Daily drivers never to seen?

[1974dodgecharger]

It must be me or something, but I hear alot of folks claim their chargers (first through 3rd gens) are daily drivers, but I have not seen any here in Phoenix area and I know its a big place, but really many years here I have not seen one minus the fact I had all 3 gens at different times. Granted the ones I have seen are the ones they are going to the secret get togethers or on the trailer going somewhere, but to see one as a daily driver in my area is rare.

So is it me or do you guys truely see them once a month, one a year etc?

[Ghoste]

I don't think too many of them are true daily drivers anymore.

[TK73]

Since finishing up the '73 I use it more than my '08 GT.  GREAT grocery getter with a 440  

Guy near here has a green '71 we see a lot, I'd say he daily drives that one...

Friend down the hill daily drives his '66 Chevelle, has for about 10 years...

[440]

I'd say most classic daily divers are people who live 5 - 10 miles from work. I've used many of my cars as a daily but I never really had far to travel, if I did I'd use something else.

[c00nhunterjoe]

I used to drive mine everywhere. It gets 15 mpg if I just cruise, no playing around. Once gas went to 2.50 bucks a gallon and kept climbing I had to get a different car. I still drive the 69' everywhere on the weekends. Its super reliable and I don't think twice about taking road trips.


Come to think of it, an older guy at work drives a mid 60's fairlane or galaxy. Its a nice clean car. Its a true daily driver. Every single day, all year, through blizzards and all.

I also pass a 69 chevelle every morning on the way to work and occasionally on the way home. I can only assume it is also his daily driver. They are still out there

[myk]

With all of the lunatics on the road these days I retired the Charger from DD status.  No reason to endanger this beautiful brute with masses of people who don't give a s**t about anything on the road other than themselves...

[c00nhunterjoe]

Some of the idiots over here don't even care about themselves.......

[Fred]

With all of the lunatics on the road these days I retired the Charger from DD status.  No reason to endanger this beautiful brute with masses of people who don't give a s**t about anything on the road other than themselves...

Some of the idiots over here don't even care about themselves.......

I'm with you both there. 

[myk]

And....I used to be a part of the "it'll only be on a trailer if it's broke" crowd, but times have changed.  The roads are slowly starting to look like they did in Mad Max and the Road Warrior...

[BrianShaughnessy]

Perhaps you're confusing daily driver with just driver....


Most every classic car insurance policy I know of prohibits daily driving to work, etc.     Fuel prices prohibit using them on a daily basis otherwise.

Yeah,   there's always an exception to the rule but usually only see cars on their way to and from a cruise or on the weekends.

[1974dodgecharger]

And....I used to be a part of the "it'll only be on a trailer if it's broke" crowd, but times have changed.  The roads are slowly starting to look like they did in Mad Max and the Road Warrior...

myk,
personally If I had your charger I would make it a daily driver in my case. Case in point my 2nd gen was roughly in worse shape than yours based pic I have seen and I drove it everyday minus the fact when the carb would act up then I take my little honda civic instead. Other than that I drove it and drove it with that 440 even when gas was 5 bucks a gallon here in new mexico. I just decided not to go out as much such as going to walmart twice a day instead I try to plan out my outings in one sitting instead of coming home then going out again.

As for the insurance i guess I didnt think my car was worth much 10 plus years ago so I just insured it regurally and not any haggerty insurance stuff. I figured my charger was worth 5k to 10k depending on who you talk to. I figured: it ran, no issues, some rust, no ailments etc...its good to sell when I had too.

Now im looking at the 20k range charger and havent found out that I think is worthy for me at that price range, but ocne I do get it i will make it a aily driver and have my back up car my toyota corolla if once it breaks down and have to get repaired etc..

[Scaregrabber]

There's a few people here that daily drive them. A 73 Charger and a 71 Challenger Convt. come to mind. There are others as well including a fellow that uses his nice 70 D100 to haul tradesman stuff to jobsites every day.

Sheldon

[UH60L]

Mine was a true "daily driver", grocery getter, drive it everywhere, from the time I bought it in 2004 to the day I disassembled it and dropped it off at the body shop in 2008.  Drove it to work.  Drove it to 7/11 to get a slurpee and a hunk of jerky.  Came up with excuses to need to go somewhere just so I could drive it!

