Fifty years ago Dodge introduced the Challenger to compete with the Camaro and Mustang. Bigger than both in size, it was dwarfed in sales. The Challenger sold about 76,000 models in 1970, compared to about 125,000 Camaros and a whopping 190,000 Mustangs. Sales dropped off rapidly for the five year run of the first generation and the model disappeared after 1974. Skipping the second generation Challenger of 1978-1983, a rebadged Mitsubishi import (although I’d love to have one of those!), the Challenger returned in 2008 for a third run. The Challenger below looks remarkably like the original, and the model continues to sell well despite little change for the last 12 years – over a half a million so far. I don’t know how they do it, but CarMax just Hoover’s up low mileage, older muscle cars. Could write a whole piece about the scores of Corvettes, Camaros, Mustangs, and Challengers on the lots that have hardly been driven, but after last weekend’s novel I’ll stick to one. And keep it short.
My favorite, and not just because it’s yellow. A 2012 Dodge Challenger SRT-8 Yellow Jacket with what appears to be 393 miles on the odometer. That’s crazy – 50 miles yearly?! Yeah, yeah, yeah, cars are meant to be driven….all the rubber and gaskets could be rotted….but it’s damned near new!
Love those seats, although I suspect wrestling with the bolsters to get in and out might get old. The 6.4 liter V-8 is good for 470 hp running through only a five-speed automatic, but still hits a high four second 0-60 mph run and a top speed of 175 mph. Plenty good enough for me. Heated steering wheel, but not seeing Bluetooth. But with a 900 watt audio system I wouldn’t hear the phone anyway. Here’s the thorough Top Speed review from back in the day.
The SRT-8 has four piston Brembo brakes, and the Electronic Vehicle Information Center (EVIC) – tracking acceleration, g-force, and other cool stuff we had to do with a slide rule and stopwatch in the original! The car sold for a good $45,000 new just eight years ago. Not sure it’s a bargain but the price just dropped $1,000 to $36,998. Find this NOS (new old stock) one-owner, accident free Dodge here in Buford, Georgia.
Bonus car – if you don’t need 470 hp and don’t want to spend $36k but want some muscle car nostalgia, this 2009 Challenger R/T is in the “Coming Soon” section of CarMax. The R/T only has 375 hp, but it does have a proper Tremec T6060 six-speed manual transmission working the 5.7 liter motor.
It’s a sleek, pretty Challenger. The kicker is this car is also low mileage, with only 36.000 miles over 11 years! Find it here in Fort Worth.
