Dodge Challenger - It That a Bad Thing?

In a world of do-it-all crossovers, it's refreshing, no, wait...dare I see reaffirming to me, that brutally impractical cars like this late model, "sub-lime" Dodge Challenger R/T are as popular as they are. It's the perfect yang to the ying that are crossovers and is exhibit "A" as to why boring four door sedans as we once knew it are rapidly becoming extinct. Sedans, incidentally, are not dying a rapid death because of "sports cars" like this but because crossovers are more practical and are, arguably (for the most part), better looking. Crazy cars like this Challenger then are the opposite side of the spectrum from "CUV's" and thank god almighty The Big Three still make them.  

If you're not aware or have forgotten, these cars are an homage of sorts to the Dodge Challengers of 1970-1974 lore. Somewhat remarkably, Chrysler has changed little about them in thirteen model years. Yes, they've made some subtle styling changes over the years, the interior has been upgraded wholesale, engines and transmissions have been massaged with glorious results but by and large, I'd be hard pressed if any lay person could tell a 2008 Challenger from a brand new one. That a bad thing? 

Well, based on Chrysler selling on average sixty-thousand of these each year, no. Now, that's a drop in the bucket compared to crossover sales, but it is a large enough a number that Chrysler keeps the big old beast around to dress up showrooms clogged with Journey's, Grand Caravan's, and Durango's. I'll bite my tongue on my opinion of the spiritually related four door version of the Challenger they peg as "Charger" for a separate blog of its own. Stay tuned. 

It's been said that one of the problems with retro themed design is that you're hemmed in by the original concept with little room to evolve. Stylistically, that theory does hold some water but again, does that matter? As long as Chrysler continues to update these cars with all the gadgetry that buyers want these days, they could keep popping these out with the same styling for another ten years. Gee whiz, is a plug in hybrid version that far off? 

Personally, while I love the looks of these cars, lime green paint aside, I wish they'd update them so that they'd be more in line with the current Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro. Ford and GM's "ponies" are so wonderful to drive and ride in these days that I have to wonder why anyone in the sport coupe market would buy a Challenger instead of a Mustang or Camaro. Ok, looks aside. I get how someone could fawn all over a Challenger because of it's chiseled, handsome profile and movie star haunch, lord knows I do, but drive one back to back with a Mustang or Camaro and I dare you to attempt to convince it's even half as good. 

There's rumors out there that an all new Challenger is on the horizon but those teases get squashed as quickly as they pop up. And for the Challenger nation, that's apparently perfectly ok with them. But do yourself a favor - if you're smitten with the Challenger for its looks only and you do value pure driving satisfaction, you owe it to yourself to spend some time with a Camaro or Mustang. 

A Tale of Two 1996 Chevy Camaros - Stuff Doesn't Matter

Over the last six years my wife and I had bought two, almost identical, red, 1996 Chevrolet Camaro's for our sons to use and last week a gentleman named Jim took the remaining one off our hands. There were a number of "little" and not so little problems with it and it's relative unreliability had worn out my ability to see past all of its intrinsic faults and foibles. Still, seeing it go was bittersweet as it closed the car door on a big part of my life as a father. After all, isn't buying cool first cars for our kids what "car guys" like me are supposed to do? Seeing a nice wad of bills in an envelope, though, helped dissuade any feeling of melancholy I had quite quickly.

That it was an "Arizona" car with absolutely no rust was the driving force behind Jim wanting it to replace the '99 Camaro he had with "only" 198,000 miles on its clock but whose frame had rusted out beyond repair. That and that our car had a mere 81,000 or so miles on it helped seal the deal. I tip my ball cap to Jim since he, like myself, can see past the flinty, truck like ride and handling, god awful seats and cheap, junky interiors of these cars and loves them for what they are and not despise them for what they're not. Trust me, one doesn't replace one of these cars with another one if you don't love them.

