Remember when people bought new Muscle cars and left them outside?

[1969chargerrtse]

I guess people still do that.  Not something I expected to see on my way to work.
Kinda neat looking.  Nice color.

[charger Downunder]

In 30 years this pic will be choice.

[PocketThunder]

I'm guessing some people buying are single guys living in an apartment or house with a couple roomates and there is no garage available. 

[68charger383]

To some people, its just a $40K car.

My car is made from sugar cubes, that is why it can't get wet. 

[Mike DC]

   

The OLD musclecars are still just $40K cars. 

We can choose to treat them differently from a modern $40K car if we want, but that's our decision.

[TruckDriver]

There is a guy down the street from me, who owns a real nice '71 Mustang coupe with Mach 1 graphics and Keystone classic mags on it that he is letting sit outside in his driveway all winter uncovered.

[John_Kunkel]

I've never lived in a house without a garage but in years past the garage was full of project car and the daily driver(s) sat outside, muscle car or not.

[Mopar2Ya]

My '70 is always stored winters. My DD is not. When given the choice, nice car/truck or garage I'm going w/the car every time. You cant drive a garage. I'm sure we all would love a huge heated garage.

[1969chargerrtse]

My '70 is always stored winters. My DD is not. When given the choice, nice car/truck or garage I'm going w/the car every time. You cant drive a garage. I'm sure we all would love a huge heated garage.

What no humidifier?   

[WingCharger]

In 35 years, guys will be looking back on this saying these guys were crazy, restorers will be begging for full quarters, and people will be turning SE's into SRT8's.

[Ghoste]

And whining about the good old days when gas was only 4 dollars a gallon and could be purchased anywhere. 

[Mopar2Ya]

My '70 is always stored winters. My DD is not. When given the choice, nice car/truck or garage I'm going w/the car every time. You cant drive a garage. I'm sure we all would love a huge heated garage.

What no humidifier?   

Yes, in the heated garage maybe, but around here(NY) usually it's a dehumidifier you need more.    My '70 is in a relatively cool basement, so hopefully it's not to humid.

[69bronzeT5]

I saw a grey '09 Challenger at a dealership today buried in snow.

[Sublime/Sixpack]

 I think that nice new Challenger deserves a car cover.

I remember running snow tires on my first two muscle cars, they were daily drivers.  Would have to brush off the snow and scrape the windows in the mornings because I didn't have a garage.     Have a garage now but I still have to brush off snow and scrape windows because the daily driver still sets outside.     There is never enough garage space.

[Back N Black]

Back in the day most muscle cars were daily drivers. There is a 09 Challenger driving around here in the snow.Its sad, all covered in road salt. 

[bull]

There's a kid at work here that has that same scene out in front of his house. He begged, stole and borrowed to buy a base-model Challenger and now it's sitting in front of his roommate's house with 18 inches of snow on top of it. He's scared to drive it in all the snow around here because it's his baby. I can't say I blame him though because I know I'm probably going to be the same or worse about my Charger. That and we really got our butts kicked with all the snow this past week and driving around in a RWD car is probably not the best idea in this area. I'd say probably 90% of the people around here have never drivin in this much snow. They're saying it's the worst winter in 58 years here... and it's only December.

[RallyeMike]

In 35 years, guys will be looking back on this saying these guys were crazy, restorers will be begging for full quarters, and people will be turning SE's into SRT8's.

You can drag 60's car out of the weeds and rebuild them in your garage. I don't think that will be happening to today's cars in 35 years. Cars are no longer designed to maintained or rebuilt by owners. With all the electronics, and what will be total lack of factory service and support by then (if there even is a Chrysler), none of the cars of today will still be on the road.

I'll bet you a quarter. PM me in 2043.

