Rippin' It!

When you ventured to the lot to look at your next car chances are you read the Monroney sticker, or as it is commonly called, “the window sticker”.  Why is the sticker there?  Does it have to be there?

The window development started in 1955 when Oklahoma Senator Mike Monroney was named as the head of a committee investigating practices of car manufacturers and the amounts charged to dealer franchises for things such as shipping.

The same committee looked into practices of the franchisee’s and how they treated customers with regards to costs.  Then, in 1958, Monroney sponsored the Automobile Disclosure Act of 1958 and the “Monroney Sticker” was born.

The Act required that the sticker be placed on a side window or windshield of every new car offered for sale.  The sticker can only be removed by the consumer, kind of like those mattress tags.

The Act required the sticker to contain the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP), engine and transmission information, standard equipment and warranty information.  Over the years the Act has been changed to include the requirement of fuel mileage and crash test safety.

So can a car dealership remove the sticker before the sale of the car?  No, they cannot, something that seems to escape David Stanley Dodge in, ironically enough, Oklahoma City.

Title 15 Chapter 28 Sec 1233 (c) says:

Any person who willfully removes, alters, or renders illegible any label affixed to a new automobile pursuant to section 1232 of this title, or any endorsement thereon, prior to the time that such automobile is delivered to the actual custody and possession of the ultimate purchaser of such new automobile, except where the manufacturer relabels the automobile in the event the same is rerouted, repurchased, or reacquired by the manufacturer of such automobile, shall be fined not more than $1,000, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. Such removal, alteration, or rendering illegible with respect to each automobile shall constitute a separate offense.

More reading is available including the following:
Cornell Law Site: 15 USC 28 1233
NY Times: The Senator Behind the Window Sticker

Finally the weather has cleared up enough to get some decent pictures of the Challenger after the graphics were added.  Many thanks to Eric Strickland and Superior Signs for his input and skill in adding the ‘Track Pak’ graphic to the sides.

So far the mods include the Blastin’ Bob’s Resonator removal kit, hood struts, window tint, Mopar splash guards and the skip shift eliminator.

More pictures can be found in the photo album located here.

The Challenger exhaust systems are different for the automatic that the 6 speed car.  The automatics have a suitcase style muffler mid-body while the 6 speed cars have bottle style glass packs in front of the differential.

In either case though the Challenger has amazingly huge “resonators” that are tucked in the rear quarter panels between the rear wheels and the rear bumper.  Huge seems almost like an understatement as I couldn’t believe how big (and heavy) these things were when they came out from under the car.

If you’re wondering what a resonator is, well one definition is, “a hollow chamber whose dimensions allow the resonant oscillation of electromagnetic or acoustic waves”.  For me, I just like to think about it as another muffler.

Did I mention this thing was huge?

From Blastin’ Bob’s Exhaust I ordered this kit (GP250CE) which arrived at my door three or four days later.  Naturally it arrived on a day when it was snowing, about 28 degrees with a howling wind.

At the suggestion of a friend I went to a local muffler shop who said he would install them while I waited for $50.00, including welding in the pipes rather than clamping them in.  It was worth every bit of $50.00 since I also installed the ’skip shift eliminator’ while the car was on the lift.

The muffler guy ended up spending about 45 minutes on each side of the car mostly because he had one hell of a time getting the rubber grommets out of the factory mounts and because he was being careful around the car.

This is a job you could do in your own garage or shop if you have a sawzall or similar exhaust cutting tool and a few hand tools.  For me, although mechanical by nature, I’m glad I took it to a place with a lift and paid the $50.00.

So once installed how’s it sound?  Not bad.  I did the following before and after video to show the difference from the outside of the car.

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YouTube Direkt

The total price of the pipes and install was around $250.00.  Certainly cheaper than the $900 to $1,500 cat back exhaust systems for the Challenger.  The car sounds good at idle and awesome WOT.  When you mat the pedal, even at speed with the windows down you can tell the pipes are really talking.

