Dodge Challenger Forum banner

Profile of Challenger buyers?

45K views 190 replies 109 participants last post by  A Guy 
#1 ·
Deep inside I really don't care about what other people think, but lets be honest, every single car (luxury, sports, truck, exotic, etc) sends a message, correct?

Regardless of price and trim level, what kind of person looks for a car like the Challenger, what is the perceived stereotype -- nationwide -- of the muscle car buyer today? Are these buyers perceived as quintessential Americans from all walks of life, or perhaps "less sophisticated" or maybe folks going through "mid-life crisis"? Age group? For example, everyone tells me Corvettes are "old-man cars". And bingo, I started paying attention and every time I see a corvette there's a Santa driving it. Who drives a Challenger?....
 
#3 ·
Interesting question. I am a 20 year old college student, My daily car used to be a F10 M5 I still have it but I don't drive it anymore now that I have my scat pack. I bought it because it has the tech, the power and the looks. I got more compliments in this car in these 2 months than I had with my m5 in 2 years. the m5 is more than twice the price. End of story for me it is a issue of Bang for the Buck!
 
#4 ·
That's a coincidence, I'm 55 but I sold my 2010 E60 M5 for the 392 SRT for many of the same reasons you state. I loved the look of the E60 but the power, tech and that awesome exhaust sound are traits that make this car a winner. I miss the different sound of that V-10 but honestly the SRT seems like more of a drivers car. Dodge has really stepped up on the interior in the 15 models as well.
 
#6 · (Edited)
My profile and I am damn proud of it!

When I first started to read this thread I have to admit, I was like, “Ah brother.. Here we go again with some jargon that’s probably going to start up a heat debate.” But as I read on I began to think this is a really well played question. It made me look into myself as I too don’t give a squirt about what other people are driving and why. But the OP is right, I do see a heaping helping of older men whizzing around in a Vette some years before they retire and head down to Miami or some place. That’s already two stereotypes I’ve mentioned.. An older man in Vette and retiree living out his last days in Miami. I am on the fence still if these guys believe a Vette makes him feel or be perceived as a distinguished gentleman. Or, maybe it’s just a last attempt to be flashy and make a statement to the younger ladies that he is still a player, like the Dos Equis guy with the ladies hanging on his arm that persistently suggests that his friends (most of which he doesn’t know) should always stay thirsty. It can’t be commercials like that that drives older men to blow some of his nest egg on a two seated bowtie. I think this trend has been going on long before I said my first word.

I am not middle aged just yet, I’m a non-smoker 43 year old deep thinker. I come from an extensive multi-cultural back ground that spans the entire globe from SE Asia to India to Europe to South America and to the Caribbean. Despite that I am a stone cold American born on Manhattan Island during the late winter of 1972 just a few miles from what's now Ground Zero. I’m patriotic to my country and I’ve (for the most part) chosen American muscle as the car for me (whatever it may be). Only once did I own a Toyota pick-up in my early 20’s. To explain, my first car was a 1986 IROC-Z at age 18. I learned early on while running around the streets of Houston, TX that American made rear wheel drive with ample horses was the ticket. I just wished it were a manual shift. After that, at age 22 I got it in my young and dumb head that I out grew the need for speed because I am maturing and I must act as such. In 1994 I purchased my first new car. I drove that 5 speed Toyota and feeling bad about it each day until it was totaled by an 18 wheeler on the freeway in 1998. That was my opportune moment to get back into the American made game. I turned to Mopar and never looked back. My first Mopar wasn’t muscle per say. A simple jacked up and new 1997 RAM 1500 4X4 with a little 318 was a start for me. From that I went with a new 2004 SRT-10 6M, a new 2007 300C SRT-8 and now ONYX, a new 392 SRT 6M (I don’t feel comfortable purchasing used cars). I’m where I feel I am supposed to be…. American muscle pulled by many horses and a 6M to boot.

For me it’s not old age nor is it a mid-life crisis. I’m by no means sophisticated. I’m a T-shirt and jeans kind of guy that hates the taste of caviar, escargo and pate’. Gimmie a medium rare rib-eye steak and potatoes with a Sprite and I’m good. I’m a family man considered to be in the upper-middle working class bracket. I love GOD and my country (and in that order). I’m an ex-cop currently working as an international field engineer for the oil industry. I love my American muscle so much that even my wife will soon order a 2016 392 SPS to replace her Nissan Armada. I will always continue to acquire high powered American muscle even if it means getting into a restored classic. But I damn sure won’t be caught dead as Santa in a Vette. IMO that look is played out like ATARI…
 
#7 ·
I'm a 47 year old professional. Married but no kids. Great job that I had to bust my ass for (I have the crack to prove it). My Scat was actually my wife's car that I inherited when she started feeling that she couldn't be responsible behind the wheel. I'm more of a Charger guy and would have preferred one in a Scat Pack over the Challenger but I still enjoy the car for the raucous nasty fun that it is. Definitely not a mid life crisis: I consider it more of an unexpected surprise than anything else.

