One of the things I love about Las Vegas is that valet parking is free -- at all the swank hotels.
The valets at those hotels see just about every high-ballin' car out there. This past summer, during one visit alone we spotted several NBA players by the pool -- you can just imagine what they drive. And at the 2010 CES this past week, a new blacked-out Aston DBS was parked in my hotel's driveway.
But nearly every time I pulled up in our long-term 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T last week, I was greeted with questions and compliments from the valets.
"I like those," I overheard one valet say to another. "How do you like it?" and "It's nice" were accompanied by envious stares at the Challenger.
Rollin' in the Challenger on the Las Vegas Strip -- I was never ashamed on my ride. And some other visitors must have agreed, as I saw several in The Venetian hotel parking garage.
I'm not sure if they were also there for CES, as another major convention was occurring nearly simultaneously (ahem).
For me, the Dodge Challenger has the most presence of any vehicle under 40 grand.
Albert Austria, Senior Engineer @ 18,500 miles
majin_ssj_eric says:
06:32 AM, 01/13/10
That silver Challenger needs a drop ASAP!
carguy622 says:
06:50 AM, 01/13/10
I don't see many of them on the road, but every time I do, I like what I see. The car definitely has presence. There was a blue one parked outside of the local Dodge dealer this weekend when I drove by and I was tempted to take a look. Then I remembered I'm broke.
wobbly_ears says:
07:18 AM, 01/13/10
Park with a valet & see your car star in the next Valet Burnout video on YouTube!!!!
I will never EVER let a valet 'park' my car. Too many crooked things happen there.
brn says:
07:20 AM, 01/13/10
I don't have a car to brag about and I still don't let a valet touch it. I never liked the idea of paying someone to mess with your ride.
adamb1 says:
07:44 AM, 01/13/10
I stayed at the Hyatt in St. Louis this summer where some of those videos were done. Yes, we valet parked the car. It was our Mazda 6s GT. It had about 2,000 miles on it at the time. I guess it got broken in underground.
One morning, we waited 20 minutes for them to bring the car up. The valet couldn't figure out the keyless start.
bodyblue says:
09:02 AM, 01/13/10
The Challenger has "it"...if you have to ask what "it" is then forget it. The Camaro just does not have "it". It is just too contrived and cartoonish.....goes real fast though.
benson2175 says:
09:33 AM, 01/13/10
How much do you tip?
SnakeDoctor says:
09:48 AM, 01/13/10
benson -
A buck only when I pick-up, nothing on drop off; unless he helps load or unload the bags, then maybe $5.
Edmunds ran a story "Confessions of a Parking Valet"
http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/driving/articles/141846/article.html
In the story, some said they tip $3~10. I would tip $10 if I asked him to leave it right up in front.
Regards,
Albert
ekimfeenux says:
12:01 PM, 01/13/10
Back in 07 I got lucky and scored a Sublime Green Daytona Charger as a rental (gotta love free upgrades) when I went to Vegas and I was treated like a star at every valet. One even told me that he saw tons of Mustangs and Corvettes but not very many of these at all. This was special. By the end of the week though I got tired of people standing in front of the car at stop lights taking pictures of it.
adrean8j says:
03:11 PM, 01/13/10
Whenever I go to Perimeter Mall in Atlanta I use the valet to park my BMW 135i. I always get a big grin on my face when they park it in the front and take the MB's or BMW 6 and 7 series and park them in the lot (granted my little 1er does not look like your typical base model 1er). The thing that is even better for my piece of mind is that due to my....ahem..."tune", I am able to set a valet speed limit and upon changing to "valet mode" I can give the keys with confidence that my car will not be driven at high speeds like an idiot....just at low speeds like an idiot...LOL...
zoomzoom22 says:
02:27 PM, 01/14/10
That silver Challenger.....drool........
I agree that based on looks alone, the Challenger wins the muscle car comparo hands down. The scene in Transformers when Bumblebee changed into the Camaro was tops for me...my opinion of the Camaro has gone down ever since. It looks unfinished. The Challenger has a presence that is hard to top....every time I see one it looks like it is in fact Challenging me to something. Awesome, awesome car.