2009 Dodge Challenger First Impressions

2009 Dodge Challenger First Impressions
by Kevin ''Crash'' Corrigan / Auto123.com

New York City, New York - Well, I finally made it, and here I am in the Big Apple to bring you the complete rundown on the new Dodge Challenger lineup.

However, before we get into all that, I simply have to make a statement, and that is..."I can't recall ever driving a vehicle which draws as much attention as the new Dodge Challenger".

Simply put...I love the new Challenger lineup, and I would be proud to have any of them parked in my driveway.

Honestly, New York City, which used to have a bad rap for violent crime is now a much safer place to visit, yet when driving the new Challenger around town, even some of the business suits looked as if they'd mug me for the keys, given half the chance!

Yes, no doubt about it, Dodge has pulled out all the stops on this one and has presented us with the almost perfect re-creation of the All American Muscle Car.

Perfect re-creation, I hope not???
As the clock of life turns, drivers of my age often look back with fondness to those days when the ordinary Joe on the street could afford something with a heap of performance under the hood. The days when car nameplates were more than just a meaningless numbers, and the word Hemi conjured up the possibility of losing your pink slip at the end of the quarter mile!

Yet, as fond as those memories are, does anyone truly want to see the return of the original muscle cars? After all, they might have boasted the performance and looks back then, but they were also more than a little on the crude side. Oh yes, remove the rose tinted glasses for a minute and the words brake fade scurry back to mind, and suspension? What suspension, I swear that they sat on little blocks of hardwood!!!

Oh, and the steering, you didn't so much guide them around corners as battle, hope and pray them around!

Now you know why I was so eager to test out the new Dodge Challenger. Yes, it might have glorious looks but unless they managed more than a few improvements on the original, my days of muscle car driving is way behind me.

Well, now I have to make another statement, and that is, they pulled the job off to perfection, because the new Challenger is leaps and bounds better than the original in every aspect. However, they did steadfastly maintain one major feature of the original, and that is...they kept it affordable!

"I can't recall ever driving a vehicle which draws as much attention as the new Dodge Challenger"

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