New Dodge Challenger

[SIG220]

Exactly, if you can afford to drop $40,000(and thats just base price), gas prices aren't that big a deal for you.

I disagree.   The RV industry is being hit hard right now.   Some companies are reporting anywhere from a 15 to 20% drop off in sales.   The biggest manufacturer here in Oregon just laid off 8% of their employees yesterday.

A lot of RV's cost over $100,000, much more than a Challenger.   Besides the cost of gas, we have rampant inflation taking place that is making a lot of stuff cost more.   Unemployment is up, and many people are having a hard time paying their mortgages.

A performance car is a luxury.   And in recessions, people tend to cut back on buying luxury items.   


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[DiabloTX]

Well, SIG, put it to you this way; it ain't exactly poor people that are dropping over 100 large on something as minimally usefull as an RV or 40 large on an over-weight 425 hp muscle car that gets 13 mpg...with a tail wind going downhill and left in neutral.

[SIG220]

Well, SIG, put it to you this way; it ain't exactly poor people that are dropping over 100 large on something as minimally usefull as an RV or 40 large on an over-weight 425 hp muscle car that gets 13 mpg...with a tail wind going downhill and left in neutral.

Then why are sales down so much, and our local manufacturer having to lay off employees??   Some RV buyers must be feeling squeezed.


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[DiabloTX]

Not just RV buyers, but you don't buy an RV and not expect to pay at the pump.  I don't think the sales are off ONLY because of gas prices.  There's a lot of economic uncertainty right now and I think most people are hedging thier bets.  Once it's back in order you bet RV sales will pick back up.  No matter how much we squeak about gas prices here in the U.S. it is still far, far cheaper than most anywhere else in the world.

[SOB]

Here's the whole story...

From OPB News

Mar 13, 4:26 AM EDT

Country Coach announces layoffs at Ore. plant

COBURG, Ore. (AP) -- Country Coach handed pink slips to 8 percent of its work force because of deteriorating market conditions.

The manufacturer of high-end motor homes declined to say the exact number of workers losing their jobs. But based on the most recent company statements about the size of its work force, the layoff affects about 100 people.

Company spokesman Matt Howard told The Register Guard newspaper that Country Coach needs to ensure it has the right number of employees for the market.

"We look at the industry hopefully being at the bottom of the curve and being ready for a resurgence," he said.

The RV industry as a whole saw sales fall 17 percent in January, according to market watcher Statistical Surveys. Gasoline prices have hit record highs recently, likely hurting business. The home mortgage crisis also affects RV makers because many buyers rely on home equity to finance the purchase of a motor home.

After years of job gains, Lane County's RV industry has retrenched in recent years. The transportation equipment sector - comprised mostly of RV makers - lost 400 jobs in 2006 and 300 jobs in 2007, dropping to about 4,100 total jobs, according to the state Employment Security Department.

Besides Country Coach, Lane County is home to Marathon Coach and Monaco Coach.

If you're in the financial situation where you're relying on the equity in your home to buy the RV, then gas is probably a consideration.  If you're dropping 100k out-of-pocket on an RV or 40k on a Challenger, you're not likely to give a crap what the cost of gas is.

In purchase price and operating cost though, a $100k RV isn't even in the same ballpark as a $40k muscle car.

[ZetaNine]

The base pirce WILL NOT BE $40,000 for the new Challenger. 40K is the base price of the SRT8, the top of the line Chellenger with the hi HP engine.
My 2 cts.

exactly correct.

I happen to be one of "the idiots" who is on an official wait list for this car........and has been since 2006.  I'm certainly not a fan of buying any first year model.......but I think the Challenger SRT8 will be a very valuable car...and one hell of a ride. the original base is nowhere near what the car is bringing in now...it's really the hype..which I did not expect at this level..... that has this thing over-valued...but I still want it...

[Masherbrum]

The ONLY Challenger I know of, to be released within the next two years, IS the SRT8.   No, V6, no SXT, nothing.   Just the SRT8.   

Bottom line, the Magnum engines are a pile and their transmissions are still weak.    No Dodge is worth more $40,000, with the exception of the Viper.   

[ZetaNine]

everything is worth EXACTLY what people are willing to pay for it...no more...no less.

[Masherbrum]

everything is worth EXACTLY what people are willing to pay for it...no more...no less.

Paying over the sticker price for this?    No, I'm sorry, it isn't worth it.   

[ZetaNine]

Paying over the sticker price for this?    No, I'm sorry, it isn't worth it.   

your thinking is flawed.

[Masherbrum]

your thinking is flawed.

Not at all.   

[ZetaNine]

I think it might not be worth it to YOU....    but as a person who will not be buying the car....you have no direct influence on the price.  thusly...."exact worth" is ALWAYS dictated by EXACTLY how much someone is willing to pay for it.

the same can be said about all of us.  when people complain that they do not earn enough...I tell them that thay are paid EXACTLY what they are worth....no more, no less. that's a fact, jack.

[Masherbrum]

"jack"?    It's not my name and to pay $40k+ for a two-door Charger is hilarious.   

Better hope the paper thin oil pan holds up on that "Hemi".    Ford's Dynamometer Lab stopped allowing DCX to rent out a test cell in 2004 because of the cheap 6.1.   

[Jackal1]

"jack"?    It's not my name

 

[Masherbrum]