[1969chargerrtse]

There's a kid at work here that has that same scene out in front of his house. He begged, stole and borrowed to buy a base-model Challenger and now it's sitting in front of his roommate's house with 18 inches of snow on top of it. He's scared to drive it in all the snow around here because it's his baby. I can't say I blame him though because I know I'm probably going to be the same or worse about my Charger. That and we really got our butts kicked with all the snow this past week and driving around in a RWD car is probably not the best idea in this area. I'd say probably 90% of the people around here have never drivin in this much snow. They're saying it's the worst winter in 58 years here... and it's only December.

So much for global warming. 

[General_01]

I remember back in about '87 or '88 I bought a rusty '74 Charger as my DD. I drove that for one winter. Always parked outside because I lived in an apartment. The first car I bought that I did not drive in the winters was the '71 Bee. Bought that in '89.

[miller]

In 35 years, guys will be looking back on this saying these guys were crazy, restorers will be begging for full quarters, and people will be turning SE's into SRT8's.

You can drag 60's car out of the weeds and rebuild them in your garage. I don't think that will be happening to today's cars in 35 years. Cars are no longer designed to maintained or rebuilt by owners. With all the electronics, and what will be total lack of factory service and support by then (if there even is a Chrysler), none of the cars of today will still be on the road.

I'll bet you a quarter. PM me in 2043.

I don't know about that.... people are constantly fixing up SHOs... new wiring harness, new CPU... in 2043 the cars we drive today will be so stoneage that it will be no sweat to fix them up. People will say, "Well that Challenger SRT8 has one of those simple V8s in it, not a hydrogen fuel cell like we have now."

[Mike DC]

   
These days there's one crucial difference from 40 years ago:  Modern cars actually have something resembling rust protection when they're built.

These cars may eventually get enthusiasts & restoration work, but IMHO it'll never be anything like what we're doing to save old Chargers now.  Modern cars will probably never end up so short on supplies of usable unibodies to rebuild like we have.  The panels will rust but not anywhere near as much, and the body alignment of everything will be MUCH better for the life of the car to further prevent the issue.



And even then, the price/feasibility of reproducing panels will probably only get cheaper for smaller production runs.  The future is not gonna be spending $1 million bucks to reproduce a single decent-sized sheetmetal panel anymore. 

[Ghoste]

Another point perhaps worth mentioning here is that the cars we enjoy restoring now and the new Challengers are both for the same demographic; nostalgic Baby Boomers.  In 35 years there likely won't be many Boomers trying to do this anymore.  Yes, there will be a handful of todays young guns still into it assuming parts and fuel are available but will there be enough to warrant reproduction parts?  Will there be the interchange with other vehicles that we enjoy now to keep them going?  I'm thinking not.

[Brock Samson]

well figgure a '68 Charger is 40 years old now, then adding 35 years to that it'll be 75 years old...
how many folks are currently into 75 year old cars?.. 

[Mopar440+6]

To be honest, that picture doesn't even make me look twice. There is a huge difference in the way modern cars are built versus the way our beloved classics were built. Not just Mopars, but all classic cars. It's a testament to days gone by. Since most people only had one and if they were really lucky two cars, the classics were built simply and reliably. Those cars were built to be driven. They were built tough; they were built to be fixed, quickly and inexpensively. This is the reason they are still around today.

Modern vehicles on the other hand are not. The average American gets a new car every 7 years. Most Americans have 3 or 4 cars in the driveway. When they are tired of the car they get rid of it. Modern cars are meant to be driven and tossed. In my mind modern cars are exactly what my dad has claimed for years, they are an appliance. Something to be used until it is no longer usable and thrown away. Granted there are those few modern cars that may someday be collectible and valuable. But the new Chargers and Challengers? Probably not.

In fact, I am considering purchasing an '09 or '10 Challenger after I graduate in the spring. And you know what? It will be the daily driver, if it gets me from point A to point B I will be satisfied. If I should be doing well and have the garage space, yes, I might keep the car inside but that would be more for convenience than continuance. However, there is a large chance that the car would sit in the driveway right next to the '96 Neon and I would feel no pain watching either be covered in rain, snow or ice. Cars have ceased to be an art form, an expression of who you are, they are simply mechanisms of transportation...

[TK73]

My GT last week: