Today, I had to take my Challenger SRT for NJ state motor vehicle inspection since it was bought out of state.

The car passed with the front license plate fastened (with 6" toggle bolts) to the lower grill below the bumper. The inspector, for no reason, however, popped the hood- he just had to look at the bad boy Hemi. He then asked me how much horsepower it had. When I told him 425 hp, he just whistled.

While I was waiting for the inspection to be over, a guy in his late 50s comes up to me and said, "What do you have in it, a 340 or 440?" I was puzzled at first and said, "Its got a 6.1." Then, I realized that he thought it was a restored 1970! This is a real compliment to Dodge's design.
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I have had several people tell me how great a job I did on restoring my "1970" Challenger....
Like you said...a real compliment to Dodge and their "retro" Challenger....They did it right...

 

In all honesty, I've had one guy think it was a restored 1970 model. It was in front of a crappy eating joint next to a low-rent bar (I'll let you guess which establishment I was going to), and judging from his appearance, the guy had done quite a bit of hard time in the Iron Bar Hotel. He DID like the 09, though.

 

Ditto.

 

I went to my family re back in Sept. Several told me they liked my car and asked what year was it. When I told them 2008, they looked at me stupid. They were shocked that this was a modern day car. Then I would explain to them how Dodge recreated the old challenger of the early 70's with modern day technology.

 

I've had a few older people think my black R/T was a custom 1970 car. And couldn't believe I was driving it . They didn't know Dodge had made the Challenger again. But loved the looks of it . The last guy that told me that had a 73 model he said. I've had many Ford lovers and Mustang owners tell me Dodge did a better job of bring the Challneger back than Ford did the Mustang.

 

I had a very strange encounter, yesterday. My best girl & I were out for breakfast and as we were riding through the empty streets of downtown Atlanta I notice a rather scruffy looking older guy starring at the Challenger as we were stopped at a light. He probably was a homeless guy and could have easily passed for someone right out of 1970. Long, wild hair with full beard and worn-out construction over-alls. His pan-handling immediately stopped, his jaw dropped and he just starred at the car as if he was experiencing a flashback. He grinned as his eyes followed us when we pulled away. I wanted to turn back to hear the story he obviously had to tell. A classic moment.

 

Who knows, maybe he owned a Challenger in the 70s before his luck changed?

 

Nah. He couldn't have been from the 1970s. None of us who owned Challengers in the 1970 are "older." Musta been some guy from the 1950s.

 

So far I have been mistaken for driving, a Mustang, a Camaro, a Charger and an old Challenger. The best was when I guy noticed the hood logo and said “Wow, It’s got a G1 Hemi?” I think most people don’t know much about new cars.