We recently
returned from the
2019 Mopars at
the Strip event in Las Vegas and had a great time.
Of course, it’s always fun and interesting to see the
endless amounts of Mopars, both vintage and late-
model. But this trip was more fateful than it usually
is because of something that happened when we
arrived at the rental-car counter. Typically, our travel
budgets only allow us to get a small, imported
compact. Last year, we were fortunate enough to get
a Chrysler 300, but we usually receive some sort
of Kia, Hyundai, or Nissan to work out of with our
camera equipment.
But this year when we arrived with our reservation in
hand, the rental agent literally explained and apologized that
he had some bad news. He said, “I’m really sorry, but we’re all
out of cars and don’t have anything at the moment. We might
have a four-door sedan coming back in soon, if you can wait.”
I replied that “we were really running on a tight schedule and
actually needed something sooner so we could continue on
with our busy day.”
Without his knowing our destination, he then replied that
“if it would be OK with us, he could offer us a white HEMI
Dodge Challenger that was being washed at the moment,
and he would let us have that for the same compact-car daily
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BOB MEHLHOFF, EDITOR
DRIVE IT
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rate of $39.” After we thought about that for about a tenth of a
second, we said sure, “We’d probably manage to make that work.”
The Challenger was obviously a blast to drive and to work out
of. The trunk was large enough to accommodate our camera gear
and made a great backdrop for some of the photo shoots. And
the HEMI engine had lots of great power and added a lot of fun
to our trip.
This worked out so well that I think next year we’ll try to
reserve another HEMI Dodge Challenger for this trip. I just hope
they’re not out of them when we arrive, and instead offer us
a Kia or Toyota Corolla for the same rate.
8 moparmuscle.com