Carl Swanson sold both his and his wife’s car over 50 years ago to buy a rare 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona WSJWhatsNow
The move ‘was not greeted with enthusiasm’ by Dee Swanson in 1970, but the winged muscle car won her over in 50-plus years of adventures
Carl and Dee Swanson, a retired U.S. Navy officer and teacher respectively, at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Va., with the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona they have owned for more than 50 years.Carl Swanson, 76, a retired U.S. Navy officer, and his wife Dee Swanson, 75, a retired teacher, living in Virginia Beach, Va., on their 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, as told to A.J. Baime.On April 4, 1970, I walked into the Hill-Kelly Dodge dealership in Pensacola, Fla.
It was our only car for years and we had some adventures. In December of 1970, we drove to Kentucky so our first child, Carla, could meet my wife’s parents. I remember driving in the Tennessee mountains through an ice storm. We pulled into a gas station and the car was covered in ice. I asked the gas station attendant if there were any hotels nearby and he said no. He said, “I’ll keep the heat on in the gas station garage and you can park there overnight.