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James Swift's 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T Deep Water Blue Pearl Metallic

I Call My Challenger "The Happy Car"

It is with a great big smile on my face that I bring you the next Challenger of the Day! Just reading this story you can definitely tell how much this Challenger's owner loves his ride! I hope everyone enjoys reading this as much as I did.

This is a story written by James Swift (SwiftRT)

I love detailing and adding modifications. Sometimes the littlest things add the biggest bang for the buck. I list How-To’s and events on my Challenger Facebook page (PNW Dodge Challenger) and I help anyone out who asks!

I am originally from Jacksonville, Florida. I moved to Washington State when I was five years old and have lived here ever since. It’s a great place to call home. I am happily married with three wonderful step-kids and currently live in beautiful Boston Harbor, Washington.

In 2009, you could not get an SRT in Deep Water Blue Pearl Metallic, so the original owner ordered every SRT option short of the 6.1 Hemi, Alcoa wheels, Eibach Pro 1.7” lowering kit with sway-bars, with leather stitched interior and a 6-speed which makes this one of only 450 made in this trim that year. Best of all, the price was $24,950. They did not know what they had!

Since I purchased it, I have gotten rid of all the Ram’s heads in lieu of Mopar badges and emblems. If you haven’t noticed from the pics I totally blinged out the engine bay with stainless steel, and I have won my share of car show trophies, been featured in Mopar Action Magazine, and featured not once, but twice via #mymuscle car on Mecum Auctions.

Doing the install of all the engine bay stainless steel was the most difficult part of the modification, this stuff scratches when you breathe on it! I was very careful and took about a day and a half to accomplish it. Not bad for a daily driver with 91,400 miles on it, with no garage in Washington State!

I am about finished with the modifications for now. I am being a little more selective about the events and car shows this year.

My greatest memory was the first day I purchased it on May 11th, 2012. I met my wife in Olympia, Washington at a restaurant, and before I could ever park a group of twentysomethings’ mobbed my car. I ended up taking all of them for a test drive. I call my Challenger "The Happy Car" because whether you are looking at it, sitting in it and especially driving it, you have an ear to ear grin! I wouldn’t own anything else and I never even look at other cars.

The biggest surprise people get is when I tell them that this is my daily driver, they are even more surprised when I tell them that it doesn’t sit inside of a garage. My best advice is to treat your car like it is new every day. Nanoskin or clay bar it at least twice a year and take the time to clean, wax and vacuum it. At least two hours are spent a day during the car show season, but it never gets old.

~ Challenger Story written by James Swift

Connect with James Swift (SwiftRT)

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Additional Photos

Check out some of the other photos of "The Happy Car!"

James Swift's 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T Deep Water Blue Pearl Metallic
James Swift's 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T Deep Water Blue Pearl Metallic
James Swift's 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T Deep Water Blue Pearl Metallic
James Swift's 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T Deep Water Blue Pearl Metallic
James Swift's 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T Deep Water Blue Pearl Metallic
James Swift's 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T Deep Water Blue Pearl Metallic
James Swift's 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T Deep Water Blue Pearl Metallic
James Swift's 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T Deep Water Blue Pearl Metallic

Previous Challenger of the Days

Make sure to check out some of the previous Challenger of the Days that have been showcased on our website. Enjoy!

Fin And The American Dream - Challenger of the Day

It is with great pleasure to introduce this week's Challenger of the Day! This is a story about how one couple was able to live the "American Dream" through their 2015 Dodge Challenger SXT. Please enjoy this Challenger story!

This is a story written by Natalie G.

My husband, Linus, and I moved from a low income life in Germany to Oklahoma in 2015. We quickly started off living the American Dream (it truly still exists) by buying a Dodge Challenger, a Ford Fusion and a 1,300 Sq ft house. We've taken our Challenger which we named "Fin" (short for Finster which means Sinister in German) up and down Oklahoma's Route 66 more times than you can count and met so many interesting people there and at various car shows. This car has been our stress reliever and adventure boat for 2 years now.

She's won four trophies at car shows and continues to put a smile on my face as my daily driver. There are some things I miss about Germany, but every time we go to visit family in Kerken, after a few days I can't wait to fly back home and relive our American Dream by driving Fin!

~Challenger Story written by Natalie Groeger (Find Natalie on Facebook)

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2010 Dodge Challenger Wide Body

It is with great pleasure to introduce this week's Challenger of the Day. Richard Plantt is a very talented photographer and also a collector of die-cast cars. I have been admiring the photos that Richard shares on his social media pages and have developed a friendship with him over time. So I asked him one day to submit one of his Challengers to Challenger of the Day and he definitely went above and beyond. Please enjoy reading his story.

This is a story written by Richard Plantt about his 2010 Dodge Challenger Wide Body

I love photography and I love collecting die-cast cars. By combining both of these hobbies, I try to capture the beauty of car design through my photos. I keep the backgrounds of my photos neutral - usually white; so that the focus is purely on the car. The beauty of line, shape, color and the personality of the car is what I try to bring out in my pictures.

One of my favorite castings (in my collection) is a 2010 Dodge Challenger Wide Body. I picked this up while on vacation in Virginia, a few years back now.

This casting was meticulously created with love by Auto World. Based on the available data, the model is extremely close to being exactly 1/64 the size of the real car. The length was off by less than half a scale inch. The model’s fidelity is not surprising; it’s based on the car that belongs to Tom Lowe, the CEO and founder of Round 2, which owns both the Auto World and True L.E. brands.

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Nothing speeds up recovery better than a 2015 Challenger R/T Scat Pack

Every day brings new Challengers. At least that's how I heard it! And this Challenger of the Day is no different. Please enjoy reading about how this next Challenger helped Dan through his tough times and healing process.

This is a story written by Dan Oldham.

At the time I ordered my 2015 Challenger R/T Scat Pack, life wasn't going so well. I was going through a really rough time dealing with some major health issues and was in a 2.5 year long battle with my health insurance company. With stomach surgery in my immediate future, I really needed something positive to look forward to.

I'd never been a huge fan of the Challenger but the 2015 really struck a chord with me. I ordered one and as fate would have it, it showed up the same morning I was scheduled for a stomach surgery I'd waited over two years to get. Even though I couldn't drive it home, I had my wife drive me to the dealership the same day as surgery just so I could see it. The next day after surgery I was at the dealership first thing to drive my new baby home. It was just what I needed at the time for some inspiration and something to look forward to. Driving my new Challenger home was just what the doctor ordered. Yes, it was a painful drive home, but oh, was it worth it!

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