Don Miller Dodge/Plymouth called me this past Saturday morning to inform me that I am now #16 on the waiting list. A year ago I was number 60 at the bottom of page 2. Some people ahead of me have backed out. The folks in front of me have all paid deposits and are waiting on delivery of the 2008 Model Challenger. Since the 2008 model will be a short and limited production run, I won’t be able to get a 2008. However, I was invited to come into to the dealership and pre-order a 2009 to my specs, for delivery by the end of the year. The dealership wants a deposit ($1K is the minimum, refundable), but they won’t give me a definite answer on how much discretionary dealer markup (over MSRP).

I am in a position where I actually will need another family vehicle by the end of the year. I sold my Ford Escape to my son in August and purchased a Honda Pilot. My wife likes the Honda Pilot and wants it for her daily driver. My wife’s 2002 Toyota Camry (25K actual miles) will be passed on to my daughter, Kim, who is just starting driver’s ed. So, I actually need to purchase another vehicle this year.