Why are we the way we are?

[Bearcuda]

I've always been curious as to why people are loyal to the brand of cars they like. Although my dad always bought Chryslers of some sort for the family cars, he purchased a 69 Mustang from a friend in 1979. It always boggled my mind that although most of the Plymouth cars he bought in the 80's were truly lemons, that he continued to purchase Chrysler. My first hand-me-down car was the familys 76 Volare. What a turd. The second turd came in the form of an 80 Plymouth horizon. The carburator drove me nuts on that thing. More than once it died in the middle of traffic. Luckily, most of the time I had a friend or two with me who would get out and stop traffic as we pushed it off the road. Of course I didn't know as much about cars back then and maybe a rebuild on the carb would have done it, but it was still a low mileage car at the time. Turd number three was a Horizon TC3. This was my first manual vehicle and what a horrible underpowered car it was. The shifter was terrible as well.
Anyway, I grew up loving all makes of muscle and classic cars and have never really had any brand loyalty. I guess I liked Fords a lot for awhile because of the Mustang and my favorite Mustangs have always been the 67-68 fastbacks.
I was bitten by the Cuda bug back in 1990 when I first saw that black, beastly 73 I told you about in my intro thread. From that time on, E-body Cudas have been my passion, but I still loved all makes of musclecars. What's happened now though, and this is very peculiar to me, is that I seem to be becoming more loyal to Mopars. There are still other makes that I would love to add to my stable one day, but more and more I'm drawn to the mopar scene. Is it because I love Cudas so much? I'm not sure. Is it because they were the underdog for so long and I've always come to the aid of the underdog? Maybe. Is it because they made the coolest musclecars ever built? Arguably to some. It is perplexing.

Why are you loyal to Mopars or are you? Is it because your dad had some great mopar back in the day and your fondest memories are derived from that?

I know people rag on other brands all the time, but do those brands really deserve it or is it just because we are loyal to the team the same way we are loyal to our favorite sports team? Every manufacturer has made junk at one time or another. Chrysler, it seems, more than others back in the late 70's and 80's. Are Ford or Chevy's pinnacle vehicles any less deserving than our beloved mopars? You can't scoff at the 427/428/429 vehicles like the Bosses, Shelbys, and Cobras. And what about the great GT 40 and Ford powered Pantera? Chevy had no less to offer with the legacy of the Corvette and other greats like the LS 6 cars, Yenkos, COPOs, and what have ya?

So what is it? Why do we become so obsessed by one brand and defend it so vehemently?

[Jacksboys]

My father was a Chevy man until I got him started with Mopar, so that is not my reason.

The only thing i can figure is that my Challenger was the first Muscle Car that I owned and I really like to keep it that way.  Kind of a creature of habit, I guess.  I do like the idea of the underdog, but with the Hemi as an original opition, I cannot really say that was true with Mopar.

I do respect any old Ford or Chevy which has been restored well, but I do not care to purchase them.  If I had to buy a Chevy, it would be a Vette.  If I had to buy a Ford, it would be a Shelby Cobra.

Here recently I have come to respect the fuel mileage of a Honda CRX (40+mpg), since I started using one as a daily driver.  I know these cars might start to bring bigger money as the fuel prices continue to rise, but they will never have the respect of my Challenger.

Overall, I am not exactly sure why I choose to only follow the Mopar trend, maybe it is to be different than others.  

[Carlwalski]

I like all kinds of cars. Enzo Ferrari's, Audi V8s, Modern Australian Fords, older GT Mustangs, some Chevelles, some Camaros. Mind you, down here anything like the above is rare. You guys see Chevelles and Camaros almost daily I'm guessing, not so down here. Having said this I would only spend my money on Mopars for the classic generation and modern is Ford (Aussie) as Mopar have nothing I like in my price range.

By far and away E-Bodies are my favorite. I have (will) my dream cars, don't want anything else! 

[Bullitt-]

My Dad has owned almost exclusively Chrysler since good experiences he had back in the fifties. We have owned a few family cars that were not and those were the most troublesome soo we keep going back to Chrysler although Mom & Dads rides are currently Benz & we have a POS Lincoln Aviator.
 Also in our business(about a hundred vehicles in 30 years) we sometimes have to buy other makes & to be fair have had some good experiences in the last 20 years with them but few bad Chrysler product experiences.

[Chryco Psycho]

I still believe in the engineering , in the 50s Mopar was so far ahead it was crazy , in 52 Chev only had the straight 6 & ford had the flat head V8 , Mopar had disc brakes on the Imperial & Hemis , the B & RB  was designed in the 50s & has stood the test of time being the Only block used in top fuel for 40 years

[tactransman]

I still believe in the engineering , in the 50s Mopar was so far ahead it was crazy , in 52 Chev only had the straight 6 & ford had the flat head V8 , Mopar had disc brakes on the Imperial & Hemis , the B & RB  was designed in the 50s & has stood the test of time being the Only block used in top fuel for 40 years

[willhaven]

I'm not really brand loyal. I drive an Acura, I also like Toyota/Lexus for modern cars. For vintage cars, I like some Mustangs and Camaros and such, but I just like the old Mopars the best. If I had 10 or so vintage cars, I'm sure maybe 2-3 would be non-Mopar.

There's just something about the rarity of the Mopars that I like. Last weekend I saw 3 old Mustang convertibles in a two day period. I've only ever seen three E body cars in person in my whole life (that I can recall). One of them lives just up the road from me. I believe it's a 70 Challenger R/T in purple.

