Dodge Charger

The Charger is one of the most famous of all muscle cars, due in part to its starring role in the TV series "The Dukes of Hazzard". The car also had success in NASCAR in the late 60s and early 70s, which furthered its popularity; the Dodge Daytona variant was a great race vehicle.

The 1966 Dodge Charger was released at the same time the 426 Hemi was made available, and the two proved to be a great combination. Chargers could only be had with V8 motors, and their rotating headlights, light-up instrument cluster and aggressive looks made them very popular. Later in the 1966 model year, a rear deck lid spoiler was made an option; the Charger was the first production car to have a spoiler. The part was necessary for NASCAR competition as the car had lift in the corners- at the time, NASCAR rules stipulated that race and production models had to have the same options.

For a mid-year launch, the Charger's sales were impressive; therefore there were few changes for the 1967 model year. The only changes made were the addition of an optional vinyl roof and turn signals. The 440 Magnum became an engine option, and the base 361 V8 was upgraded to a 383. Unfortunately, sales declined by almost half when compared with the previous year, partly because of the newly released Camaro and Mustang. That slip led to a complete redesign of the Charger in 1968.

Those changes were dramatic. Dodge wanted to differentiate the Charger from its other lines, so the Charger got its iconic "Coke bottle" look. The car had curvaceous front fenders, and the grille was still aggressive, but the headlights had vacuum-operated covers and the taillights were replaced with dual models. The R/T was released in 1968, and that package was also available on the Coronet. The 440 Magnum came standard and the 426 Hemi was an option. There were over 96,000 Chargers sold in 1968.