The Dodge Charger
The Dodge Charger was one of the most popular muscle cars available during the nineteen sixties and seventies. Of course it was also a compact car during the eighties and is now a sports sedan. This strange succession of vehicle types demonstrates the popularity of the Charger nameplate if nothing else. The nave has value so Chrysler keeps bringing it back into the line up in a variety of different versions. Regardless when most people think of the Dodge Charger they think of the original muscle car version, the one that appeared on the Dukes of Hazzard.
The Dodge Charger would eventually become one of the largest and most powerful of the muscle cars so it is more than a little ironic that the car didn't start its life as a muscle car. The original Charger was intended to be a mid-size luxury car but that plan changed with the enormous popularity of the Ford Mustang. During the sixties Dodge had a reputation as being a fairly conservative brand producing cars that were aimed mainly at older drivers. Between the desire to change this image and the need to offer a competitor for the Mustang they turned the planned luxury car into one of history's great muscle cars.
The original Dodge Charger was in production from 1966 until 1978 although the car went through several redesigns over the years, it always remained one of the true Pony Cars. Initially the car sold well but as the price of gas soared during the seventies it became harder and harder to sell a muscle car and production eventually stopped in 1978. Ironically almost as soon as the Dodge Charger went out of production its popularity soared. In 1979 the television show the Dukes of Hazzard went on the air featuring a 1969 Dodge Charger, the show became a huge hit and there was a massive revival of interest in the Charger. Unfortunately for Chrysler the decision to take the Charger out of production couldn't easily be changed at this point so they weren't able to take advantage of the new found interest in their car.
The Charger name never really disappeared from the Dodge stable however and in 1983 a new version was introduced. Unfortunately this car had nothing in common with the original other than the name. The Charger of the eighties was a small compact car with a 2.2 litre engine and front wheel drive, hardly the type of car that would be expected to bear the name of one the most famous muscle cars in history. Not surprisingly this version of the Charger didn't sell very well and only lasted for a few years. In 2006 Chrysler tried to re-introduce the Charger again this time as a sports sedan. This car is more similar to the original Charger design with a large powerful engine and rear wheel drive. This version of the Charger has been somewhat more successful than its predecessor and looks likely to remain in production for the foreseeable future.