[Grundy]

I'm another example of the family chrysler scene. My grandfather owned chryslers and plymouths forever. My dad's 1st car was a 1972 Challenger 318 with 4:10 rear and a slapstick. We had a volare that was a turd.. we had a TC3, which was good. We had one of the first caravans ever made. We're such mopar people it's in the blood.. check this out:

My mom loves scratch-off lotto games. Back in the 80's they had one where you would send the stub in for a second chance. Well, my mom ended up winning a fully loaded chevy camaro, t-tops, the full boat. We sold it right back to the dealer and with the money, my dad went to the Dodge dealer with a newspaper clip about the caravan and wanted to order one. It was so new, the dealer didn't even really have any info for us. We kept at it and ended up with one of the first ones. We received a letter and a matchbox car from the chrysler corp along with the caravan. My dad still has that stuff.

My first car was a dodge stratus es. I put over 157k miles on that car commuting from home to college, trips to canada, virginia, all over the place. That was a great car.

Why am I a Mopar man? It's the underdog - yes. The engineering feats of the 50's and 60's - absolutely. All those other guys seem like they're a dime a dozen.. There was a point in time where every chick owned a camaro, and every guido had a monte carlo or buick gns. Even the phord mustangs were all over the road. Mopars are rare and seem untamed.

One last thing.. nothing makes the other guys cringe like the word "HEMI". I hear all the time about how the corvette is the greatest car ever.. and as soon as I say Viper, all the chevy guys say it's got "too much power" and "you can't keep that car on the road". That sounds like a little kid who's a sore loser and says things like "that game is stupid anyway..".

[HP2]

Why am I still? I'm kinda pragmatic about that. They are engineered well overall. In stock form the engines have features that require major mods or $$$ to change in other makes. Overall they are different enough to not be run of the mill but not so different that there is very little parts availability and aftermarket support. Try being a Studebaker fan see how tough and resourceful you have to be to get parts.

Why did I get into them in the first place? My mom brought me home from the hospital in one. Fondest memories of childhood revolved around them and the track. My first car in high school.

[ExCloud]

My father had a 1970 Barracuda when I was very young.  He also owned a 66 Ford Galaxie 500.  Since that time I have been a huge fan of Muscle.  I am not just a mopar fan.  I love it all.  Right now my pride and joy is from my Ford Lightning.  it is a very fun truck.

To answer the topic though I believe it is my father who got my loyalty to muscle.

[whitesatinmopar]

The answer is easy enough. They are (Mopars) great and we love them, just like our wives, girfriends, or others. You cannot be loyal to something you dislike or don't trust. That's why SOME of you even give them names, and some of us just call them pet names. They are much more than just cars to me. Just ask my wife.   

[Street_Challenged73]

... Try being a Studebaker fan see how tough and resourceful you have to be to get parts.

Would you like to own a '61 stepside Stude?  I plan on selling mine once I can get another ring gear installed on the flywheel. (worn in three spots so it ate up the last two starters I put in.)  I've only been waiting about two years + now on finding the proper size.

As for MoPar, my cousin is the one who got me started. (That and once I discovered the '69 Charger my parent's friend had behind his shed it was game over to the Chevy crowd.)  The lines of the big '69 was so cool to a 13-year older and once I found out my cousin had a '66 Valiant Signet with a 360/4-speed that was quick, I was hooked for life.  Now it's just a passion of mine to go to the local car shows to see what new MoPars have surfaced since the last show and catch up with the owners as they all enjoy talking about their E-bodies, B-bodies, and A-bodies to someone half their age. (Must be they appreciate seeing a backwards hat wearing guy showing an interest in the cars they grew up around. )

[70RTdroptop]

Kinda fell into it. An ex-girlfriend was moving out of state and needed to sell a bunch of stuff to get some money together. One of the things she had was a 1973 Dodge Charger SE Brougham, she bought it off of the original owner, and she herself had only owned it for 6 months before she sold it to me for a great price. That was back in 1984, and I still own the car. I had it restored back in 1989, still looks as good now as it did when I picked it up from the rest shop. After that, I just kinda got stuck on Mopars.

[Volvolution]

I was but wasn't raised around them. I was raised around a slew of cars 2 generations older than most of my friends grew up around, from all of the big 3. I saw alot of Chevys ( how can you not? they're as common as oxygen..... no, better yet. Hydrogen.), several fords, but, my dad always had Dodges cuz they were the some of the first cars he had when he moved over here (from other parts of the world) and he found the older ones superior, so he kept buying. then everybody went to the dog house in the 80s and into the 90s. And, like Chyro said, the engineering in them back in the day was crazy ahead of its time. and they're built like tanks. I was practically born on the seat of a 77 D100.... and a GMC van truck. grew up in a 87 ram 1500, and another 86 & 88 1/2 tons, then in a couple of F150s, a Lincoln Mrk 5, a couple late 80s Caddys, and then the company cars in my dad's business. 5th avenue new yorker ( the one I almost turned into a nasty beast before it met its demise of sledgehammer and shotgun. see my newb intro thread ), 78 New Yorker, 73 Olds, 73 Buick, 88 Olds ninety eight (hysterical car. soooo funny.), 85 & 86 Buick Electra and Lesabre, and........ oh, too many. don't have time. basically a bunch of second hand junk. as well as our personal stuff.
I always wanted to swap a 460 into a late 60s fastback or early 70s for that matter, love cobras (AC and Shelby), Jags, Lotuses, Land Rovers, Audis, Bimmers, the old Lambos, AMCs (they're makin a comeback! collectors have spotted em!), if I have to go GM its Buick of Olds hands down (or Pontiac. the old stuff I mean. I don't really buy new cars if I can help it).... I mean, you get the idea. Love cars in general, but always loved Mopar. and always will. There has always been something about Mopar in general that really flips my switch. as far as the muscle cars go, they're just more..... sinister. awesome. scary but attractive at the same time. I don't know        [you get the idea. I'll spare you.]

.......... and now I have a 73 Challenger. the end!