I still can’t believe it’s a vehicle that you can go to a dealership and purchase. The asking price is well under $100,000. The horsepower figure is over 700. Inside, you’ll find room for five adults. The top speed is 204 miles per hour. It’s a Dodge. It’s the Dodge Charger Hellcat, to be more precise… and it’s one of the most insane cars ever built, and I’m thankful for the fact that it exists even if I can’t afford one of my own.
We live in crazy times. Cars are a nice way to refocus on the good in our lives. What vehicle are reminds you of this? Which vehicle out there, new or old, are you thankful that it exists?
Hooniverse Asks: Which vehicle are you thankful for this year?
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31 responses to “Hooniverse Asks: Which vehicle are you thankful for this year?”
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I am thankful for my two paid for vehicles , and the fact that neither has given me any trouble this year.
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I’ve never owned a Miata (perhaps soon!) but im glad that a simple, focused, no-frills, fun to drive sports car still exists.
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The next one. The next one will make everything better, I’m sure of it.
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That’s what my physiotherapist keeps saying when I ask about the best sitting posture.
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People have suggested various types of therapy for me as well.
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Physiotherapist are for physicists, obviously. You should consider a geolotherapist?
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I’m thankful for the least of our vehicles – the 2004 Dodge Stratus and 2003 Ford Taurus driven by my college student children. Both gifted to us over the last year by family and friends who weren’t using them. It’s nice to send your kids out into the world in reliable vehicles that you don’t give two licks about.
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Along Mad Men:
“You never say ‘thank you’!”
“That’s what the money is for!”
I’m with Don Draper here, but I’m thankful for the Cammed & Tubbed Podcast, which is able to bring delight to dull hours. -
She’s hibernating for the winter, but it was a darn good year. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/19c273bb984a1308d99a81b46226d23f2d027adc1d8f07c3d00b7e2a404a54fa.jpg
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Love the stripes, though it gives the car a bit of a classic Ford look. Slap some Holden badges on that thing, will ya? (I have no hatred of Chevrolets, but I despise gold trim– if they’d only make the bowtie argent silver or chrome!)
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I agree with you on the gold, and I’d be ok with no chrome at all but I’m content to leave it alone. It’s how it was made, and too many people screw with that as it is. Besides, keeping it looking like an old man car makes more people wonder how that Malibu tore by them so quickly.
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I suppose I’m thankful for my car. There are little irritations (a few rattles and squeaks, I’m starting to notice the road noise and the 3k+RPMs on the highway, and will probably eventually splurge for some dynamat), but as much as part of my job gets me occasional access to newer, more expensive vehicles (something I’m thankful for separately), getting back in my little buzzbomb is still fun, and don’t feel like I’m missing out on much*
I’m also thankful for the VW Golf wagon, for as long as it exists in the North American market.
*I still troll AutoTrader because if anything happened to it, I’d totally start picking up oddball hoopties since I can get to work without a car for a few days. -
I’ll join the chorus and say mine … I’ve had my IS300 for over five years now, which is I believe a record for me; and in all that time it has given precisely zero trouble, which is very definitely a record. As that time has covered some pretty rough financial times I’m very grateful for something that runs like an appliance, and the fact that it’s really fun to drive (aside from that maddening slow-witted automatic) is a wonderful bonus. Now if only it weren’t red … and automatic … and a hail damage insurance write-off …
I actually like it enough that there’s an even chance I’ll replace it with an Altezza (the other 50% chance is some kind of wagon, because sedans are fundamentally silly). -
I’m thankful that my X3 just keeps trucking along, even though I’ve really started beating on it this past year, allowing me to spend vehicular resources on vehicles that are much more fun focused than utility.
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I an thankful for a very special 1968 Ford Mustang.
Four years ago, my then 14 year old son and I embarked on a father-son car restoration project. He chose the car and made most decisions about how the finished car would look while I managed most of the mechanical decisions.
We spent three years, off and on, talking about, thinking about, and working on, the Mustang. Last year, we finished it, and he has been driving it to school every day.
I am very grateful for the time I had with my son while building this car. We truly got to know each other, and it turns out we actually like each other!…well, as long as he sticks with Fords…….!-
This post hits home. My father and I spent many evenings and weekends building cars (and building our relationship in the process). I only wish I didn’t live in a restrictive suburb, where I have no space to restore a car with my kids.
