Here comes Dodge!
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Junior Member
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 3
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From: farmerville
Here comes Dodge!
I read on Car and Truck News (car-truck.com) that the new Hemi engines for the 2002 Rams should be rated @ 320hp/420tq for the 5.7L & 350hp/450tq for the 6.1L. These are normally asperated engine figures. If Dodge were to build a performance model with some extra goodies, like a supercharger, we could have some very healthy competition. Possibly 450-500hp! What are your opinions ?
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 1,173
Likes: 0
From: Allen, TX, USA
Competition is good. Assuming a market has been established (obviously GM and Dodge do not believe there is one for something like the L...at least not at the moment), competition will only breed better quality in all areas.
Take the "pony cars" as an example. For a long time, Ford and GM would battle it out trying to one-up each other. Whether people here like them or not, the pony cars have had great success over the years and been affordable sporty cars with well above average v8 performance.
However, what has happened recently is that since the Ford Mustang outsells the GM F-body twins over 2 to 1, Ford is basically "allowed" to lag behind in the performance area. Most of the disparity in sales is in the v6 model, but still...sales are sales, and with Ford way ahead over the last 10 years there is really no reason they need to improve the performance of the product. So, what we have is a Mustang line that is inferior (raw performance-wise) to the F-body. All because there is no perceived competition.
So, I would welcome the competition. It will make the 2003 L even better. The market for a vehicle like this is rather small in comparison to most auto markets. In order to keep sales and demand high, the product will have to be of high quality. If Dodge can get a 450+hp truck that passes emissions and I can buy off the showroom floor, then more power to them!
I believe the reason the original '93-95 L died was because there was no competition and the market STILL dried up. I remember seeing LOTS of those things sitting around. I bought a '94 L new and there were literally 6 others on the same lot. Got a super deal on it. The SVT dealers were begging people to take them away.
Imagine if there had been a GM or Dodge offering in this class at that time. It would have been even harder for each company to move the vehicles!
But, as long as these new L's keep flying off showroom floors, it will give GM/Dodge a reason to build a truck like this. Let's hope it happens!
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Wes Tarbox
90 LX 5.0 (10.69 @ 134.7)--597rwhp/590rwtq
96 Cobra (12.63 @ 114.5)--392rwhp/433rwtq
99 Lightning (13.20 @ 103.3)--364rwhp/444rwtq
00 Expedition XLT 5.4
http://members.aol.com/Wa2fst/index.html
Take the "pony cars" as an example. For a long time, Ford and GM would battle it out trying to one-up each other. Whether people here like them or not, the pony cars have had great success over the years and been affordable sporty cars with well above average v8 performance.
However, what has happened recently is that since the Ford Mustang outsells the GM F-body twins over 2 to 1, Ford is basically "allowed" to lag behind in the performance area. Most of the disparity in sales is in the v6 model, but still...sales are sales, and with Ford way ahead over the last 10 years there is really no reason they need to improve the performance of the product. So, what we have is a Mustang line that is inferior (raw performance-wise) to the F-body. All because there is no perceived competition.
So, I would welcome the competition. It will make the 2003 L even better. The market for a vehicle like this is rather small in comparison to most auto markets. In order to keep sales and demand high, the product will have to be of high quality. If Dodge can get a 450+hp truck that passes emissions and I can buy off the showroom floor, then more power to them!
I believe the reason the original '93-95 L died was because there was no competition and the market STILL dried up. I remember seeing LOTS of those things sitting around. I bought a '94 L new and there were literally 6 others on the same lot. Got a super deal on it. The SVT dealers were begging people to take them away.
Imagine if there had been a GM or Dodge offering in this class at that time. It would have been even harder for each company to move the vehicles!
But, as long as these new L's keep flying off showroom floors, it will give GM/Dodge a reason to build a truck like this. Let's hope it happens!
------------------
Wes Tarbox
90 LX 5.0 (10.69 @ 134.7)--597rwhp/590rwtq
96 Cobra (12.63 @ 114.5)--392rwhp/433rwtq
99 Lightning (13.20 @ 103.3)--364rwhp/444rwtq
00 Expedition XLT 5.4
http://members.aol.com/Wa2fst/index.html