Quote:
Originally Posted by el ess A
I think Dodge is fugging up by not letting the market dictate sales.
I get that they want to put a Hellcat in the hands of anyone that wants one without making them pay through the nose.
Dodge fans have been waiting for 400,000 years for an opportunity like this. (I exaggerate to clarify) So naturally they're going to come banging down the doors yelling "take my money!" because they've been kind of on the short stick of the "muscle car" resurgence. After this initial blast where the die-hard and bi-curious people get into a hellcat, things will die down.
More power to them if they can get it sorted where they CAN meet demand. But this may infuriate some potential buyers. I suggest they say "we're building XXXX number of Hellcats for 2015" and allot those to the highest selling dealerships, similar to the way that GM does. And let the chips fall where they may. Because otherwise, the parts supply and CAFE standards might be in jeopardy here.
The only OTHER way I could see this happening is that the dealer association and Dodge agree to ship and sell the Hellcats at retail price. Nothing more, nothing less. And then EVERYONE gets a fair shot at the pie and no price gouging. Of course, this is something I fundamentally disagree with because this goes against my free-market beliefs. (Companies like Bose and John Deere do similar thing but opposite in price-basement deals to prop up their brand images and I hate them for it)
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After the debacle of the Viper, I don't blame Dodge for doing something different.
They know they have the fat cow - Tim K said as much on the Jay Leno episode. But they also said that is why people like the Challenger over the Mustang/Camaro is the interior space. Okay fine.
They also know Mericans love horsepower and 0-60/1/4 mile/stop light to stop light racing. So they built a car to cater to that crowd and basically said GM and Ford can battle it out on the road courses.
But Timmy also mentioned that the hellcat was for the 5% crowd of musclecar lovers/drivers. Well, at 50,000 units sold in 2014 that ends up being 2500. I saw figures of 4000-5000 preorders!!!! Dodge did not expect that and now they are back into the same crap with dealers. Now instead of dealers ordering fully loaded Vipers and tacking on 10k mark up that will sit for 2+ years - they are asking for huge non refundable downpayments and no confirmation of final price (i know i asked a few - to hell with them)
It was a nice idea but Dodge hit underestimated this and now has a PR disaster.
They also dont cater to the aftermarket like they use to and the Chrysler fan in me has soured on the brand.
I love the Hellcat but it is not for me