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I like the fact that the Charger is a 4D sedan, that it is RWD, and that it has a V8. I like its styling and its sound, and 700+ horsepower is just sick in a car like this. However, I do think that the 485-hp R/T Scat Pack– if available with the manual transmission from the Challenger– would be more satisfying than the automatic Hellcat. Maybe not more thrilling, but ultimately more fun in the long term. There’s no technical or philosophical reason why the manual couldn’t be offered in the sedan… so why?
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I am with you. Heck, a Charger manual with the 5.7 Hemi would be fine with me. It won’t come from the factory that way because there are too few of us. Good news however is that all the Challenger parts are interchangeable with Charger….and will be in junkyards nationwide. Heck, a manual 300C has been floating around in my imagination a long time too. This is a VERY doable swap…..
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Good idea. That might be just what I do in a few years. I’m sure there are plenty of Challenger drivers with more balls than good sense, so the pickings should be plentiful.
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A manual Magnum wagon could work for me too!
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Agreed. I still admire Magnums when I see them on the road.
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I’m thankful that I finally found an E28 this year, even if it is kind of a beater. Maybe especially because it’s a beater.
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Sweet! I’ve had 3 different e24s over the years. Awesome chassis!
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I’m thankful for my Nissan Hardbody, Tonka, because it showed me that you can have more fun with a stick shift, 4 cylinders, 4WD, and a buckboard suspension than with any full size with a V8.
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I am thankful for my Pontiac Vibe. This a perfect car for new teen drivers. Reliable Toyota Corolla drive train coupled with usable space, comfort, and low cost replacement parts. I know my kids will curb wheels and scrape bumpers. It is a right of passage and a used Vibe fits the bill perfectly. I think the Toyota Corolla iM might be the spiritual successor and may be a future purchase.
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I’m thankful for this vehicle: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/images/galleries/618486main_earth_320.jpg
It’s fast, hasn’t had any major collisions in a while, and I really don’t think I’d be able to live without her. -
I’m thankful for my RSX Type S, a car I’ve been eyeing since my cousin bought it new in 2002. It’s a riot to drive and I hope to enjoy it and improve it over the next couple of years.
I’m also thankful for how ridiculously reliable cars are now. I have 5 daily drivers in my household and only one is under 50K miles, one is at 111K and the other 3 at 200K+ (ok, the Mazda3 is at 195K, close enough). All are pretty reliable and rarely need anything. Pretty amazing considering when I started driving (mid 80s) a car with 80K or more was pretty used up and very needy. -
I just started working for BMW, so I’m thankful for the F30 3 series. Pay them bills!
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I’m thankful the four we have are all paid for, I know the quirks, and while the ‘baby’ has 109K on it, that’s fine, because it’s a Lexus LS 460 L. That 109K is like 12K on other vehicles.
Never did I think cars would have reasonably usable lifespans of 300K miles, but they do. Our high-mileage entry is a ’98 Jeep ZJ 5.9L with 177K miles on it, and while primitive, it’s still a luxury ride and far from used up.
For vehicles I want, I’m thankful for the Jeep GC Hellkitty and the Yamaha Super Tenere. Oh, the 2003-2005 Bentley Arnage turbo goes in there as well, ’cause I want one of those, badly. -
neighborhood hoonigan picked up a hellcat dodge for his 40th birthday. he says he is satisfied with it but wishes for all wheel drive as the car is traction limited. his plan is to drive it all year round as it is his only car and his wife says no way is he driving hers in the winter. such sacrifices. sad.
next thing you know he will be wanting an LS swap in it.
i rode with him yesterday. can’t see out of it. noisy. brutal suspension. cheap interior for the money. fantastic engine. want, want want OOOOOOOOOooooooo………. -
I’m thankful we were able to get a second used car last month, after getting one last November. And I guess I can also be thankful for the two sitting in the driveway that are no longer driven–between the two they have 530,000 miles on them. I only hope the transmission holds out in my daughter’s car–it has shifted rather poorly and is notorious for problems. Could be just clogged solenoid screens but with 40 degree weather upon us, tearing into a transmission is not exactly something I look forward to.
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