I see all types in Challengers and Chargers. I think the appeal that Dodge has created is much less of a niche market than what the Mustang and Camaro cater to. Of the three, it has the most going for it in terms of heritage looks. The prices are affordable enough that people from various age ranges and income levels are able to buy or lease one. I can't say that for Corvettes which is perhaps why they are considered "old man" cars. Looking at the German offerings, they're brilliantly executed but lack the ability to make you giggle like a 4 year old when you stomp the gas. At the end of the day if you're enjoying your car and it's generating some sense of happiness for you then it's doing what it was intended to do. Regardless of our ages I think all of us would agree that we buy cars based on how we feel when we drive them.

Just my .02
 
#8 ·
In 42 with a good career and a graduate degree. My dad was always into cars when I was growing up, especially Turbo Buicks. I've owned several fast cars including a GN, Buick Skylark with a big block, and a 2012 Mustang. The Scat Pack is the best one of the bunch. It's basically
a restmod muscle car for 1/3 the cost
that you can get in and drive across the country if you want. I'm at the point I enjoy driving them more than working on them. I think this period will go down as a second muscle car era and will come to an end in the near future.


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
 
#9 · (Edited)
I hate to break it to some of you but if you're in your 40's you are middle aged.
Mentally you may not feel it, but factually it's another matter. For some it may depend on your kids ages since young kids make some older people feel younger.
 
  • Like
Reactions: c26bt34c
#10 ·
40's are the new 20's :laugh2:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Triz
#11 ·
I too have seen "all types" behind the wheel of Challengers. From young to old, male and female, and from car nuts to "I liked how it looked" types. It's all over the place really.


I'm 62, have a broken G.A.F. and don't really care what anyone else thinks of my car, or the old fart driving it. I bought my first one because it just nailed the "retro muscle" looks, and brought me back to a time in life that was really special.


Side benefits were a great road cruiser, with plenty of room and comfort, and it just made me smile all the time, either driving it, or just looking at it.


I drive it when I want, where I want, and it's just a damn great therapist! "How does that make you feel?".................like a million on a bad day! LMAO Also, it's the only new car that I would consider laying out this type of change for. Not a "fan boy" at all, as I just love the experience of driving it, and taking care of it. All my other cars are just that.........cars.


When my '10 got flood totalled, I wasn't ready for the rocker, and either was the wife. Got the settlement check and ordered a '16 Scat Pack, just the way we wanted it.


So, there's my story of why I own a Challenger, and I'm sticking to it! :)
 
#12 · (Edited)
First what's a G A F and second although I love the new B5 you have that avatar keeps throwing me off next to your name after seeing yellow for years.
Enjoy many miles in it, we aren't old 60's are the new 40's? Or so they say,lol.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 19johned53
#18 ·
That's funny because my new avatar throws me off too! LOL


GAF = Give a F**#...............just way past the point of caring what others think of me. No political correctness needed/wanted/used, as things are what they are, and we all have to just deal with it. LOL Silence is "golden", but if one insists on me telling my thoughts, well, I will tell them what I feel!


Plan on having as much fun with this one as Ol' Yeller, and yes, we're only as old as we feel:wink3:
 
#14 ·
I'm 36 and work for a local school district. I have been a muscle car guy ever since I can remember. I grew up in the 1980's so t.v. shows with cool cars (Dukes of Hazzard, Knight Rider, Fall Guy, Hardcastle and McCormick) ignited a passion of mine. I'm partial to MOPAR but do like GM......don't like Fords.. :-D

I've owned a 2006 Monte Carlo SS (nice car). Bought my first Dodge, a 2012 Stinger Yellow R/T classic Challenger. Traded it in and now have a 2016 Scat Pack in B5 blue...(will post pics eventually, waiting to get custom stripes on.)

So yeah, I bought my muscle cars because I love the look, performance, etc. I was stunned when Chrysler decided to bring back the Challenger years back. I thought FINALLY a two door muscle car from DODGE!!!
 
#15 ·
I'm 26, in West Texas, which is truck capital, USA. I drive a scat shaker b5. I chose the challenger specifically because of what the 15's offered that other years did not. LED lighting (especially the taillights) the options for back wheels and modern stripe packages, the shaker look, a quality interior, And of course the big hemi.

