2011 Dodge Charger Images Surface

Hard to believe, but the outlandishly styled Dodge Charger has been with us since late 2005. It's been one of a few bright spots in Chrysler's lineup in the past few years, posting good sales numbers every year.  Why?  Simple - it's a large, rear-wheel-drive traditional sedan with a choice of either sensible (2.7L, 3.5L V6) or proper engines (5.7L, 6.1L Hemi V8's).  It's popular with midlife crisis middle class white people because it looks like a thugged-out gangster mobile.  It's popular with recreational pharmacists for the same reason.  It's also popular with law enforcement because, with a 5.7L Hemi, it can catch those recreational pharmacists.  Sure, the headroom in the back's a little tight, the trunk's a little small, and the interior quality is nothing to write home about.  But America fell in love with the concept of a traditional RWD V8 sedan again in 2006, and they've pretty much stayed there.

Still, it's almost 2011 now, which makes the Charger officially old.  Rather than give it a radical redesign, Chrysler thankfully realized they had a good thing on their hands, and just simply gave us more of the same.  Good job.

First off, as far as restyling goes, this one pretty much sticks to the script.  The rear full-width tail lights are neat - Dodge calls it a racetrack, and it's lit up by 164(!) LED's.  The front end gets less noticeable changes, with narrower headlights and a lower hood line.  The rear is more of a transformation from the blocky, uninteresting styling of the previous model - I especially like the integrated exhaust tips.

The charger retains the classic "coke bottle" side proportions of an American muscle car - narrow at the hips, wide at the fenders - which lends it a muscular stance.  Overall, I feel they've actually improved upon the shape of the previous car without starting over - it's both more modern looking and more interesting to look at, without losing the whole aggressive retro charm that made it a hit.

Powertrains get tweaking too.  Out go the outdated 2.7 and 3.5L V6s, replaced by Chrysler's new Pentastar 3.6L V6.  Expected output is 280 horsepower, like it is in the rest of the vehicles with this motor, which is a bump of 30bhp over the 3.5 and 90bhp over the 2.7.  Of course, a 5.7L Hemi is still going to be an option on the Charger (it would be like decaf coffee without!), with variable displacement and variable cam timing.  Dodge says the Charger R/T 5.7 will have "best in class power," then proceeds to not quote any power numbers.  A good guess would be 390, which is what current variable cam timing Hemis are making.  This would put it comfortably ahead of the current family sedan power leader, the SHO Taurus with it's 365bhp twin-turbo V6.

AWD will continue to be an option on the Charger, but only on the R/T 5.7.  Rather than a full-time 4WD system, the R/T AWD will have an active transfer case and a front-axle disconnect, which will allow it to be a RWD setup until it detects slip and connects the front axle.  Dodge claims a 5% fuel economy improvement with this setup, minimize the mileage penalty for AWD while having the foul-weather traction benefits of a normal system.

The new Charger is packed with safety and entertainment technology, which is becoming a must in the family-sedan segment.  Stability control is standard, and options include active cruise control with forward collision warning, blind spot monitor, and rear cross-path detection.  You will also be able to get a rear back-up camera to help with parking, sat-nav, Chrysler's UConnect media system with Sirius traffic data and fuel prices, dual zone climate control, and lots of other luxury goodies.

For those that want more power, expect an SRT-8 version to debut shortly after the new Charger starts production, most likely using the new 6.4L SRT Hemi (475bhp) that is debuting in the revamped 2011 Challenger, which is getting a similar engine line-up.  Pricing hasn't been announced yet, so expect more specific details to drop in the near future.  The new Charger, plus the Grand-Cherokee based new Durango, should help put Dodge back on the map with consumers, now that they're offering products people actually want.  Time will tell.