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Why? How? the designs of the early 70's mopars...

One time long ago sitting at a stop light in North West Indiana I was told my car was sexy. Same 73 Charger as the bronze one in post #33.

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Pics? we all know what the look like. They look cooler then second gens. Sorry, but I am standing up for third gens.
Yes and you are wasting your time, second generation Chargers are by far the best Chargers, the market has shown this to be a fact,and Hollywood made them the ultimate villain car. No other car is even close. I own thirteen Chargers, seven second generation Chargers and six third generation Chargers. I have been a second generation Charger guy all my life. The third generation Chargers kinda grew on me from hanging around with Gary and Pam. Before that I didn't really care for them much.
 
I have always been a fan of Chargers, and don't know what started it all. My parents said I would always look for Charger toy cars and buy them as a kid. This was even before the D.O.H.
I don't mind 3rd Gen Chargers at all. I have only owned 1. A triple green 71' 500.
I have owned like 13 2nd Chargers over the years, but always had to sell them due to financial or family reasons while my kids were growing up.
However, I have always kept at least 1 68-70 in my possession since I was 15 and still have my red 70 R/T S.E. since I was a teenager in high school and still unrestored With over 252,000 on it. What is there not to like about the 2nd Gen?
I like them in this order. 70, 69, 68, 66, 67, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, after that the rest don’t even count.

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They can coexist together, they just need to learn the pecking order and they will get along fine!

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Since they did away with the 2 door Coronet for 1971, it seems to me they toned down from the more radical ‘68-‘70. It was probably to cater to a more broad demographic. I lost count of how many 318/904 gold with tan interior ‘71-‘74 versions you’d see in the 80’s when I got my ‘70. Most driven by middle age women. The 2nd gen was a much rarer site even then. And the ‘71-‘74 even has “W” as the first digit in the VIN like all ‘68-‘70 Coronets. The ‘68-‘70 Charger was “X”. The ‘71-‘74 Charger is basically a 2 door Coronet.
 
I think Plymouth was just carrying over the grill design that they had in 1970 when the next generation came out.
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V.S.
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Now that is a valid and on topic post. Yes, the grill could very well be a carry over modified version. They were changing with the times and went away from the square block body into a molded softened design. (No offense intended to the sensitive ones) The times were moving forward and they were probably trying to stay in it. The 67 -9 Camaro, (which was the layout for the Challenger!), had already changed for 70. It was completely new and unique. The writing was on the wall that it was a "new" market out there and it was time to keep up or be left behind. The third gen body was never my favorite, but I like them more now than before. They do have little touches that were reminiscent of the past, but they don't stick out at you, because the changes were so drastic they are engulfed in the flow.
 
The 66/67 Chargers were essentially a Coronet fastback. Chrysler didn't learn from their earlier debacle with the Barracuda, had they designed a whole new car,instead of making a Valiant a fastback they could have owned the pony car market by beating the Mustang to market by two weeks. The first generation Chargers are by far the best built Chrysler B body cars. The interior is second to none,and they had the build quality of an Imperial! I enjoy looking at them but have never had the desire to own one. The second generation Chargers were a grand slam home run for Chrysler. The guy who oversaw the production of the Charger at the time wanted the clay mockup of the second generation Charger scrapped, fortunately for us,he went on vacation, and the designer Richard Sais kept working on the clay mockup. His bosses boss came into the design studio and saw the mockup and said that is what a Dodge high performance car should look like! Needless to say his boss was not too happy when he came back from vacation to find his boss loved the second generation Charger mockup! He went into a full blown rage after getting the news. He walked over to the mockup, ripped the flip top gas cap off that was mounted between the 68 Charger taillights, placed it ontop of the left rear quarter panel and said this belongs here,then stormed out of the studio. Sais left Chrysler that year,as I am sure his work environment was no longer all that pleasant! The boss Bill Brownlee is credited with the design of the third generation Chargers, he took the credit for the second generation Chargers as well and Sais got no recognition for his design at all at the time. It is pretty hard to deny with sales of 68 Chargers being 90 percent higher than the 67 model that the car was a smashing success! The third generation Chargers are based upon the E body platform which was new for 1970. As I said before I was not really a fan of them ,but being around Gary and Pam they grew on me,and the 71 Charger R/T has a lot going on, it's no second generation Charger, but it's a very cool car none the less. I always called third generation Chargers a super sized e body without all the rattles and plastic!
 
