Dodge Charger Facts for Kids

1969 Dodge Charger

The Dodge Charger is an American car. They are marketed through the Dodge division of Chrysler. Several different vehicles built on at least three different chassis have had the Charger name.

History
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History

Notable years in Charger history are:

1966 through 1968

The Dodge Charger first premiered with the 1966 models. Dodge added a fastback roof on their Coronet (B-body). Inside there were four bucket seats with a full length console. Engines included the 318 cid (cubic inch displacement), the 361 cid, 383 cid and a 426 Hemi. Transmissions included a three-speed manual, four-speed manual and Torqueflite automatic. In 1968 the Charger was restyled to improve sales. But as the muscle car era was nearly over, sales went down.

1975 through 1978

Dodge introduced the Charger SE in 1975. It was a clone of the Chrysler Cordoba. Like the Cordoba it was a luxury car. The base engine was the 360 cid. The 318 cid and the 400 cid engines were optional. A new new Charger Daytona model was available with larger tires. It had no resemblance to the NASCAR Daytona Charger. In 1975 Dodge chargers won 14 NASCAR Grand National races. But they did it in 1974 Chargers. The 1975 Chargers were just too heavy. In 1978 Chrysler was facing financial troubles. Lee Iacocca turned Chrysler around and by 1983 the company was making money again.

2006 to 2014

The Dodge Charger was re-introduced in 2006. The new Charger is a four-door sedan. It rides on the new rear-wheel drive LX platform sharing similarities with the Chrysler 300. In 2011 the next generation was launched. The styling of the 2011 was like the late 1960s muscle car Chargers. The Pentastar 3.6 liter V6 was the base engine. The 292 hp V6 engine got 21 mpg city and 31 mpg on the highway using an 8-speed automatic transmission. The combination could move the Charger from 0-60 mph in 6.6 seconds. It was available in rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.