I'm to muscle cars because of my father and his generation. So many stories of 426 hemis and 4 speeds, pics of shakers... And right on time dodge re-releases all these options.

I get compliments from everyone. From the baby boomer generation, to kids my age saying how they've never seen a challenger like that but they like the shaker. And it's from all cultures as well, black, white and everything in between. And that's just it, there are a lot of us younger people now who grew up with the stories and pics of high compression muscle cars and now these things are available in a modern package at a reasonable price.

Imo, Dodge really did their homework before the 15 redesign and put themselves ahead of a lot of manufacturers in the way the pulled off the modern retro vehicle.

Oh and the women love it, the color draws them in, the engine starting up seals the deal. I don't even have to say words sometimes, and that is when I know, who cares what people think about me driving a challenger. I get everything I want out of this car, and the people who are approaching me and talking about it could car less who I am, it's just about we like the same thing so let's talk about it.
 
#16 ·
I think there is another group of Challenger owners that grew up in the muscle car era like I did. I am 74 and I started working for Chrysler Canada in 1964. I was always a "car guy" and my job at Chrysler gave me the opportunity to drive all the muscle cars as they were developed in the late 60's and early 70's. I loved those cars and I bought a few during that time.

Family and other things prevented me from owning a muscle car from the early 80's until now. I am retired, a widower and now I have a chance to get back to driving the kind of cars that I always wanted. A Challenger is the only car for me.
 
#17 ·
I clearly fit the "Old Fart" group. Both my wife and I are 64. She retired a few years ago and I recently retired this past June. Our SRT was a kind of,,, 'Retirement Send Off'.

When we were dating way back then, we had a 62 Chrysler 300 which we loved. At the same time, we had our eyes on the Challengers in 1971. Of course, with just starting our lives together, there was no room financially for a new car. So now, here we are towards the end of our journey and thought this new retro Challenger would be a great way to have the car we wanted at the start of our time together. Every time we take our SRT out, we've noticed that we both automatically develop a smile on our faces hearing the exhaust tone and feeling all the power with the slightest touch to the gas pedal.

Yeah,,,,, this Challenger is a GREAT 'Retirement Send Off' !!!
 
#19 ·
I'm 66, and a one week old (today) '16 SRT is my first Challenger. I wondered briefly before ordering it whether I would be one of those silver-haired geezers driving a 'Vette or other muscle car, but decided I did not give two s**ts. I no longer feel the need to impress other people, I generally live modestly despite the fact that I still work and plan to continue doing so for at least another three years, possibly longer, and make good $.....plus I just last month started receiving Social Security, so $ was really no concern. I am single, have a girlfriend but no plans to ever remarry or cohabit, but I have two other vehicles, a Jeep Wrangler and a 4x4 Tundra.

I bought the Challenger because when I got out of the Army in 1972 I came a hair's breadth from buying a '70 Challenger.....cannot remember what engine it had, but it was a fairly deluxe model.....at a used-car lot with 14K on the odo, but hesitated and the car was sold by the time I got back down ready to make a deal. In the years that followed I was busy going to school, building a career, getting married, kids, divorce, remarried with step-kids, divorced again, and just trying to settle down, save some retirement money, keep working, get my kids through college, etc. So, mission accomplished, I finally decided it was time to get that Challenger I missed out on 44 years ago.

Everywhere I go, every time I stop, I am asked about the car. Despite the fact that I bought it in billet silver with no stripes just to keep it a little more stealthy and to draw less attention, it still stands out rather dramatically and commands attention. Again, that wasn't why I bought it; I bought it because I wanted it and was ready.
 
#20 ·
I'll agree so 50 is the new 30's ?

I'm 52 own my own company and have been driving BMWs as my daily for years. I also have "toy" cars that are either 69 Chargers or some form of roadrunner--- old school Mopars.

I got the Challenger because I like they way they look, the retro nod, performance and because they are half the price of a similar equipped M4.

Plus, if it were magically 1969 I would have bought something with a 440 in it, so in 2015 I got the SP.
 
#22 ·
Hey all. I'm 34 years old and I live in southern California. I am latino (specifically, Nicaragua), but I am a US citizen and damn proud of this country. I would have served military but was dq'd for health reasons. Currently, I am married, just had our first child, an 8 month old boy. I guess I could be considered working middle class; my wife is a school teacher, and I'm a nurse (think The Fockers). I am in the process of finishing my Masters degree in Nursing, and then pursuing a doctorate after that. Ordering my '16 Scat Pack Shaker is a gift to myself that my wife and I both agreed upon, something we an afford, as an achievement prize for finishing my Master's. I grew up going to a high school that had an auto mechanics shop class where all the cool kids took their cars in to work on them. I never could do that because we were poor growing up and I didn't have my first car until I was 19, which was a VW rabbit. So, getting this car is a huge milestone for me... kind of like my "I HAVE ARRIVED".