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It is what it is! Enjoy what you like! Old cars rule in my opinion. I like 2nd generation chargers. 1st generation magnums and b vans!
 
I have always been a fan of Chargers, and don't know what started it all. My parents said I would always look for Charger toy cars and buy them as a kid. This was even before the D.O.H.
I don't mind 3rd Gen Chargers at all. I have only owned 1. A triple green 71' 500.
I have owned like 13 2nd Chargers over the years, but always had to sell them due to financial or family reasons while my kids were growing up.
However, I have always kept at least 1 68-70 in my possession since I was 15 and still have my red 70 R/T S.E. since I was a teenager in high school and still unrestored With over 252,000 on it. What is there not to like about the 2nd Gen?
I like them in this order. 70, 69, 68, 66, 67, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, after that the rest don’t even count.

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Feelings hurt, ACM (All Chargers Matter)
Ordered this one new in 2007, still like new
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The 66/67 Chargers were essentially a Coronet fastback. Chrysler didn't learn from their earlier debacle with the Barracuda, had they designed a whole new car,instead of making a Valiant a fastback they could have owned the pony car market by beating the Mustang to market by two weeks. The first generation Chargers are by far the best built Chrysler B body cars. The interior is second to none,and thr had the build quality of an Imperial! I enjoy looking at them but have never had the desire to own one. The second generation Chargers were a grand slam home run for Chrysler. The guy who oversaw the production of the Charger at the time wanted the clay mockup of the second generation Charger scrapped, fortunately for us,he went on vacation, and the designer Richard Sais kept working on the clay mockup. His bosses boss came into the design studio and saw the mockup and said that is what a Dodge high performance car should look like! Needless to say his boss was not too happy when he came back from vacation to find his boss loved the second generation Charger mockup! He went into a full blown rage after getting the news. He walked over to the mockup, ripped the flip top gas cap off that was mounted between the 68 Charger taillights, placed it ontop of the left rear quarter panel and said this belongs here,then stormed out of the studio. Sais left Chrysler that year,as I am sure his work environment was no longer all that pleasant! The boss Bill Brownlee is credited with the design of the third generation Chargers, he took the credit for the second generation Chargers as well and Sais got no recognition for his design at all at the time. It is pretty hard to deny with sales of 68 Chargers being 90 percent higher than the 67 model that the car was a smashing success! The third generation Chargers are based upon the E body platform which was new for 1970. As I said before I was not really a fan of them ,but being around Gary and Pam they grew on me,and the 71 Charger R/T has a lot going on, it's no second generation Charger, but it's a very cool car none the less. I always called third generation Chargers a super sized e body without all the rattles and plastic!

when E F Hutton talks........ :popcorn2:
 
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I would like to like the group to talk about the third gen muscle era mopars. Does anyone know how they actually came about? I'm so sick of second Charger's for example. I don't care if I never see another one, because I like ours so much better. They are lower, wider, drive much better. We've got the coolest designs, but you never get any history about them? chime in guys......
It is a matter of preference.
You like bologna, I like beef.
Some like beer, some like wine.
Guys like me and other 68-70 Charger/B body owners prefer women, other dudes prefer other men.


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It is a matter of preference.
You like bologna, I like beef.
Some like beer, some like wine.
Guys like me and other 68-70 Charger owners like women, other dudes like men.

do 68 GTX owners like women?

asking for a friend
 
Some people say that the second gen Chargers are the best running 1967 Chevelles ever built.
 
Some people say that the second gen Chargers are the best running 1967 Chevelles ever built.
And some say third generation Chargers are the best looking 1968 Pontiac Le Mans they ever saw!
 
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