The fluorescent lights shine down on rows of meticulously polished muscle cars at the Birmingham World of Wheels event. Mark Schneider stands among a sea of chrome and high-gloss paint, sporting a retro red, white and blue Mopar® crew shirt that makes him look like he just stepped out of an NHRA event replay from 1970. I didn’t know which car was Mark’s when I met him. I just knew this was someone I needed to talk to!
After the initial pleasantries were out of the way, we got down to the important stuff. “I have the disease,” Mark confesses with a knowing smile, gesturing toward his F6 green 1969 Super Bee with its distinctive white stripe. The “disease” he refers to is familiar to many automotive enthusiasts. Let’s call this condition MultiDodgeitusosis – the inability to own just one Dodge vehicle.
“I’ve never had one of anything,” he says, inviting me to think about that statement for a moment. The garage inventory he rattles off confirms his diagnosis: the ’69 Super Bee, a ’73 ’Cuda with a 340 driveline, a ’71 Challenger convertible, a B5 blue “Last Call” SRT8 Challenger, a HEMI® Orange 2010 SRT8 daily driver and a Dodge Ram to haul it all around. With each addition to the list, his eyes light up like a kid on Christmas morning.
Like many lifelong obsessions, Mark’s love affair with Dodge began in childhood. “Growing up as a kid in Pennsylvania, I took the book on Richard Petty from my school library and became immediately obsessed with him and the beautiful/powerful Dodge and Plymouth cars he drove.” That childhood fascination materialized into his first car at age 15 – a 1975 Plymouth Roadrunner. It’s not the most coveted muscle car of the era, but as Mark laments, “I sure wish I had it today because it was so cool to me back then.”
The sentimental centerpiece of his collection is the Super Bee featured here, purchased in 1999 and driven for a few decades before undergoing a meticulous three-year restoration. Unlike some collectors who treat their vintage machines as museum pieces, Mark prefers putting miles on his cars.
When asked if he’s the one turning wrenches on these mechanical marvels, Mark laughs. “No, no, I’m not the guy you want doing that.” I love cars, but I know I don’t know how to work on them.” A self-described “driver” rather than a mechanic, his passion lies behind the wheel, not under the hood. And when you have made it your mission to keep vehicles like his Super Bee in the condition you see here, all we can say is, “Keep doing what you are doing! You are doing it better than good!”
What about the future? “I don’t imagine I’ll ever buy another car that’s not a Challenger,” he declares. “I’ll just buy used Challengers till they bury me.”
As the interview wraps up, I can’t help but appreciate Mark’s loyalty – not just to a brand, but to a feeling, a sound, a way of life. In a world of disposable everything, there’s something refreshingly genuine about someone who knows exactly what makes them happy and refuses to settle for anything less.
A strong case of the Dodges may be incurable, but patients like Mark Schneider wouldn’t have it any other way.
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