Dodge Challenger R/T

In 1967, the market for pony cars was in full swing. Chrysler predicted that the „specialty compact“ segment would grow to 1.5 million sales by 1970, of which the company could easily claim 200,000 or more. They set out to design a replacement for the Plymouth Barracuda, with the caveat that Dodge would finally get its own version. It was to be an upscale model to compete with Pontiac's new Firebird and the Mercury Cougar.

The original 1964 Plymouth Barracuda, which was actually launched two weeks before the famous Ford Mustang, leading Mopar fans to believe that the class should be called Fish Cars rather than Pony Cars, had a problem: it and its 1967 successor were based on Chrysler's compact A-body platform, which was overwhelmed by Chrysler's big-block V8 engines. For the 1970 models, Chrysler therefore designed a new E-body platform that combined parts of the A-body with the Charger's mid-size B-body.

Dodge introduced the 1970 Challenger in the fall of 1969, and although it looked very similar to the Barracuda, the two cars not only had different bodies, they were not the same size. The Challenger's wheelbase was two inches longer and the car was 4.6 inches longer and 2 inches wider overall than the Barracuda. Innovative features included concealed windshield wipers, flush door handles, an energy-absorbing steering column and the industry's first molded polypropylene door panels.

Dodge offered the Challenger as a standard and R/T model, with the latter having a stiffer suspension, larger brakes and bigger engines. Dodge offered both versions as either a coupe or convertible, plus a luxurious SE coupe with a padded vinyl roof and a slightly fancier interior. The engine range included virtually all Chrysler engines, from the economical Slant Six to the huge 440 V8 and the legendary 426 Hemi. There was a choice of three- and four-speed manual transmissions as well as the three-speed TorqueFlite automatic.

The only thing the Challenger lacked was good timing. By the early 1970s, muscle cars were on the wane, victims of rising insurance premiums and changing consumer tastes. Buyers began to shun the heavy Detroit powerhouses in favor of smaller, more economical and sensible cars. In 1970, Chrysler sold fewer than 140,000 E-bodies, 83,000 of which were Challengers - and many of those sales came at the expense of the Charger. In 1971, Challenger sales dropped to just under 30,000, while Plymouth sold not quite 19,000 Barracudas. The glory days of the E-Body were over before they had begun.

The year 1972 is widely regarded as the end of the muscle car era. Horsepower numbers were dropping across the industry, not only because of the switch from gross to net horsepower, but also because of declining compression ratios in response to new emissions standards. The 1972 Dodge Challenger received a styling refresh, but the company canceled the convertible along with the R/T model and all big-block engine options. The '73 Challenger received massive bumpers to meet the new collision standards, and engine choices were limited to the 318 with 150 horsepower and the 340 with 240 horsepower. Sales were up a bit - 1973 was a good year for the industry as a whole - but then the OPEC oil embargo hit, plunging the US into an energy crisis. Ford's downsized Mustang II was an instant success, but Dodge sold only 16,000 Challengers in 1974. After only five years of production, Chrysler discontinued production of the E-body as sales targets were not met and the program was reportedly losing money.