February (2010) sales figures were just released so naturally I looked at the Challenger, Camaro and Mustang to see how the pony cars were fairing for the big three.

And the winner is…Chevrolet, pretty much going away.

Chevrolet clearly has a hit on its hands with the Camaro having outpaced even the Ford Mustang in sales over the last 8 months.  Based on sales reports since April, 2009 the Camaro sales have outpaced Mustang sales by some 6,000 units.

Currently Camaro sales have been reported at 73,051 units although this Camaro blog is reporting the 100,000th Camaro VIN has been assigned to a 2SS Inferno Orange Camaro now rolling down the assembly line.

So how does this relate to the Challenger?

Well sales wise the Mustang and Camaro are both kicking the crap out of the Challenger… at least on the sales floor.

In the first seven months of production Camaro sales topped the total sales for all the Gen III Challengers.   Likewise the Mustang was just under 9 months there were more Mustangs sold than Gen III Challengers.  It now appears the Chevrolet Camaro is going to replace the Ford Mustang as the “every other car you meet” car.

Since the Challenger sales began being reported (May, 2008) the reported sales have been 47,132 units compared to the Mustangs 132,827 (a 3:1 ratio) and the Camaro’s 73,051 (1.5:1 ratio) units.   Over the last 10 months the average unit sales has been:  Challengers @ 1,866; Mustangs @ 5,894; and Camaro’s @7,244.

Kudo’s to Chevrolet for not only making the Camaro but for promoting and selling them with success.  If they beat out the Mustang in overall annual sales, and it looks like they will, they have certainly done something few would have thought possible.

For me, I’m glad I’m driving something a little more unique.

Chrysler posted its recent sales figures for February and the good news is sales of the Challenger are up, the bad news is they are still down from sales this time last February.   Chrysler reported the sale of 2,145 Challengers during the month while this time last year those numbers were 3,283.

Slow economy?  Not according to General Motors.  The Chevrolet Camaro has posted sales increases over each of the last nine months beating out the Mustang (a tall order in itself) and Nissan 350Z.   The Camaro factory (Oshawa plant) is working overtime just meet the demand.

Ford Mustang sales were up from both last month and from this time last year.  Ford dealerships moved 5,115 Mustangs last month compared to 2,990 for this time last year.   Overall Ford has put 9,862 Mustangs on the road this year compared to 5,934 for this time last year.  An increase of over 60%.

Kind of hard to blame the slow Challenger sales on the economy when Ford puts 60% more on the road and Chevy is having to work overtime at its plant just to keep up with the Camaro demand.

Rather than a slow economy I’m more inclined to think the problem is Ford and Chevrolet are willing to sell their flagship cars while Dodge dealerships are insistent on adding outlandish and insulting “market adjustments” to its Challengers hoping to lure in some sucker willing to pay sticker ++.

My recent experience with one such dealership (AutoMax Dodge in Shawnee, Oklahoma) was entertaining although infuriating at the same time.  They had Challengers on the lot with $8,000 over sticker markups and went so far as to offer me $8,000 for my 2009 SE Challenger with less than 15K on the odometer while at the same time telling me their Challenger was worth $5,000 over sticker.

Dodge could sell more Challengers if the would shutter up these kinds of rip-off dealerships.  If I hadn’t set my heart on a Dodge R/T Track Pak car I would have added +1 to the Mustang sales.

Surfing around a forum the other day I came across a message that included a picture of the engine compartment of an SRT-8 that looked pretty awesome. The owner had put stainless steel covers over the braking system, coolant tank, fuse box and had a SS firewall insert.

Several people asked where these items came from and a link was provided to PT Boutique which appears to be a site primarily for the PT Cruiser but also has some pretty cool under-the-hood stuff for Challengers.

One of my favorite components, and moving way up on the top of my wish list is the stainless steel covers for the brake system and the coolant cover.

