Well, it's taken nearly 5 months of trying to make up my mind on what USED car I was going to buy to serve as a new daily/track car that would split time with my suburban once I get it running again. I've been trying to decide on what I was going to get that would be a decent dual duty car that would be fun on the street and could be driven to the track and back so I wouldn't have to load up the race car and gear for a weekend of fun. I REALLY wanted an 08 C6 vette but finding the right one that wasn't a rolling pile of shit for the right price was proving to be difficult and practically every one that I found was WAY overpriced and was going on 9 years old even though some only had 40k miles, they were in terrible shape. I considered C5 Z06's but prices are going UP strangely and many are in even worse condition.
I went and drove a 2016 2SS Camaro and liked the engine, hated the interior, the ride and auto trans. Couldn't find a manual without having to drive to Houston so I lost interest. I decided against the 2016 mustang unless it was a GT350R and I wasn't going to spend $65k....NOPE!
Wasn't left with many choices and even started looking to used GT500's but I have to say, I'm sort of tired of mod motors and Mustangs in general. I tossed around ideas about newer BMW's but the thoughts about all the issues surrounding direct injection BS turned me off as did the cost of maintenance.
Where does a knuckle dragger turn?! LOL!
After leaving the chevy dealer, we had to drive past a dodge dealer and my wife pulled in (she was driving). She sees a 2016 Charger SRT8 and asks for a test drive. Suffice to say, my wife has an issue with impulse buys and about an hour and a half later, we no longer own an AWESOME 2008 Porsche Cayenne GTS, but trade it for the 2016 Charger SRT8 with the 6.4L in Granite Gray. Awesome car. Still hasn't solved my issue though.
Fast forward a week and I've driven her car a few times. Researched some more and found that her car will do CRAZY things like 0-60 in 4.3s, 0-100 in 9.8s, 1/4 in 12.4 with grip at 112mph. Basically a Hellcat without the blower...or an AMG E63 for Half the price. Loving it suffice to say and ALL of its 4400#. Dodge advertises 485hp/475tq but some guys are seeing 440rwhp/430rwtq after about 7500miles through an auto!!!! STOCK!!! SAE!!!
So Saturday I decide to go back to the dodge dealer and look at the Challengers which I have been bashing for the last 5 or 6 years as being TOO HEAVY and TOO BIG. Well, they have the Scat Pack version which I never heard of. Same 6.4L, smaller brakes, non-adjustable suspension, same 8spd trans, same 8.4" touchscreen and $10k cheaper than the SRT8. Just have to deal with 440 treadwear tires which have ZERO grip which allow instant hoonage. At 200# lighter, it's faster...if there is grip and has TORQUE that a mustang can only DREAM of.....and I can likely say we have the coolest driveway in College Station now. So far I'm loving it and happy to have finally made the choice of a new car, my first since 2004. So over buying used junk for so many years and happy to have treated myself to a new toy. Only downside is to have a damn car payment for the first time in nearly 4 years...LOL! As for the TRACK use...guess I'll still be using the racecar for that. 4230# of challenger probably won't do so well on track. Come to think of it, my 87 suburban 4x4 only weighs 4600#! LOL!
I went and drove a 2016 2SS Camaro and liked the engine, hated the interior, the ride and auto trans. Couldn't find a manual without having to drive to Houston so I lost interest. I decided against the 2016 mustang unless it was a GT350R and I wasn't going to spend $65k....NOPE!
Wasn't left with many choices and even started looking to used GT500's but I have to say, I'm sort of tired of mod motors and Mustangs in general. I tossed around ideas about newer BMW's but the thoughts about all the issues surrounding direct injection BS turned me off as did the cost of maintenance.
Where does a knuckle dragger turn?! LOL!
After leaving the chevy dealer, we had to drive past a dodge dealer and my wife pulled in (she was driving). She sees a 2016 Charger SRT8 and asks for a test drive. Suffice to say, my wife has an issue with impulse buys and about an hour and a half later, we no longer own an AWESOME 2008 Porsche Cayenne GTS, but trade it for the 2016 Charger SRT8 with the 6.4L in Granite Gray. Awesome car. Still hasn't solved my issue though.
Fast forward a week and I've driven her car a few times. Researched some more and found that her car will do CRAZY things like 0-60 in 4.3s, 0-100 in 9.8s, 1/4 in 12.4 with grip at 112mph. Basically a Hellcat without the blower...or an AMG E63 for Half the price. Loving it suffice to say and ALL of its 4400#. Dodge advertises 485hp/475tq but some guys are seeing 440rwhp/430rwtq after about 7500miles through an auto!!!! STOCK!!! SAE!!!
So Saturday I decide to go back to the dodge dealer and look at the Challengers which I have been bashing for the last 5 or 6 years as being TOO HEAVY and TOO BIG. Well, they have the Scat Pack version which I never heard of. Same 6.4L, smaller brakes, non-adjustable suspension, same 8spd trans, same 8.4" touchscreen and $10k cheaper than the SRT8. Just have to deal with 440 treadwear tires which have ZERO grip which allow instant hoonage. At 200# lighter, it's faster...if there is grip and has TORQUE that a mustang can only DREAM of.....and I can likely say we have the coolest driveway in College Station now. So far I'm loving it and happy to have finally made the choice of a new car, my first since 2004. So over buying used junk for so many years and happy to have treated myself to a new toy. Only downside is to have a damn car payment for the first time in nearly 4 years...LOL! As for the TRACK use...guess I'll still be using the racecar for that. 4230# of challenger probably won't do so well on track. Come to think of it, my 87 suburban 4x4 only weighs 4600#! LOL!
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