New to the driveway

[Ghosthawk]

Friday I made a three hour drive north to a little place near Aberdeen, MD called Churchville, and a little dealer on two-lane Rt22 called Adams Jeep. It seems a man came in a couple weeks back and fell in love with a new custom Jeep Wrangler, and his wife agreed to the purchase on the condition he trade his present car. He was initially opposed since he owned the car since it was new and garage kept it with fever pitch cleanliness.

Pictured here, still on the dealer lot, is the 2005 Dodge Magnum R/T I traded the Bonneville for. The car has 101k miles and loaded up with all the goodies.


Several hours later, thanks to the demonic Northern VA traffic, "Maggie" was home in my driveway after averaging an impressive 24.5mpg for the trip.


I put many happy miles under the wheels of my Dodge Intrepid, and I hope this car will be as close to dependable and reliable as that car was. I've also been playing in Paintshop with some classic Mopar performance logos. Since the powers that be at Chrysler saw fit to slap a variation of the iconic Super Bee on a pickup truck, I saw no reason not to join in on the fun.


Not sure what I'll be doing yet in the form of mods, but I'm in no hurry. Right now I'm just enjoying the drive and the Hemi thrust.

[1oldman]

Looks like the "Angry Bee" has been fortunate enough to have another home that will "pamper" it. Very nice looking "wagon". Now you'll have to change your sig photo. Sure was sorry to see the "Ghost" go. - BC

[00Beast]

If you don't mind me asking, what did you get for the Bonne as a trade-in value?

[nos4blood70]

Looks like you got your wagon, and with Hemi power nonetheless! Awaiting future mods and more pics.

[Ghosthawk]

They gave me $3k trade vs the $10995 sale price. used Magnums in good shape, especially ones with lots of optional equipment are hard to come by, and I found that $11k was about the going rate for an R/T with 100k or under miles.

I'm sure I'll add a K&N intake and most likely slightly more robust sounding mufflers. I'll also be adding a Bluetooth/iPod compatible head unit in place of the factory nav radio. At least I already have the proper faceplate for nice double-din model.

I adore the massive legroom, but there are some features I'm having to adjust to...like no auto-lights or mist function for the wipers! LOL

[CMNTMXR57]

It should be somewhat more reliable than your Interpid. Interpid's (Yes, I am spelling that intentionally), weren't known for high levels of quality and if you didn't have a higher level trim package, Chrysler used fleet trim parts in them. And yes, I've owned an Interpid too.

I would love a Magnum wagon, but mine would need to be an SRT8. Yea, I know that may not have been in your budget. Just saying that'd be my choice.

[Sirius]

...there are some features I'm having to adjust to...like no auto-lights or mist function for the wipers! LOL

I’ll have to say that the Bonnevilles (SSEis & GXPs in particular) are well-appointed and it’s hard to match the features they have for the price. Comparing my SSEi to my G8, the SSEi has many more creature comforts than the top-of-the-line G8. Heated outside mirrors, auto-dimming mirror, HUD, delayed power locks…

Make no mistake, the G8 is bad a$$ and is pretty well-equipped, but for comfort, options, & ride, the Bonneville is hard to beat.

[CMNTMXR57]

That's one of my few complaints about the Holden cars, the stuff we get here is watered down to some of the options available down under, due to cost/price point considerations. The SS has pretty much eliminated most of those issues though.

As to the rain sensing wipers, I find that feature more annoying than useful! So I never leave it in auto mode. It could be a torrential downpour and they don't go off (or sweep in slow intervals). OR it could be a fine mist, and they suddenly go into atomic meltdown mode trying to keep the windshield clean. And don't forget to turn off the auto feature at the car wash. Because the minute you're watching your car go through the wash and it gets wet, they turn on. Now they're at the mercy of the brushes. Thankfully mine have a really low profile arm, so it's hard to catch them on something, but still... A few anxious moments there.

[Ghosthawk]

SRT8s do come with a sweet looking interior and greatly bolstered front seats. They also pack a Brembo brake pkg as well as a staggered 20 in wheel set-up. The 6.1 Hemi doesn't bother with MDS (I understand since it isn't that kind of car)...overall, a lot of bang for the buck...just a little overkill for me, especially as a daily driver. Saw a few while I was shopping for mine.

I've noticed its very popular on the LX Forum to swap in the SRT suspension and brake parts to the lower trim levels, and I can see the benefit with a 4200lbs car. I've been looking at suspension rebuild kits myself since front end wear appears to be common trend, so I've been exploring poly bushing sets.

That car wash moment with the wipers had to be awkward and spooky! OMG. I've only had one car with rain sensing wipers, and I found them annoying as well. The only feature I'm truly missing is the single mist wipe by tapping the lever down. Since mine is combined with turn signals now that only resulted in showing a lane change that wasn't happening...makes you want to hang out the "I'm with stupid" sign! LOL

[CMNTMXR57]

That is one thing I hate when driving the RGC... No mist feature.

[Ghosthawk]

Ran across these today online...


I'm kinda getting that old Mopar Rallye wheel vibe from these. Theyre 20x8.5 which is a stock size fitment for the SRT model. Not completely crazy about the wheel name carved in the spoke but some aluminum paint could downplay that I think. Other mods will come first but I'll be keeping these in mind.

[nos4blood70]

I like the wheel, but you should go 20X9! I agree with you, I wish the Noir could disappear somehow.

[CMNTMXR57]

Do the SRT8 Alcoa swaps.

Sorry, I love the 5 spoke SRT8 wheel.



The Ram SRT10 wheel also looks good on it.

[00Beast]

Not a fan of those wheels, but hey, what do I know, I just do what everyone else with a G8 does, Camaro wheels, lol.

[Sirius]

I just do what everyone else with a G8 does, Camaro wheels, lol.

I kinda like my factory G8 wheels.

[00Beast]

You have the sweet factory wheels though. I had/have the nicer 19" sport wheels, but the polished Camaro's look awesome on there.

[CMNTMXR57]

The G8 GT's 19" wheel is actually REALLY nice. I actually prefer it over the GXP's!!! If it just was able to clear the Brembo's...

But on G8's, those Camaro 20's just are rolling stock sex.

[Ghosthawk]

I'm planning on staying with the stock 18s through the winter and look for some other wheel options in the spring.

I ran across these in 20in


These I can get in 18 or 20 (18s might be cool with those BFG Redline tires)

[SSEiMan01]

I just do what everyone else with a G8 does, Camaro wheels, lol.

I kinda like my factory G8 wheels.

[Ghosthawk]

I kinda like these also


Then there is always the old school look