_8CdnRZszKcPXOfbnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:
Actually there is, here you go right from the American Heritage Dictionary online.
sports car (n.) An automobile equipped for racing, especially an aerodynamically shaped one-passenger or two-passenger vehicle having a low center of gravity and steering and suspension designed for precise control at high speeds.
Another From Wikipedia
Interesting observation, Larry. I imagine all subjects that are left up to each one of us to define for ourselves has a good chance of ending up being fought about at one point or another.
Craig C.
Yup.
I see a sports car as something that was made to go FAST and handle very well, regardless of doors and drive train configuration.
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