Drove it like I stole it (or like the duke boys had jsut stolen it) because I knew after it was all fixed up, I'd want to be alot more careful.  If you lived in the Salem Oregon area, you probably saw my car cruising around alot over those 4 years (it was white back then).

Now that it is all "gussied up", when it gets driveable again, it'll be a driver when the weather is good and a garage floor retention device when it's not.   :-)

The day it gets trailored somewhere will be hopefully sometime after I am gone.

[Kern Dog]

I think that there are some guys that take pride in SAYING that their car is a "daily driver". It sounds cool to say that your classic is reliable enough to go anywhere. The "daily driver" title also suggests that your car has BEEN driven daily since it was new.

[elanmars]

All the Chargers I've had, I've made solid enough to be daily drivers. I make sure when I buy them they're on their way there.

[Mike DC]

Daily driven Chargers are like 9-second street cars - they do exist, but the claims/reality ratio is about 50:1.

[Paul G]

I drove my 72 daily when I first got it two years ago. That only lasted a few months. Now it is a garage queen. Fuel was not the issue. I live close to work. Risking damage to the car started to get to me. Bought an old pickup and drove that for a while. Then broke down and got a real DD.

[Nacho-RT74]

mine it is

[myk]

And....I used to be a part of the "it'll only be on a trailer if it's broke" crowd, but times have changed.  The roads are slowly starting to look like they did in Mad Max and the Road Warrior...

myk,
personally If I had your charger I would make it a daily driver in my case. Case in point my 2nd gen was roughly in worse shape than yours based pic I have seen and I drove it everyday minus the fact when the carb would act up then I take my little honda civic instead. Other than that I drove it and drove it with that 440 even when gas was 5 bucks a gallon here in new mexico. I just decided not to go out as much such as going to walmart twice a day instead I try to plan out my outings in one sitting instead of coming home then going out again.

As for the insurance i guess I didnt think my car was worth much 10 plus years ago so I just insured it regurally and not any haggerty insurance stuff. I figured my charger was worth 5k to 10k depending on who you talk to. I figured: it ran, no issues, some rust, no ailments etc...its good to sell when I had too.

Now im looking at the 20k range charger and havent found out that I think is worthy for me at that price range, but ocne I do get it i will make it a aily driver and have my back up car my toyota corolla if once it breaks down and have to get repaired etc..

My Charger's almost out of body-shop limbo-pics to follow!  I don't think the car looked this good when I bought it.  Oh and this car CANNOT be daily driven-I'm figuring once a week TOPS.  Regardless of the shape of our cars the risk for damage is too great IMO and I really don't trust classic car insurance and I trust these freeway crashing jockeys even less...

[Dino]

Drove my 68 daily for years.  The 69 I drive on average 4 days a week.  It's sitting outside my office right now.  Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night I go to college after work and if you've seen the average students' car and the way they park, you'll understand why I don't drive the Charger in.  I don't mind the local stores' parking lots but at college I'd be asking for it.

Sometimes when I get tired of smelling like fuel I'll leave it home and take the Honda but any excuse to take the Charger out is a good one! 

[Cooter]

Daily driven Chargers are like 9-second street cars - they do exist, but the claims/reality ratio is about 50:1.

Damn Mike, once again, Dead nuts on....AGREED!

[70charginglizard]

Weekend Warrior baby

[myk]

Sometimes when I get tired of smelling like fuel I'll leave it home and take the Honda but any excuse to take the Charger out is a good one! 

Don't forget the smell of oil and steel too.  They should make a cologne reeking like that stuff...

[XS29LA47V21]

I'd say most classic daily divers are people who live 5 - 10 miles from work. I've used many of my cars as a daily but I never really had far to travel, if I did I'd use something else.

Not sure this topic is that hard for my head, I think most of us likely have a longer drive or work constraints.  If I worked <15 from where I lived I would in a minute most days, short of snow,hail, storms or "job requirements otherwise".  Now I have a 45-50 min ($/gal) drive with nagging wife, not so likely.  Here is my old dart some yrs ago, I drove fairly regularly to work when it was about 15miles away, although it added about 5min to my commute because of the 4:56's & 4spd with everone passing me except when I was going from 0-58mph.      but it was fun. 

[Wicked72]

id love to daily my charger but i work 1hr35min from home and drive in some of the worst traffic. not saying it wont drive it to work a bunch but no daily unless gas is 80cents a gal  weekend warrior for sure