2009 Dodge Challenger

Last month's review of the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 may have seemed to some a blinding orgy of Detroit love. Having just moved from Detroit to New York City, I was homesick and was seemingly in need of a shot of Motor City muscle. Still, I offer no apology, because despite the rose-colored glasses, I managed to outline the three glaring issues with the low-volume '08 model year Challenger SRT8 — the outdated interior, the weight and most importantly, the automatic transmission. After spending a day this past week driving the new 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T, SRT8 and SE on the roads of New York City and on the Raceway Park track at Englishtown, NJ, Dodge has fixed at least one-third of the Challenger's problems. That's a good thing for Dodge, because I left the rose-colored glasses back in Detroit. More »