Why no Plymouth version of the Charger?

[Runcharger]

I think Chrysler corp was seeing what worked. Plymouth was working with the Bearacuda and Dodge was working with the Charger. Each had a personal car but with different flavours. If I was buying a new car in 68 it would either be a 68 Hemi Road Runner or a 4 speed 340-S. Of course other opinions differ and Chrysler was seeing what sold the most. 68 Charger was a hit, 68 RR was a hit, 70 Ruster was a hit. I bet Chrysler made more profit on 1 68-70 Charger than they did on 3 1970 Dusters, different type of buyers and the more affluent Charger buyers sprung for more of the profitable options available.

 

[Larrry B.]

They made Belvedere 4 doors and station wagons too,there are no Charger 4 doors or wagons. The Road Runner is another trim level of the Belvedere line of cars. The Road Runners are the sister line to the Super Bee, not the Charger, there is no Plymouth equilivent to the Charger. Read what it says on the front fender of a 67 GTX and you will understand that all the Plymouth B body cars are models of the Belvedere line up including the Satellite, Sport Satellite, Road Runner and the GTX.

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I fully understand that the gtx and rr are trim levels of the Belvedere, that was never lost on me. I've owned two rr's and a Belvedere II.

WhIle the Super Bee may be dodges 'equilivent" to the rr /gtx, it was an afterthought mid year in 1968, larger and heavier, didn't last nearly as long and didn't sell as well.

And at what point did it become the Charger / Super Bee? 1971? Even much later in life..

Wagon aside, if could be argued...

Why no Plymouth version of the Charger?
When you have the 1969 car of the year you don't necessarily need it.

 

[RemCharger]

The Charger was Chrysler Corps flagship intermediate size car. Of course they didn't make an "equivalent " from their economy line.

 

[Photon440]

The Charger was Chrysler Corps flagship intermediate size car. Of course they didn't make an "equivalent " from their economy line.

That's not really logical, that would be like saying GM wouldn't make an "equivalent" to a GTO or Firebird in their economy Chevrolet line.

 

[Dave6T4]

Agreed. I want to find a '72 Torino GT like my sister had on 1977. Triple white with the strobe stripe. 390 automatic. Had the 15" Magnum 500s on it, as well. What a great car! Ford screwed them up with their version of the 5-mph bumpers. The '72 was the last of a fine line of cars.

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I thought the 390 was dead by 1972?

 

[Photon440]

I thought the 390 was dead by 1972?

390 was still offered in trucks but not in the Torino after 1970. The only big block was the 429 in the Torino from 1970 to 1972. After that, the 460 was optional in police cars.

 

[chargervert]

I fully understand that the gtx and rr are trim levels of the Belvedere, that was never lost on me. I've owned two rr's and a Belvedere II.

WhIle the Super Bee may be dodges 'equilivent" to the rr /gtx, it was an afterthought mid year in 1968, larger and heavier, didn't last nearly as long and didn't sell as well.

And at what point did it become the Charger / Super Bee? 1971? Even much later in life..

Wagon aside, if could be argued...

Why no Plymouth version of the Charger?
When you have the 1969 car of the year you don't necessarily need it.

The Charger outsold the Road Runner in 1969. Road Runner sold 84,000 to the Chargers 86,000.

 

[Photon440]

The Charger outsold the Road Runner in 1969. Road Runner sold 84,000 to the Chargers 86,000.

Yes, and every road runner sold that year had a big block. How many of those Chargers were 318 secretary cars?

 

[chargervert]

Yes, and every road runner sold that year had a big block. How many of those Chargers were 318 secretary cars?

That might be the case,but at the end of the day more buyers chose Chargers. My mom wasn't no secretary and her Charger would smoke most Road Runners.

 

[DeltaV]

70 Ruster

I haven't heard that term of endearment in the past 50 years!

 

[wahya]

I haven't heard that term of endearment in the past 50 years!

If it were me typing, I could have easily hit the r meaning to hit the d.

 

[moparsaver]

Plymouth had no interest in building an aero car. If not for Richard Petty switching to the Ford and leaving Plymouth they would have never built the Superbird. Dodge did all the research and wind tunnel testing, Plymouth had the whole B body aero package handed to them from Dodge.

Spot on Pete.

 

[68BabyBlue]

The sales numbers seem to tell why no Charger styled car in the Plymouth line up. The 68-70 Charger dominated Dodge B body sales. The 68-70 Road Runner did the same for Plymouth. I always looked at the Charger R/T as akin to the GTX, in that they shared drive trains, but that was about all. Sales of GTXs and Road Runners combined were about 100,000 units in 1969, slightly more than total Charger production. That same year, Coronet R/T and Super Bee numbers were fairly lean. The lower end Dodge B bodies that tried to compete with Plymouth directly got hammered. I think the same would have happened with a Plymouth variant of the Charger.

Like many here, I think the 68-70 Charger was the epitome of the Mopar muscle era. However, my personal preference was for the Road Runner/GTX. A big factor in my case was the fact that Chargers were about as common as Mustangs and Camaros with the college kids at Penn State during that time, but a Road Runner or GTX was a rare sight.

 

[YY1]

Charger shared most of the uni-body with Coronet and Belvedere.

Are you suggesting Charger sold more than all Coronet models?
I'd like to see the numbers on that.

Introducing any product that directly competes with a product you already offer is dangerous.

 

[chargervert]

Charger shared most of the uni-body with Coronet and Belvedere.

Are you suggesting Charger sold more than all Coronet models?
I'd like to see the numbers on that.

Introducing any product that directly competes with a product you already offer is dangerous.

Compare it to the best selling model of the Coronet!

 

[YY1]

But the suggestion was that all price classes of Charger (XS, XP, maybe XH) sold more than only one price class of Coronet.

That's not apples to apples.

My money says per the respective price class, Coronet sold more.

XP vs WP
XS vs WS

...and you can't do WM vs XM because that class of Charger didn't exist.

Maybe the R/T changer sold more, IDK. I'm sure numbers are available.

...plus Coronet has WL and WE class.

 

[chargervert]

Road Runner boys would have been pretty sad after being beaten by my mom! Lol I told a kid in high school that was running his mouth about how great his 351 Mustang was , I told him would beat him with my mothers car,he laughed and said what does your mom drive,some station wagon,he wasn't laughing after I cleaned his clock twice!

 

[eldubb440]

Road Runner boys would have been pretty sad after being beaten by my mom! Lol I told a kid in high school that was running his mouth about how great his 351 Mustang was , I told him would beat him with my mothers car,he laughed and said what does your mom drive,some station wagon, he wasn't laughing after I cleaned his clock twice!

 

[chargervert]

There will be nun of that!

 

[hunt2elk]

That might be the case,but at the end of the day more buyers chose Chargers. My mom wasn't no secretary and her Charger would smoke most Road Runners.

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For all the times you have posted this pic of your Mom's car, I just noticed that it looks like she has Keystones on the rear and factory wheels on the front. What is the story behind that?