1975 Dodge Charger

A Charger in name only, the 1975 version of the once famous muscle car was built on a Cordoba platform and basically was a two-door Cordoba in body and appearance.  Having gone back to making a two-door Coronet, on which the Charger was originally based, Dodge decided to retool its former street racer toward the luxury market.

The 1975 Dodge Charger was available as an SE model only.  It came standard with a 360, 5.9-liter, 180-hp engine available only as a 3-speed automatic.  Other engine options ranged from the 225, 3.7-liter, slant-six to the top of the line 400, 6.6-liter, 190-hp engine.  The 360 was available with either a 2-barrel or 4-barrel carburetor, wiht the 4-barrel being rated at only 200-hp.  It's a long way from the days of the 426 Hemi  

Though it had the same suspension as previous Chargers, the 1975 Charger was a foot longer and traded in the trademark fastback roof for a more boring rectangular roof that sharply angled down at the back.  Varying only slightly from the Cordoba, it had a rectangular grille and single rounded headlights, with oversized chrome bumpers.

The Charger had clearly moved away from its image of a sporty street racer, iconically associated with Steve McQueen, to a luxurious car now advertised by the lily-white Jennifer O'Neill.  Despite the changes, most drivers love its roomy, comfortable smooth ride, praising its suspension and handling around curves.