This car is all about America
It was early in 1969 when he saw an article in Hot Rod magazine (see sidebar) about the Dodge Charger 500.
“The article went on to rave about the car and its powerful Hemi engine,” he said. “In 1969, between publicity appearances and special events, the Charger 500 spent quality time roaming the streets of New York looking for opportunities to show what it was made of.
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I was only 15 years old at the time, but seeing it in Hot Rod and reading the story really made an everlasting impression on me.”
He also remembers reading in one of the articles “how the driver-side quarter-panel struck a light pole one night during some high-speed driving. The car was taken to a local dealership, which worked on it during the night and into the early morning hours so it could be ready for an appearance at a previously scheduled event.”
Three decades later, in yet another example of how small the muscle car world can be, he had the opportunity to purchase that same Charger 500 from then-owner Harold Solomon.
“During a previous visit to his collection a couple years before, the car caught my eye.
It rekindled my teenage infatuation and put butterflies in my stomach. To keep my emotions in check at the time was challenging. I asked Harold to keep me in mind if he ever wanted to get rid of the car. Little did he know how much I really wanted it. One can always dream, and I hoped that one day I’d get my chance to own it.”