At any rate, reading through these forums over the past few months I would probably say that I don't fit the "profile" of a Challenger driver... but then again, as someone else mentioned, I think Dodge did it right by marketing to a mass audience versus a small niche of fanboys like other car companies do.

I am excited to get my scat pack shaker, and proud to be another member of the challenger profile!
 
#23 ·
2014 R/T Classic. I'm 35, a professional/military career Pilot with a graduate degree and family. I have been interested in American classic and muscle cars my entire life, always owned at least one classic/special interest vehicle at any given time since age 16, and perform all my own restoration and maintenance repairs with very few exceptions. For several years, my 1960 Ford F-100 and 1978 Trans Am (both of which I still own) provided daily transportation for myself. The only new car in my ownership prior to the Challenger was purchased for my wife, with intent of providing dependable and safe transportation for her while I was away with work. I was never in the market for a new car for myself, as nothing captivated my attention or interest enough to warrant a purchase, nor did I need another car. I was instantly sold on the Challenger when it first debuted, and waited until the color availability and yearly style changes pleased me the most before making the purchase. The car provides a very enjoyable driving experience, nets excellent fuel economy, can easily accommodate our family of four plus luggage on road trips, and most importantly (to me), encompasses the most captivating styling of any car produced today--the total package.
 
#24 ·
Hey iam one of the old guys !!!,, just putting this out there for us old guys .I have a landscaping business here in southwest Florida and it's hot !! Out there 5 days a week with my crew working not to many 30 somethings can keep up with me!!! lol . We love our 2015 RT plus sublime .heck if we had room we would have his and hers ,,,:grin2:
 

Attachments

#25 · (Edited)
Hmmm, I guess I will put myself out there. I am a 40 year old, 22 year Veteran, active duty USAF. I am not married anymore, no kids, so I guess that is why I am on my 41st car. I have owned a huge variety of cars, a bunch old old British and Italian roadsters, -think MG/Triumph/Alfa/Fiat, back to back for many years. I always loved vintage American muscle but those were/are increasingly getting more expensive and I could fit two Triumphs in a space for one American classic.
Fast fwd to 2006, like many of you reacted, (the day the Challenger Concept debuted) -WOW!! If they actually build that I will find a way to get one! 2 years later in mid '08 I was taking my girlfriend to her dentist appointment and there in the parking lot was the first Challenger I had seen in person, a 2008 Challenger SRT in Hemi Orange!!! I couldn't believe they actually built it!! Of course those 1st ones were demanding quite a sum...I waited and waited to about May of 2010 before I was able to get my first Challenger, my 1st American Muscle. Now I am on my 6th Challenger and I have owned a 2008 Mustang GT and a 2010 Camaro 2SS but they didn't pull me in like these awesome cars still do! 1st pic is my first Challenger, R/T Classic in Detonator and now I have an exact duplicate as my 6th Challenger!


 
#26 ·
:thumbsup:44 year old married / divorced / remarried with a 14 Son.
Working class schlub who has done pretty well for himself as an
Audio video technician/ home automation system programmer.
I have had American muscle in my blood my entire life.
Partially due to my late and great godfather who was an American
Muscle / lead sled custom car guy.
Growing up up in the 70's 80's I was also influenced by movies such as Smokey and the Bandit
And Cannonball Run just to name off a few.
I knew when the Challenger was re-introduced in 08' that I must some day have one.
Fortunately this year was my time and I could afford one equipped to my likings.
It was everything I expected and more. So that's how I ended up here.:thumbsup:
 
#27 ·
Im a 37 yr old wife and mother of 2. I've always settled for the 4 cylinder vs. the 6. 4 dr vs the 2 dr. Always chose the most economic cars and always talked myself out of what I really wanted. Now that I'm a big girl, I wanted to drive a big girl car so my pcp sxt+ is scheduled to be built next week.
 
#28 ·
45, married, two kids. Own my own business. Sold a European sports car earlier in the year but after getting my Challenger, I don't miss it one bit. I feel more comfortable in my skin and heck, even the music sounds better! In my old ride, I felt like a yuppie schmuck. In the Challenger, I feel like I am King:grin2: King of what, I don't know but I got to say I haven't got excited like this about a car in a long time, if ever!
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top