RE: Challenger Window Sticker
I may have inadvertantly turned this thread into a "whine-fest" about our kids driving (or NOT driving) our cars. That wasn't my intent.
I wanted to start a list of what everyone wanted on their Challenger(s) for ideas and comparisons.
I'm not complaining about our kids. By and large, they're good kids and typically make us proud....they just suffer from what a LOT of people suffer from - poor choices when behind the wheel. They don't fully realize yet how much responsibility they have when they operate a motor vehicle. This is why we require them all to pay for thier driver-ed courses, thier own insurance policies, pay for thier own cars, pay for the parts / materials for routine maintenance (I help them do the maintenance when they ask - BUT ONLY when they ask), and make arrangements for repairs and alternate means of transportation when they exercise poor judgement.
You guys are absolutely right - too many well-meaning parents give their kids entirely too much and don't teach them the things they really need to know to make it on thier own in this world. My philosophy for raising our kids; "My job is NOT to keep you from getting hurt - my job is to help you get back up on your feet when you fall, dust you off, point you in the right direction and send you off again. The most lasting lessons you'll have in life are usually the most painful ones, and I can't teach them to you.... you have to experience them yourself. Everything you go through in life is a direct result of the decisions you make, so make them with great thought and care".
I offered to give my wife's oldest son a 1990 Toyota Corolla when he got his license. It wouldn't cost much to insure or run (it got 37 mpg), and was dependable ( I used it as my "work" car), but he declined on the offer (the car wasn't sporty enough). My Father made me a similar offer when I got my license in 1976, but the car was a 1965 Chrysler Newport with a 383 Magnum, and I accepted the offer. It wasn't sporty, or the car of my dreams, but it was dependable and I drove that car until I'd saved enough to buy a better / newer car, and continued to "trade up" until I had my first new car (a 1978 MG Midget) when I was 18. I took good care of the MG because of the time, work and effort it took to get it. If it was given to me, I'm sure I wouldn't have been as proud or treated it the same way. I WAS grateful for the "start" my Father gave me to get there though.
I think this echoes the philosophy of "helping them", NOT "doing FOR them". When they invest something of themselves, they get more pride and satisfaction out of it. I know I did.
They haven't earned or "invested enough of themselves", nor shown sound enough judgement yet to justify me trusting them driving a musclecar I've waited to own and worked hard for all of my life. Some things I simply refuse to give - they have to be earned. That lesson is the best thing I can share with them.
Getting back on topic; what will the "Window Sticker" on YOUR new Challenger look like? [sm=drooldude.gif]