VINTAGE
1968-70 Dodge Charger

America's appetite for sporty cars was almost insatiable in the mid 1960s. Given that, Chrysler Corporation's Dodge division looked to have a sure winner for 1966 when it took its already popular Coronet midsize and added a long, arching fastback roofline and hidden headlamps to create a new performance car, appropriately called Charger.

With aggressive styling and a range of V8 engines that included the burly new 426-cid Hemi, the new car seemed as though it couldn't miss with hotblooded young buyers.

But to the disappointment of Dodge product planners, the Charger sold a relatively meager 37,344 units for '66, followed by a dismal 15,788 for '67.

Undaunted by Charger's weak sales, Dodge gave the idea another shot, completely redesigning the car for 1968. This second-generation Charger did away with its predecessor's contrived fastback roofline, in favor of a more upright, coupe-like treatment. To maintain some of the original Charger's sweeping style, the back window was straddled by sail panels, which visually steepened the slope of the car's roofline when viewed from most angles.

The '68 Charger's performance differed little from that of its predecessor, and its sticker price was about the same too. But buyers nonetheless embraced the new car as never before, snapping up 96,100 that year.

Charger was finally the stuff of legend. And its stature would quickly grow even bigger.

Fueling the Charger's burgeoning fame was the potent 440-cid V8, first made available for 1967. The big engine's 375-hp output could easily propel Charger to 14-second 1/4-mile times, putting it among the hotter cars of the era. Those who sought even better performance could step up to the 426-cid Hemi V8, rated conservatively at 425 hp -- enough for king-of-the-cruise-strip 13-second ETs.

In addition to these all-important propulsion devices, the Charger mystique was fueled by a pair of race-intended models introduced for 1969. These were aimed at giving Dodge the edge in NASCAR competition. First came the Charger 500, which featured subtle aerodynamic tweaks designed to increase top speeds on high-banked oval tracks.

When the 500 didn't prove effective enough in competition, Dodge quickly followed up with the Charger Daytona, a radical looking car with a huge pedestal-mounted rear wing and a long, pointed fairing instead of a grille. These clever aerodynamic aids did the trick. Propelled by the notoriously brutal Hemi engine, Charger Daytonas pounded rivals into submission in race after race.

For regular production Chargers, the basic 1968 design continued with only relatively minor changes through 1970. The following year it was replaced with an arguably less tasteful remake that was doomed to be saddled by the safety and emission-control requirements of the Seventies.

But despite the car's diminishing potency, the Charger legend would only grow brighter over the years, fueled largely by glorious exploits in "The Dukes of Hazzard."

With such notoriety, it's only natural that Dodge would seek to channel the ghost of the Charger. Dodge returned the famous nameplate to its lineup for 2006, as a tough looking sedan packing a third-generation Hemi V8.

With strong performance and appealingly aggressive styling, the 2006 Charger is a credit to its forebears, particularly the 1968-70 version -- where the legend really began.