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Challenger for memories?

2K views 19 replies 14 participants last post by  RoostKing 
#1 ·
How many of you purchased your Challenger (or other muscle car) because you love it and because you want to keep it forever and produce a ton of memories with it for you and your family. We own a 2005 Mustang in Legend Lime Metallic that we bought new for that reason pre-kid. (wife's car)

I purchased my 2013 RTC PCP post child (2 year old daughter) brand new because I LOVE it and want my daughter to have memories in Dad and Mom's car. With proper care I pray they won't be restoration projects for her down the road, but fun cars to enjoy!
 
#2 ·
Bought it for myself and as a keeper. Not so much to create memories, but to own and enjoy. I felt I had to get that one before real cars disappear, one way or another (tiny engines, self-driving, etc.). And I've said before that it would be my last new car: if I buy anything after this it will be something pre-CAFE, pre-computers and pre-eurostyling.
 
#3 ·
I had an 09 first... had a blast with it... started a local car club... and then ordered an RT Classic just the way I wanted it optioned out.... plan on keeping it until I can't drive anymore as I am 48 now. Love owning it, and plan on driving it around our State to different places and this Summer going down to TENN to do Tail of the Dragon with friends.
 
#4 ·
The Challenger wont be my last car, as I go through cars every few years.

But I truly believe that the Challenger will be the last of its kind to be mass produced. Big, beefy, muscular, homage to the old one that is a perfect representation and one of the best looking cars on the road. With the new CAFE standards not too far away and the Mustang and Camaro looking more futuristic, I don't think we will see a "retro" looking car again.

For those reasons, my Challenger will be in my garage for life. Sure, I will pick up a newer car for work and running around duties but it wont have that special place in my heart as the challenger does. Sounds corny to talk about a car like this but I believe most of feel this way. :D
 
#6 ·
Plan on keeping my little ole 09 SE for as long as it runs
 
#7 ·
I agree that this will be the last retro muscle car with real power and style. I didn't buy it just for making memories, but is an awesome bonus for me. I feel like we got a second chance in owning something like the 70's muscle cars and we have the opportunity to cherish these. There won't be a high collector market down the road because of high production numbers and the realization to keep them nice.
 
#10 ·
My father bought a new Mercury Cyclone GT the same year I was born, 1970(I was brought home from the hospital in it), and owned it until he passed in 2006. He drove that car everywhere and literally was driving it until the wheels fell off. It was in rough shape, but it was supposed to be mine, yet family BS got in the way and it was sold for a pittance. Anyway, I bought my Challenger to continue the hot rod tradition he taught me and to honor him. My Challenger will be with me forever and the key chain he had for his Cyclone is on my fob. I take my car on road trips and drive it daily like this fine automobile is supposed to be, not hidden away and stared at. I would take no pride in a low mileage musclecar lol

Just like my father taught me.
 
#15 ·
My Challenger was purchased in memory of my father (54) who passed away on my 26th birthday in 1994 3 days after I found out my girlfriend was pregnant with my son.
To make a long story short back in 1973 my father was looking at buying a new to him car and one day while driving past the local GM dealer my father seen an orange Challenger sitting in the used section on the lot so we drove in to take a look and I can remember him saying that this is the car he wants. We walk into the showroom a short time later only to learn that someone is in the middle of signing the paperwork for the car and he missed by maybe an hour or less.
Next to the Challenger was a Dodge Demon and that is the car he ended up buying even though the Challenger was the one he wanted they were next to impossible to find around here and he had to settle for what was available. We did have a lot of family memories in the Demon and I would not give them up for anything but my first memory of cars was that orange Challenger and seeing the smile on my dads face when he it seen it then to see the disappointment (I was 4 years old) it is my oldest childhood memory and it is the single moment I became a car guy.
My father spoke of when he retires (would of retired with 30 years of service with the Department of National Defence in 1996) he would like to look at getting an old Challenger just like the one he missed out on but it was not to be. Fast forward to Oct 2005 when I decide I am going to start searching for a Challenger to purchase in memory of my dad the search turned up 2 pictures in Nov 2005 of a Challenger concept and as they say the rest is history.
Here is just a few pics of the memories my Challenger has brought to me so far.
First up is Carlisle 2012 it was always a dream of mine to be able to go to an event at Carlisle never did I think I would have a car able to be entered.

and what can be better than being at one of the best all Mopar shows? it`s sharing it with your 17 year old son.

