Tuesday, May 26, 2009

I'll take what's behind door #3 Monty....




Ask me what Kenny got for his birthday. Go ahead, ask me!!!

A NEW FREAKIN' CAR!!!!!!!!! Not just any car; a 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8...for whom does that happen?!!

About a year ago, our boss, Gary, asked me if Kenny would like a new motorcycle, or to have his restored. He wouldn't. When the new Challengers came out, Gary knew Kenny had to have one. When Kenny was in his late teens he had a black Challenger, and Gary remembered how much Kenny loved that car. We talked about it a bit and a plan was hatched.

Finally, in the past month or so, we were able to track down a few Hemi Orange; manual 6-speeds. We finally found "the one" in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Gary was heading down to Concord, NC for the race this weekend and decided to stop at the dealership on the way. He got a speeding ticket trying to get there before it closed and once he arrived the dang thing was in the body shop!!!!! He called me in a panic trying to find another one before he headed back home. Oh, and did I mention this HAD to be a surprise? We work in a fishbowl!!

I called every dealership I could find from PA to NC. Finally, a kind salesman in NC took pity on me and searched the dealer database. He found 3 cars; 2 in NC and 1 in WV. Apparently there are plenty of black, pearl and red. You want the regular coupe? No problem. But try to find a Hemi Orange, SRT8 with every option offered and you are SOL.

I started calling the dealers and struck out with #1; while it was listed in the dealer directory as Orange, the car they had was actually black. The car behind Door #2 was nearly fully loaded, but it didn't have GPS. Not a deal breaker, but I decided to press on. Behind Door #3 was a guy, in a garage, in Hickory, NC named Bucky. (I can't make this up!!!) He was very nice, confirmed that they had the car, that it was inside with the hood up and had never been driven. I asked if they were tacking on a premium because (oh, I forgot this detail) the production lines have been shut down and this car is not being made right now. He assured me that no, his dealership was not assessing a premium on top of the sticker price. (LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE!!!!) But it wasn't too terrible, and Kenny really does deserve the best.
Gary happened to have been driving to Asheville the day I found the car, and so he and his fiance stopped there on there way back through the following afternoon. He picked up the car, drove it back to Concord and then trailered it home.

The look on Kenny's face this afternoon as he saw the car for the first time, and then realized it was for him? Truly priceless.