Can a life-long Chevy man be converted?

I am here to say, YES, it can happen.

I have owned classic Chevy trucks since I graduated high school a little over 20 years ago. The first vehicle I purchased with my own money was a 1954 Chevrolet pickup that I pulled from a snow covered barn in Missouri and brought back to Texas with my grandfather. Since then I have owned three other Chevrolet trucks from the Advanced Design era. They were my passion and at the time I had an eye for no other vehicle. That is until 2008 when a company by the name of Dodge decided to recreate this awesome car, the Challenger.

The moment I laid eyes on this car there was something about it that stirred this feeling inside me. However this feeling would have to be squashed once I found out the price. With two teenage kids driving, our daily driver, and the old pickup, the budget was not going to budge on my purchasing this “dream” car so I would have to admire from a distance. So I’d admire and dream of driving this Mopar while still driving my old truck on the weekends thinking….someday.

Then opportunity would poke it’s head into my world. The air-conditioning on my daughters “hand-me-down” car went out and the cost to fix it was more than the car was worth. We could not have our daughter driving around in the Texas heat without A/C, so the car hunt began. As we hunted for this “new” car, my internet searches would stray to looking at that car again, the Challenger. It was during one of these stray searchings that my wife saw what I was looking at and I said the first thing that popped into my head, “How about I get one of these and give her the daily driver”. Which in retrospect wasn’t bad for my daughter as this car was a brand new 2010 Mazda 3, so of course her feelings weren’t hurt. At this point my wife floored me with what she would say next. Her reply was “Sure, just sell the old truck”. Was she serious; was this a dare? I was almost immediately in contact with the dealership to get “the Chally”. You see, this Challenger that I had found at a local dealership was already on it’s way to customization and I don’t believe the dealership was really aware of what they had. It wasn’t advertised in the ad but it was fully loaded, had full dual Magnaflow exhaust and an AirRaid cold air intake. As I arrived at the dealership there were three other people waiting in line behind me for this car so I knew it was a “find”.

Well, the old truck found a new home in Houston shortly there after and I would become a Mopar man. Catching the “mod” bug, which I have found to be incurable. It is through this fabulous vehicle that I would find the DFWLX club and the family of friends that would come with it; making what I hope to be life long friendships. As a member of this club I was even given the opportunity to meet the original owner of my Challenger! He had traded what would be my “new” Challenger for an R/T.

So you see, a life-long Chevy man can be converted to a Mopar man. Who would of thought that a car could have such an impact on a person’s life; everyday enjoyment of the drive and the enrichment of the best “family” and friends a person could ask for.

Signed, a Mopar man.

Owners:
Mario & Kathy Baltierra
Midlothian, TX

2009 Dodge Challenger SE

Performance Modifications:
AirRaid cold air intake & custom intake tube
Dual cat-back exhaust with Silverline quad tips
Diablo Predator Tuner
Ported Throttle Body
Eibach Proline Suspension

Appearance Modifications:
Mopar hood struts
Mopar Challenger stainless steel door sill guards
Mopar T-handle shifter
Mopar pedal kit
Custom stripes
Painted calipers
Underhood Billet dress-up kit
20″ Boss 338 staggered wheels with Nitto tires
LED glow headlights
Chrome fuel door
Custom SE grill badge
Red gauge trim
Red grill trim
Red interior/exterior badging