The limited edition color issue is a concern, and I would think they will run out of new high impact color ideas to introduce in the near future anyway. So it will be interesting to see if they just expand the standard color choices on the Challengers to include some formerly limited time ones, or reintroduce some of the limited edition colors for additional short time periods (which would be sort of lame IMO).
On the dealer issue, I don't know what to say on that. I experienced some of the same problems that you and many others have when stopping at dealerships after the new Challenger came out. I wasn't ignored when I stopped at Sherman in Skokie and Advantage in Des Plaines, however, the salesmen at both of those places weren't very knowledgeable, and it seemed like they had just just stepped off the boat after coming to the US from some eastern European country. My dad had bought a Caravan at Sherman some years ago, and went in there a couple years back when it was time for a new one and he was ignored by salesmen. He ended up going up to Fields in Northfield and bought his Town and Country there and was happy with them. I know several people who have bought new Challengers at Fields and seemed happy with them.
I went 95 miles northwest to Janesville WI and bought my car at Bouchard and was pleased with their service. When I pulled in I was immediately greeted by a salesman who was friendly and seemed like he knew his product well, and when I told him I had already been talking to their internet sales manager about a new Challenger, he immediately invited me to test drive one. I have heard stories of other people's experiences with dealers where they went to several dealers and asked for test drives and were not allowed to, or were asked to put down deposits before they would be allowed a test drive.
All I can say is you have to look around and ask around to find a good dealer. Many suck, but a couple bad apples don't mean that every one is worthless!
My buddy just bought a new SE last month in Wheaton, and he had first stopped at a Chevy dealer to look at the Camaro. All the Chevy store had in 6 cylinders were loaded with 28K stickers and the dealer wouldn't move on the price. So he went to the Chrysler dealer in Wheaton and they had a SE just what he wanted, and they knocked 800 or so off the sticker and gave him a good financing rate, and he is happy as can be with his new car. He bought one with few options but likes to personalize his cars some, so he has already put a trunk lid spoiler on it, and maybe someday he'll get some different wheels or something.
I can say from experience, that car makers not having the options or powertrains that you want available is nothing new. In the early 90's I liked the Thunderbird SC but didn't want the expensive supercharged engine, complex expensive early generation Teves ABS brakes, etc. I wanted the "look" and a standard 3.8 V6 backed by a 5 speed manual. Chevy had something like that with the Camaro, instead of buying a Z28 you could get a RS with a 6 and a manual. Why couldn't Ford have a rallye version of the Tbird like that, which is what I wanted?
I ended up buying a 2 year old used SC back then with 22K miles, I had some problems with the damn brakes, but the supercharged engine was relatively trouble free other than being hard to work on, first car I ever had to pay a mechanic to change the spark plugs! But I loved that car and owned it over 10 years, still miss it. Until I got my new R/T 6 speed last year I didn't think I'd ever own a new or late model car again that had the looks, performance, and comfort as good or better than my old 'bird!
