The wife and I just returned from an 18 day Route 66 adventure and I can not believe how many Challengers we saw during our travels. Way more than Mustangs and Camaros combined. I would say white was the most common color and I sure enjoyed seeing the Vanishing Point colored cars out on the open highway. We took our 20 year old Trans Am convertible (sorry guys) on this trek so not much to share as far as experiences with our new Challenger. I certainly will provide some photos in a future thread of some great stops along our way if anyone else is thinking of doing the Rte 66 thing. One day we hope to make a similar journey in our R/T but we felt we needed to take the T/A before it gets much older. Only one flat tire (screw or bolt that AAA patched up within 2 hours) prevented a flawless trip over the 5,655 miles we traveled. Not bad. It was great to see so many Challengers on the road. I couldn't wait to get back to my own.
When the Challenger came out in 2008, no one, including Dodge, expected it to have a 13 year (and counting) run. Over 500,000 Challengers have been built to date!
^^^ It is amazing. I would guess Plum Crazy was the next color we saw the most, then the gray colors (I forgot what it is called off-hand). Only 3 Go Mango cars and I swear a twin of ours passed by us at about 90 on I-40 in AZ. We did pass the Chrysler test site near Kingman Arizona. No visitors allowed but I took a picture of the outside. I wonder how many Challengers have been 'tortured' here.
Damn, I'm jealous. Always wanted to do the Rt66 trip but health issues are keeping me from it. I have maps, books a ton of stuff to look through. I always wanted to take my 69 Camaro SS but the seats would be too uncomfortable for 14 days and there's no A/C. Hence why the Challenger is the perfect car for this kind of trip. Still gives the nostalgia of driving in an older muscle car but without the drawbacks you might have with a 50 year old car. I wonder if a lot of those Challengers were rental cars - people doing "the trip" where they flew out west and then drove that western leg.
^^^ The Challenger is indeed the perfect car for this journey. The look of the old muscle car that once travelled the roads matched with the comfort and a/c, which are a must for those not 20 - 25 years old any longer. it's HOT and let's face it, some of the rough roads along this old route made the Trans Am's 20 year old suspension shudder. I hope to take the R/T along this route in the future just for the photos. As I mentioned earlier, I'll post some in a new thread eventually. Still getting acclimated to 'normal' living again after 18 days on the road.
When I bought my Challenger T/A in Las Vegas, I decided to drop down to Route 66 on my drive home to Los Angeles. Sadly, a HUGE chunk of the old road is closed, most likely due to either bad pavement or a washed out bridge. I highly doubt it will ever be fixed. But I was able to hope on near Roy's. I cruised the speed limit, listening to 1970's rock and roll, and felt like I was back in time. I drove 66 20 years ago and was dismayed to see how many buildings once standing had fallen in. Another 20 years and there really won't be much left outside of the preserved locations. Still, it was a fantastic little trip and I hope to go back in my Challenger to see 66 in Arizona and New Mexico. I've attached a couple of pics of my travels.