Learning to let go both physically and emotionally of stuff in general but particularly of our sons is one of the toughest things that I've had to experience as a parent. I've learned that our children grow up, our roles in their lives change and we stand a better chance of holding onto the wind if we think holding onto their baby shoes, cribs, toys, their first cars or whatever, is going to help us hold onto them as they were. It's a good thing my wife is way, way less sentimental than I am otherwise we'd be over our heads with their "stuff". And, really, what's the point of that? I've also learned that the idea of their "stuff" is far better than their actual stuff. Takes us much less room in the garage, attic and basement too.

With that, I said goodbye to our "second" 1996 Chevrolet Camaro. While it took me a couple of days to get over it, silly as it may sound to those who are less sentimental than I am, once I did, I felt empowered by freeing myself of the physical constraints of the past, fear of change and of the future. I also felt renewed and hopeful as selling that car will help to open a new chapter for our son as he's planning to use what we got for it as part of a down payment on, bless his heart, a late model Camaro.

Honestly, I could care less what he gets as long as he's happy. However, here I go again, I know I'll have an instant and deep emotional bond with it because it be forever the "first car he bought for himself". 

Is Buying A Car with A "Rebuilt" or "Salvage" Title A Good Idea?

To buy a car with a "rebuilt title" or not to buy a car with a "rebuilt title"...that is the question and the answer is not a simple yes or no. Purchasing a rebuild can be vexing because there are several things to keep in mind - like why the car was salvaged or rebuilt and whether or not a buyer knows all of the pitfalls that come with buying one. It can be a great buy but they can also be a nightmare; especially at trade in or resale time. For today's blog about salvage title vehicles, we'll use this 2014 Chevrolet Camaro our older son was seriously considering buying as an example.

So, what the heck is a car with a "rebuilt title" and what constitutes a "total loss" anyway? Also known as a "salvage title", "rebuilts" are cars repaired after being damaged such that an insurance company deemed them a total loss. Now, a car that's been "totaled" doesn't mean that it can't be repaired and resold although, on the surface, it sounds really fishy. Buyers are (somewhat) protected since if a car is totaled and fixed, it's title is branded as a "rebuilt".

Regarding a "total loss", that varies somewhat from state to state but here in Ohio, insurance companies use a total loss formula or what is referred to as "TLF". With "TLF", if the sum of the cost of the repairs of a damaged vehicle plus it's salvage value exceeds its actual cash value (ACV) or "book value", the vehicle is deemed a total loss. Other states use a percentage of the damaged vehicle's value relative to the cost to repair it to determine if it's a total loss or not. For this '14 Camaro with just 12,000 miles on the clock to have been deemed a total loss here in Ohio, it must have been seriously messed up. Thing is, it wasn't. More on that in a second or two.

Not all cars with "rebuilt" titles are created equal. Some cars that are rebuilt shouldn't have been because they were too badly damaged and their future crash worthiness could be compromised. While the body shop selling this car was quite forthcoming with information about the damage this car previously had, I had a hard time getting my head around buying a car that had been banged up so badly that it had been "totaled"; despite an asking price a good twenty five percent below market value. Also, this car allegedly had front end damage so bad that it warranted the car being totaled while at the same time the air bags didn't go off? Heh? Weird. Anyway, as you can kind of tell, the car looked perfect but I uncharacteristically hemmed and hawed and dragged my feet on helping my son make what would ultimately be his decision. Oh, and another thing that sorta haunted me about this car is that salvage title vehicles car will always be significantly worth less than a comparable car with a "clean" title.

While our son said he would keep the car for "ten years or more" to wring as much value out of it as possible, another concern I had was if he had to get rid of it while still owing on it, ditching a rear wheel drive sports car here in north east Ohio is tough enough let alone anything with a "rebuilt" title. However, taking everything into consideration, seeing how solid the car was, how much  information we had on it, and my willing to take it off his hands should he want to part ways with it, I was ok with whatever decision he made. With that, he made up his mind to purchase it.

Well, snooze you lose. No sooner had he made up his mind to make the purchase when someone else thought it a good buy too and beat us to the punch.