The prices seem reasonable for many of the parts but some, well not-so-much.  For example the functional hood scoops on this site are priced at nearly $95 although they can be had many other places in the $60 range.

If you cruise over to the site be sure and check out the ‘vented hood panel’.  $326 is no small change but wow, is that a cool deal or what!

David Stanley Dodge.  Or as the advertising jingle goes… “David Stanley leads the way”… to lies, lies and more lies.

So June 2009 I decide I’m going to buy a Dodge Challenger.  I shop around and on the Internet I find a stripped down R/T advertised at $33,000, give or take a little.  I call the dealership and ask about the price and sure enough the confirm, $33,000.  I decided to go test drive the car so I called again and verified the asking price was $33,000.

I drive to the dealership where I meet a salesman and I tell him, “you have a Challenger for $33,000, I want to drive that car” and after a few minutes of searching he finds it “in the back”.  We drive the car and during the test drive I ask several times, about the $33,000 price.   He confirms the price all the way.

So, arriving back to the dealership I’m sold on the car.  I tell the salesman to see the best price that can be made.  After a few minutes some greasy headed guy comes out and with a smirk says, $38,000 is the “best we can do”.  Wait, $38,000?  What happened to $33,000?

After a short discussion he informs me he can only sell the car for $5,000 over sticker and there was no way he could sell the car for $33,000.  So, apparently anything your told either on the phone or in person is not necessarily the truth at David “leads the way” Stanley.

A quick Internet search reveals much of the same, here’s some examples I found in just a few minutes:

I will rate this company below poor. Do not give them your phone number they will call you several times a day. Worse than a telemarketer. They tell you several price quotes for the same car. I would rather walk then to buy a car from this place. The are liars. Do not trust David Stanley Dodge.‎..

After getting back home that same night, which was a Saturday, I got on the computer and started looking at David Stanley’s website. To my surprise I found the same exact truck, I know this because the VIN and stock numbers on the website were the same numbers that were on our purchase and finance paperwork. But the price they had advertised on the truck was $35,872.00, almost a $10,000.00 difference…

Went to purches a new Ram 2500. the trip prior I had asked for the best price they could give me, Chris the manager lied and didn’t tell me of all the discounts…

And the reviews go on and on and on.  I have little doubt this is a high volume dealer, they are in a good location.  I bet a million suckers a day drive by that slap joint.   Google reviews has their ratings at not more than 2 (out of five) for all categories.  The satisfaction rating is 1.1 (out of five).

I wonder who the .1 was?

David Stanley is representative of all that is wrong with the American made cars.  With dealerships like this Dodge could build the best car in the world and the overall rating would still be 1.1.

This is a dealership that should be closed.  Well, investigated and then closed.

So here we have one beautiful black R/T for sale at a Texas dealership. This car is not only stunning it is loaded. I has the Nav system, iPod controls, heated leather seats with inserts, steering wheel controls and its a Hemi six speed.

This car is listed for $40,000+.  No question whoever buys this car is going to be one proud owner.

But I can’t help but wonder how proud and happy they are going to be when the walk around behind the car and find the dealer has placed a dealer advertising sticker on the back bumper.  Not only a dealer

I mean seriously, what is wrong with these dealerships?  If I bought, or even worse, ordered this car and walked around behind it and saw this I would go ballistic! This car isn’t a Chevy Cobalt or a Hyundai Accent, this car represents a $ amount equal to many of our first homes.

Dealerships like this only prove they don’t care about the cars they are selling, the don’t care about the person buying the car and they have no respect for $ you are going to pay to support their salary.

Personally, I think this practice of pasting advertising on the back of YOUR car is something the consumers should absolutely not allow.  Next time you walk into a car lot to look at cars and you find this type of advertisement tell the salesman you might be willing to buy the car if they have one without a dealer billboard on the back.

Tell them you’ll continue to negotiate if you can see what the car looks like without an advertisement on the back.  If they won’t take it off during negotiations, walk away.

