This past week, Ralph Gilles, the head designer for the Dodge division, announced that the Magnum could be making a comeback. This news makes me very, very happy.
To be honest, the Magnum was in a class of its own during its time in the Dodge lineup, and according to Gilles, there are people still with the company that had a liking for the car when it was around. In fact, one man’s poor decision-making was what killed it off (That man has still indeed gone unnamed), according to Gilles. I have some suggestions for this car that will make it possibly even more successful than it was when it launched six years back.
For one thing, with gas prices as they are, AWD should be strictly an option, considering that it does reduce mileage. Make a small engine such as a turbocharged inline-four, standard equipment, and the Pentastar V6 a midlevel option–if the turbo engine (think Hyundai Sonata engine, guys) could produce about the same as the old 3.5L V6 (about 250-255hp). This should come with a standard eight speed automatic transmission, which is already in the works and slated to hit the lineups in the next couple of years. The Hemi should keep its cylinder deactivation, and upgrade to the 8-speed as well, but Dodge must keep all prices down–the car should start at around 25-25.5K and the R/T should probably not start at more than about $31,000 to keep demand nice and even. Meanwhile, the SRT version should get a six-speed manual as standard (automatic as an option), with the 6.4L V8, at about 470HP to offset the extra weight. Or, maybe an SRT-10 to make a cut-rate competitor to the CTS-V wagon. That would be nice, too.
As for the rest of the car, the styling should deviate from the Charger, but still be attractive. The bodywork on the old one was great, until it got that pig nose in 2008. Dodge would do well to make it look smaller than it is, but to still give the car some heft in its design. In addition, to keep weight down, if Dodge can afford it, use high-strength steel and aluminum as much as possible to keep rigidity at a maximum. The LY platform can certainly support the Magnum, and if Dodge does bring it back, the big-wagon void can be filled, and Dodge could have a lower-cost competitor to vehicles like the Ford Flex and the German wagons like the BMW 5 Series GT (a car that needs no introduction in itself), Mercedes-Benz E-Class Touring, and the upcoming Audi A6 Avant. Make it so, Dodge. I’ve driven the 300 and I loved it–I can’t wait to see what you can do with this car.
-Al
Mind Over Motor 
Oh yeah, fablouus stuff there you!
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I’M IN LOVE THIS WAGON . I LUCKED THIS PAST JANUARY WITH 6,666 MILES ON IT . TO BAD IT’S INFRNO RED . BUT IT’S GROWNING ON ME . I’M STILL SEACHING FOR MY BLACK ONE . HEY, I’M 65 YEARS YOUNG . I’VE GOT ,A 2009 SRT8 CHALLNEGER LOADED, A 2004 MERURY MARUADER…. SO I LOVE MY MUSCLE CARS,I TOO WOULD BE AT THE FRONT OF THE LINE TO GET MY NEW BLACK SRT8 DODGE MAGNUM A.S.A.P. . CHRSYLER GET IT BACK ON THE ROAD THERE ARE ALOT OF US WANTING . YOU MADE A BACK MISSTAKE KILLING . BRING BACK NOW…
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That’s another problem with Chrysler, they’re producing too many vehicles for the niche market being old men lusting after those silly looking Challengers and Chargers that look like circus cars. If Chrysler is to survive they need to get their heads out of the sand and start building vehicles that are of excellent quality, have excellent engineering and aren’t reflections of 60’s muscle cars. If Chrysler can’t abstain from building brightly colored clown cars with the goofy stripes and shit, trying to emulate an era for old men to relive, then Fiat is gonna have some major trouble in their corridors. Although Chrysler’s sales have improved to the fleet markets Rental-grade material.
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I have to disagree here. Appealing to muscle car nostalgia is the name of the game for Chrysler, just look at the sales numbers. Chrysler, unlike Ford, still actually makes American cars, not just copies of Japanese cars. I agree that the help they are receiving with small cars from Fiat is invaluable, but Chrysler needs to stay American if it is going to survive. There is room for both, but in fact the demand for the “brightly colored clown cars” is pretty large, and those cars are quintessentially American in nature. It sounds to me like you just don’t like Muscle cars to begin with, and that’s ok, but no need to be a hater.
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Indeed, the ones made before 2011 are rental-grade on the inside, but I’ve driven the new 300 V6 and V8, and neither one would be easy to call “rental-grade.” Chrysler took a turn for the better and there’s no better proof of that than the new Dart, which has got to be one of the best smaller cars Dodge has put their name on. Put it next to a Caliber and it’s hard to tell that the same people worked on the two.
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A friend of mine used to own an ’05 Magnum with the Hemi. The Magnum soon developed a loud tick at less than 5,000 miles. The dealer said it was normal. My friend who takes excellent care of his vehicles knew something wasn’t normal with the engine’s tick. The dealer assured him that it’s characteristic of the engine to make that sound. The next thing to happen was blue smoke puffing from the right tailpipe. The dealer again poo-pooed it as nothing. This is a car with less than 10K on the clock! My friend go the typical run around, and he eventually went to an independent mechanic that told my friend that his brand new Magnum already had a problems with the valves. CHrysler denied this and claimed if there was such a problem then my friend abused the car to make it happen! My friend was an old man in his late 40’s when he bought the Magnum, and he wasn’t the type to drag race the car or do any of those mindless modifications to it. Chrysler customer service is the WORST! After almost a year of tug and pull with the jerks at Chrysler, my friend eventually was compensated for the repairs. The Magnum proved to have more problems ranging from electrical to the poor quality of the cheap interior falling apart and water leaks. He sold the Magnum two years later and purchased a 2007 Toyota 4 Runner that he currently owns with 78,000 trouble free miles on the clock. Chrysler still hasn’t learned their lesson in custom satisfaction and continues to build poor quality vehicles. That was the first and last Chrysler product my friend ever owned.
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My dad also had an 05 Hemi Magnum. The only issue we ever had with it in our 6 years of ownership was that the Crank Sensor failed around 45k miles. Mechanically she was sound though. It sounds like your friend must have gotten a lemon, which is unfortunate, but hardly representative of all of Chrysler’s lineup. Thank you for the heads up about their service though.
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I bought a 2005 MAGNUM RT before they hit the dealers showrooms. That’s another story.
I still have it with 85,000 miles on it. I LOVE THIS CAR! I will run it till the wheels fall off.
I started using 100% synthetic oil from day one. I am 6ft 5 inches and it works great for me. It runs like hell when you want it to. BRING IT BACK!
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Did you have the crank sensor fail on you all of a sudden around 45-50k miles? Cause we did with our 05. Got lucky there was a dealer right nearby. Great car otherwise.
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