Hershey Pa.

Skyline Dr. Shenandoah National Park
 
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#16 · (Edited)
My end-all-be-all dream car has always been a 1970 Hemicuda, but with prices on restored, numbers-matching Hemis beginning to skyrocket at the turn of the millennium, I essentially gave up on the idea that I would ever own one.

Then one day in 2006, I opened my mailbox to find my subscription of Car & Driver magazine with the Challenger concept car on the cover. I was stunned by its faithfulness to the spirit of the original 1970-1974 'cudas and Challenger. At that very moment I decided that if Dodge went ahead and put the car into production I would buy one, as it was a beautiful interpretation of the original E-body, and would be the closest I would ever get to owning that '70 Hemicuda.

After seeing the 392 car at the 2011 LA Auto Show, I knew the time had come to pull the trigger. On June 7th, 2011 (the first day that the order banks opened for the 2012's) I went to my local Dodge dealer and built-to-order a loaded, Pitch Black SRT8 392. I built the car exactly how I wanted it, because I knew that I would keep the car for life as part of my collection.

I will never sell her. Call it a love story.
 
#17 ·
#18 ·
I'm a monogamous kinda guy. Married my first real girlfriend, we met when I was 24 and we've been together a decade this summer, and married 5 years. Which is why we are taking the 09 Challenger on its first real road trip, 5000 miles round trip through TX-NM-AZ-CA-NV-UT-CO-KS-MO and back home to Arkansas.
I'm just as monogamous with my cars. My previous cars were cheap beaters that I ran into the ground, but the Challenger is mine forever, barring something unforeseen (my dad totaled his '69 Charger when I was like 4 or 5 in the mid 80's, so stuff happens sometimes.) Its at 10,000 miles right now, so I expect it to be quite a while before I hit 100,000+, its mostly a weekend car, which is fine with me. She's not a garage queen and I don't store it for the winter, though I do drive it less in winter. I just prefer to keep it as more of a recreational experience, than a daily driver. Also, it eats too much gas to drive every day

I first saw the new Challenger when they launched the official site before they started sales. I was in love immediately and said I must have this car, knowing full well this was my car for life. I waited through the 2008's because I refused to get an auto, so as soon as 2009's went on sale, I ordered one from the dealer. 6-speed black and zero other options, exactly like I wanted it. I waited and waited for my vin number so I could follow it as it was getting made, and picked it up early May 2009.

Only a month later, the body was destroyed in the worst hail storm this area has ever seen, and I was right in the epicenter of the absolute worst part of the storm. The car looked like a golf ball it was covered in thousands of dimples. Insurance estimate was $7000, replacing the hood, decklid, front fenders, and cutting and replacing the whole frigging roof, along with lots of paintless and painted dent repair on the doors and quarter panels.
I was told that if I pushed, I could get a new car instead. But y'know what? I was already attached. I hadn't even gotten to 500 miles yet, but I was already connected to this car. Her name was Jennifer and I couldn't just toss her out. So instead, I decided to go one step further, from my near perfect car, to my actual dream car. I had thought from the start that this car would look fantastic in matte black, and thought maybe at some point I would pay to have it done (honestly, I didn't care too much for the pearl black, it was too "sparkly", like a moody teenage vampire). Well, here was the perfect opportunity, because with all the body work, they were going to have to repaint 80% or more anyway. So I tossed in an extra couple hundred bucks to sand and paint the bumpers and paint the doorsills and such.
So in the end, I found myself thanking God, literally, for the hailstorm. Because who knows when/if I'd have ever gotten around to getting it repainted. So it was a blessing in disguise, as I went from having an awesome car, to my absolute dream car.
Looking forward to the trip this summer, and more like it in the future. The eco-nuts will have to pry this car from my cold dead hands... because I think I want to be buried in it :p
 
#19 · (Edited)
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