[Imperialist1960]

I would like to ship a US car from here in San Francisco, California to the EU and do a road trip there.
My 2014 300 SRT8 is very comfortable.
I could also choose a Challenger Scat Pack or Hellcat.
I could ship it back or sell it after the trip, presuming that it doesn't get destroyed by another motorist or stolen or something.
Making money on the deal is not important - having something enjoyable and unusual is more important. Hellcat likely has the most as far as unusual goes, but the non-supercharged version with the 392 probably just as good considering speed limitations that I suspect are pretty different than the American West, which is much less regulated than the rest of the world (do a google street view look at anywhere on US 50 in Nevada if you don't know what I mean).

I can imagine reasons for each car.
Which one do you think might be most enjoyable from a EU person's perspective?
Fuel costs are not a concern.

I suspect that the 300 might be least likely to get stolen because it is more subtle than a Challenger body style?

Are SRT8 300's scarce?
What about the Challenger body style?

Open to ideas.

-Kenyon

 

[magnuman]

Welcome to the forum. There are some over there but parts are not always easy to come by. Also, in today's world, you best have a ton of money to afford fuel over there. It's always been a lot higher. That's why most now drive diesels or electric vehicles. Other problems in some areas....bad and/or narrow roads, countries that drive on the wrong side of the road and weird traffic laws. It's been a long time since I've been over there, but I am sure things are not much better now....maybe even worse in some places. Also, in some places, the law is corrupt and you may have to pay to get out of a citation or jail. Not as bad in EU as it was in Central and South America though.

 

[Desert_Flyer]

I was just in the Netherlands. Gas is about twice as expensive than in US. Good luck navigating and parking in some inner city areas…small cars much easier.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[J1000]

Sounds like a fun trip! Can't offer advice other than have a good time!

 

[Imperialist1960]

Thank you, J1000!

 

[OutlawGentleman]

That's an awesome plan! Challengers are a lot more common around here than the 300 SRT's, especially the 2nd gen ones. What country's are you planning to visit?
As stated earlier..gas sure is more expensive around here, prepare yourself!

When it comes to corruption, here in western Europe it's all good. But eastern Europe can be more corrupt.
Keep us posted!

 

[Imperialist1960]

Thank you.

I am aware that gas costs money to burn.
I am not sure why people are terrified on my behalf.

As far as I can tell, I can't get full insurance coverage on such a car.
Therefore, I'll purchase something slightly used for tens of thousands of dollars, pay to ship it here/there for $10,000, drive it for 60-90 days.

Compared to that, fuel costs or parking it in big cities are the last thing that I'm worried about - please know that I am emotionally prepared to PAY FOR GAS to drive the car.
I'm more worried about collecting another car in the grille by making some sort of driving area using my California driving skills and violating some unseen local rule of the road...

I could fly to Poland and buy a Lada instead, but I am not going to do that.
As far as I can tell, gasoline is on the way out in the next 10 years.
The BIG V8 thing in the US is on the way out - they will discontinue the Big Gen III Hemi in 2023.
Now (next year) is the time to go if I'm going to go.

-----

I want:

• a lap or five on the Nurburgring
• A ferry ride from Brindisi to Greece, then Greece to Turkey for lunch, then back to Greece so that I can say that I drove the car in Asia
• Drive through the empty parts of Scotland/Ireland that I see on TV
• Alps
• Coastal highway in Norway
• Baltic ferry trip from Finland to Estonia before going to Poland
• Dolomites
• Stay off expressways/highways/freeways/toll roads
• Pyrenees
• Cliffs of Dover
• Spain has a lot of space in it - what's up with all of that?
• South of France & Monaco - have you seen the tunnels and roundabouts under buildings there?
• transfagarasan highway
• I have about 500 internet links saved and will try to plot them out on a map before leaving, but part of this is just discovering places that travelers are less likely to show up in - American ones, anyway.

There are hotel apps that I use in the US. - feeling tired? push buttons and get a place to stay in 3 minutes.
Google and hotels.com will let us park for the night outside city centers. Why go into the middle of Paris when you can sleep in the suburbs for a lot less and drive in/out the next day?
Go on google maps anywhere - some obscure place: type in "hotel" and it will show every hotel in that area along with price and maybe reviews. How to find a good one fast? There you go.

I don't want to go to city centers - I can do that by rail, and it's the traditional travel thing. A drive THROUGH Paris is fine, but having an exotic car hanging around my neck while I walk around? No, thank you. I want to see what's in between city centers, which is why a car is being employed.

The good news is that the sketchier the area (East) the less expensive high end hotels will be, so we'll stay in nice places for greater safety as needed, and away from city center lowers chances of the car getting boosted or vandalized, I suppose.

 

[Imperialist1960]

sorry - meant to say "driving error", not "driving area"...

 

[OutlawGentleman]

Sounds like you sure are well prepared!
You've got a nice list of places you want to visit, very cool!
But wouldn't it be cheaper to buy a car here in europe rather than to ship it over?
When it comes to the driving rules and driving circumstances, they are different in the many countries you discribed..like in the UK they drive on the left side. But I think you will be just fine, just keep it on the asphalt @ The Nurburgring

 

[Imperialist1960]

What would I buy there that would be satisfying?

The original plan, which isn't dead yet, is to take a custom car that I built myself.
This is a 60-90 day trip, so there's time to go to car events as well - apparently the Scandanavians are into US metal - I imagine that they flee to the garage to avoid their wives for the winter?

My first plan was a 1972 Imperial with a 2011 Challenger 392, manual transmission, Durango SRT brakes and upgraded rotors, driveline, interior.
1972 Imperial GT - this is old pictures, but isn't updated with the new engine, wheels, interior package

I am having a hell of a time getting the front suspension sorted - I put 200mph NASCAR spindles on and have had to redo several things.
Plan is/was to get that car going and then drive it San Francisco-Alaska-San Francisco so that it could prove itself reliable.

If that fails, then a Challenger Scat Pack might be the next best thing.

I want to drive an entertaining car that's uniquely American, so not interested in much of anything available in the EU.
I suppose that a Porsche factory delivery could be interesting, but then I'd be driving a Porsche, and that's not the end-game that I have in mind.

 

[devilmaycare]

My 2006 300C still attracts lots of attention and I'm sure your SRT8 will also get plenty, here in the UK, and especially with a US license plate. On more than one occasion, when staying at hotels, I have been invited to park in the manager's reserved slot near the main entrance.

I shouldn't worry about the size of your SRT8, as it will be dwarfed by the now prolific SUVs.

https://www.300cforums.com/threads/diminutive-300c.98262/post-1087025

 

[Imperialist1960]

I figure that if they can run large tour busses on the Amalfi Coast, then motoring in a widebody Hellcat can't be too hard. Go to the hotel and avoid driving around on 500-year-old back streets and I'll be fine. Force my wife to get out and tell people I have to back out of crap that I can't fit through is the current plan. We'll see how long it takes for that to wear out. She can't drive stick, so I'll probably be holding all of the cards on that one.