This week’s Flashback Friday video takes us back to 1970, where we get to check out a television advertisement for the newest Dodge Charger 500. (Note: Ignore the Dukes of Hazzard title – that is clearly wrong). This commercial walks us through some of the key features of the classic Mopar muscle car while also showing us that a car like the 1970 Charger has the ladies coming in droves – even to an owner like the guy in this commercial.
The video starts off with a very nerdy-looking individual in his brand new 1970 Dodge Charger and based on what is said, this guy is about to ask this girl to “go steady”…I think. That is when a much hotter girl in a little bikinu comes to the driver’s window to ask about the car. Two more hot girls in hot outfits show up, asking about the Hurst pistol grip shifter, the hide-away headlights and the high-back seats. Before she knows it, the girl from the beginning of the spot is out of the car and the nerdy guy has sped away with the three hot girls in his new Charger.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
