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It appears like the Chrysler Corporation is flat out in the automobile buisness again.
From the November 1967 Concern of Auto and DriverFinal year, we applauded Plymouth for creating what we believed was the greatest hunting Detroit vehicle of 1967, the Barracuda. A remarkable feat, contemplating the Chrysler Corporation’;s odd, unstable styling history which, since the Airflow, has been marked by committee-styled cars which, aside from lacking integrity of design, have oscillated between being far out to the point of vulgarity and becoming timid to the point of sterility—a seemingly endless series of more than-compensations for each preceding year. With this background, we had been pleasantly surprised by the ‘67 Barracuda, but fairly ready to wait years just before Chrysler came up with a worthy successor. We conjured a image of designers and stylists lying about their studios, spent, from their Barracuda work, and barely capable to create so much as a new bumper for 1968.
Envision, for that reason, our surprise—again pleasant—when we saw Dodge’;s new Charger. Operating with Chrysler Corporation’;s 117-in. wheelbase “B” series body/chassis, the designers that we’;d imagined have been worn out have not only accomplished far much more than a face-lift, they have very easily surpassed the mark of excellence set less than a year ago.
The only 1968 automobile which comes close to challenging the new Charger for styling accolades is the new Corvette, which is remarkably similar to the Charger, particularly when viewed from the rear quarter. But, we give the honors to the Charger for numerous motives. Initial, the Corvette, getting a smaller sized auto in both seating capacity and wheelbase, has a significantly easier time attaining the desired sporty image. Second, Dodge stylists have shown that they can generate a automobile in the present idiom with originality, combining just the correct quantity of tasteful conformity with that novelty and freshness which attracts consideration. Originality takes guts in Dodge’;s position as the smaller division of the quantity 3 automaker, but the Charger’;s aerodynamic wedge theme is not only distinctly new but it is quite like the new breed of wind-tunnel tested sports/racing automobiles which are just now producing their debut in the 1967 Can-Am series. Third, although the Charger is a vast improvement over its predecessor, the 1968 Corvette is anticlimactic soon after the Mako Shark show automobiles which preceded it.
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Chrysler Corporation, then, is flat-out in the automobile organization once more. The Marlin‑like Charger of the previous (actually a Coronet with a hastily added fastback roof), and the similarly makeshift Barracuda have been grim reminders of the Corporation’;s close get in touch with with financial disaster in the early Sixties. But the belt-tightening policies of Lynn Townsend—Chrysler’;s chief executive considering that 1961, and a lot more not too long ago Board Chairman—combined with his intense efforts to boost and enhance the Corporation’;s manufacturing facilities look to be paying off. The 1967 Barracuda and the new Charger, each and every with its own distinctive sheet metal now, are evidence of Chrysler’;s growing strength and capacity to meet both the financial and inventive challenge of the specialty automobile age.
Specialty automobiles are conceived from a drastically different preparing philosophy than that of the bread-and-butter cars which Detroit utilised to create exclusively. Bread-and-butter vehicles are constructed with the principal intention of offending no possible purchaser, rendering the vehicles largely featureless and unexciting. Specialty cars, on the other hand, are constructed to please certain groups of clients. We like the far more positive philosophy behind the specialty automobile, and the Charger is chock-full of attributes with obvious appeal for the functionality-minded enthusiast.
The aerodynamic look of the Charger (it’;s as aerodynamically slippery as it appears, according to Chrysler’;s engineers) is accented by a rear spoiler combined with a truncated rear finish for a Kamm effect—a design and style strategy which has become almost mandatory in contemporary racing vehicles. The Charger takes on the nose-down look widespread to each NASCAR and NHRA, and the bulging rear fenders ought to accommodate the racing tires utilized in each drag and stock car racing with a minimum of rework. The greenhouse, following the sharply curved side-glass, slants steeply towards the center of the automobile, quite reminiscent of Le Mans Ferraris, particularly when viewed from the rear. A tunnel-sort backlight is employed rather of a pure fastback (a styling feature rapidly going out of fashion from more than-use). The smaller sized rear window of the tunnel roof also provides considerably less distortion to rear vision than a steeply slanted fastback window.
Further visual overall performance identity is achieved by the use of a racing-style gas filler cap mounted higher on the left rear quarter, and quasi fog/driving/parking and turn signal lights mounted low in the front bumper. Matte black paint is utilized extensively in the grille and around the tail lights. Full wheel cut-outs, fat tires on 6-inch rims, and simulated engine compartment exhaust vents in the hood (which also residence turn signal indicator lights, like the Mustang GT) and at the major edge of the doors complete the Charger’;s complement of visually “in” functions.
Continued…
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