Okay so you’ve decided you want a Challenger, and you’ve decided on a Hemi version. The next question becomes should I get an automatic or standard? Dodge has a “Track Pak” option. Dodge’s official statement reads like this:

The available Track Pak features the Tremec TR-6060 six-speed manual transmission with “pistol-grip” shifter for $995. When the six-speed manual transmission is paired with the 5.7-liter HEMI V-8, it produces an estimated 375 horsepower (280 kW) and 404 lb.-ft. (548 N*m) of torque. The Track Pak also includes Hill-start Assist, limited-slip differential, bright pedal covers and performance steering.

In addition, if you order the 20″ wheels you also get 3.92 gearing as opposed to the 3.06 gearing for the automatic and the 3.73 gearing for the 18″ wheel standard transmission options. We can talk about rear gears for several pages but the condensed version reads like this…

A higher number, like 3.92 vs 3.06, means the car will have more launch capability and feel more powerful on acceleration. The trade-off is higher RPM at cruising speed and probably less gas mileage. In the old 4 speed days the top gear (4th) was generally a 1:1 gear. Today’s 5 and 6 speed transmissions usually include a 4th gear 1:1 and then 5th and 6th are overdrive gears.

So what does all that mean?  Well it means the Track Pak cars are going to feel more powerful, and they actually are, although only slightly over the automatic cars.  The question becomes how much gas mileage do I give up and does the relatively low 3.92 mean I’ll have less top end.

Lets answer the top end question with this video.

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Here we have a 2010 Challenger Track Pak car with a 3.92 rear gear.  From a slow rolling start and easing through the first two gears the acceleration becomes pronounced in 3rd and 4th gear.  The car reaches 130mph after having just barely shifted to 5th gear.  6th was never used.

Short of planning on racing at the Sunday Nextel Cup the car retains plenty of top speed with the low gear.

Gas mileage, according to Dodge, is 16 / 25 for the automatic, 16 / 25 for the manual so that’s pretty much a wash. However, reading further into the Dodge propaganda reveals the manual transmission car is slightly more powerful, at 375hp rather than 370hp and 404 lb-ft of torque versus 398 ft-lbs of torque in the automatic.

The Track Pak Challenger R/T also comes with a “full off ESP” button meaning if you find yourself with an excess amount of money you can roast up some Goodyears. The sales brochure also says the Track Pak has enhanced steering and a sportier less restrictive exhaust.

It is interesting to note the Track Pak R/T has 404 lbs-ft of torque versus the SRT’s 420 lbs-ft. The R/T weighs 130lbs less than an SRT with the same options. That makes the cars awful close in acceleration performance. The SRT wins the breaking competition hands down with those big Brembo’s though.

Welcome to Rippin’ It.com. This is a new site (as of February 19, 2010) dedicated to the Dodge Challenger. I am a Challenger owner (on the 2nd one), a muscle car enthusiast and have enough experience to build a useful Challenger site (hopefully). I currently own a 2010 Dodge Challenger R/T with the Track Pak option.

This is my second Challenger.  I bought a 2009 Inferno Red S/E Challenger on June 30, 2009.  At that time I needed a car to use for my job and the 6 cylinder S/E was perfect.  However, three months later things changed when my agency began providing vehicles (hallelujah!)

Since I had a work car issued to me I was free to choose the car of my dreams which was an R/T with a manual transmission and preferably a “Track Pak” optioned car.  For the $10,000.00 difference between the R/T and the SRT I can buy a really nice blower should the horsepower and torque thing really get to bothering me.  I’ll wait until I feel like I don’t want Dodge to honor the warranty anymore.

I have a lot of plans for this site, including a cgi-database of Challengers, a Challenger Owner’s Gallery and, maybe one day, a forum.  There are forums already, a couple of which are good forums, loaded with advertisements and “memberships”.  My motto is, and always has been, free is better.

Stick around, you never know what you might find.