sjordan2 Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Okay, all the manufacturers have spent the last few years coming up with some pretty decent retro versions of prior classics – Mustang, Camaro and Dodge Challenger (which looks to me like a retro Cuda). Others have no idea what they're doing, like the late, unlamented Pontiac GTO and a Dodge badge on a sedan that says Charger but really isn't. If you were the chief designer at Chrysler and didn't care about your future, what would you do with a REAL retro Dodge Charger, maybe with a V10 engine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 If you mean a clean slate, from the ground up, completely new Charger... I've never done that. If you mean taking the existing "Charger"... and I use that term loosely... and reworking it to be more Charger, I've done a few: Actually, I think Chrysler nailed it when they came out with the original "new Charger" show car. Not a retro design, but a new design that definitely said "Charger." If that was what Chrysler had actually put into production, I'd own one today: But unfortunately we got what we got... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbdolfans Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 Hey Harry, I love your take on the existing platform.I would like to see what you come up with in a ground up idea of a CHARGER for 2013. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jairus Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 I love the current Challenger but... this I did a few years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted June 11, 2010 Author Share Posted June 11, 2010 Hey Harry, I love your take on the existing platform.I would like to see what you come up with in a ground up idea of a CHARGER for 2013. That's what I'm talking about. Real retro. 60s Dukes type, with styling cues from the rear quarter panel and aggressive nose. Or however you want to recreate it. The point is, Chrysler blew the styling and should never have called the latest model a Charger and someone needs to reinvigorate it for the 21st century. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Cole Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 That's what I'm talking about. Real retro. 60s Dukes type, with styling cues from the rear quarter panel and aggressive nose. Or however you want to recreate it. The point is, Chrysler blew the styling and should never have called the latest model a Charger and someone needs to reinvigorate it for the 21st century. Skip- You are correct. The current Charger does not deserve the 'Charger' nameplate. I like the Charger... but not as much now as I did 5 years ago. I have seen the nose on the next design, nothing to write home about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Stone Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 That's what I'm talking about. Real retro. 60s Dukes type, with styling cues from the rear quarter panel and aggressive nose. Or however you want to recreate it. The point is, Chrysler blew the styling and should never have called the latest model a Charger and someone needs to reinvigorate it for the 21st century. Soo... Get a 60's Charger. I don't understand why so many people feel that retro styling is so important. Those cars in the 60's weren't styled after the 30's cars, they were 60's cars- Cutting edge, modern. Why so many people now-a-days are so hesitant to appreciate anything all new and rely on recreating and reinvitorating old car designs, movies, sitcoms, I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted June 11, 2010 Author Share Posted June 11, 2010 Soo... Get a 60's Charger. I don't understand why so many people feel that retro styling is so important. Those cars in the 60's weren't styled after the 30's cars, they were 60's cars- Cutting edge, modern. Why so many people now-a-days are so hesitant to appreciate anything all new and rely on recreating and reinvitorating old car designs, movies, sitcoms, I don't know. It's a fun and interesting creative exercise, that's all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 I don't understand why so many people feel that retro styling is so important. It's not "important." It just looks cool to many people (including me). But nobody says you have to like it. It's all just a matter of personal taste... and personally I love retro-styled cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaleb Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 Same here, Now if they retroed a pinto or something that would be different. One I definitly go for the challenger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modeler Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 comebine these to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 In my opinion, car styling doesn't get much better than the '68-'69 Charger. Hard to improve on that design. The current "Charger" looks like a bloated sausage by comparison. Chrysler should have given us the Charger that was making the rounds at the auto shows. Instead we got a slightly disguised 300, which in itself is a silly cartoon of a car. Who designed that thing anyway, a gangsta rapper??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Who designed that thing anyway, a gangsta rapper??? People cry about how the current Charger isn't a "real" Charger, has too many doors, etc., but the fact that it still sells well (and outsells the Challenger by a lot), can haul five adults around comfortably, and has the same or better (for SRT-8 versions) 1/4 mile performance than its '68-'70 siblings speaks volumes about the car IMHO. I'm not even going to compare comfort and handling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 People cry about how the current Charger isn't a "real" Charger, has too many doors, etc., but the fact that it still sells well (and outsells the Challenger by a lot), can haul five adults around comfortably, and has the same or better (for SRT-8 versions) 1/4 mile performance than its '68-'70 siblings speaks volumes about the car IMHO. I'm not even going to compare comfort and handling. I'm talking about styling, not performance. A new Charger better have better performance than a '68. After all, it only has 40+ years of technological advances over the '60s model! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Cole Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Limited photos of the next generation Charger surface... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Doesn't look like a new generation... more like a warmed-over current generation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Cole Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Yes, restyle... my bad on the description. But the again, I still think of the '56 Corvette as the true C2 (2nd gen.) 'vette. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320wayne Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 You know, I can appreciate the fact that so many car enthusiasts today are looking at the nameplates of days gone by with a retro feel in mind. It's a great concept and helps to sell some of the top makes today. But, not everything with an older namesake has to be based on a retro look. The Charger name has taken on many different shapes over the years. It has morphed into many different styles over the years. Some good, 66-74; some not so good, 75-77, 83. So many people were disappointed when this new bodystyle was introduced because it didn't resemble something from the past. But that's obviously not what Chrysler was after. They came out with a totally new style, love it or hate it, that has become very popular with today's auto enthusiast. It is one of the top selling cars on the market today. Harry, you say that a new Charger better perform better than a 68? I tell you what. You take your 68 Hemi Charger and pit it up against my modern day police interceptor Charger and we see who runs away from who. Afterall, there has to be a reason why most mainstream police forces are running around in all of those new Chargers today. I feel that this body style has one of those looks that when you first see it, it's not the best looking car you've ever seen, but after a while it tends to grow on you. It's kind of like when the new Dodge Ram pickup body style came out in early 90's. It's one of those looks that has to age a bit and then look out as it becomes one of the best known styles in the history of the nameplate. That is my two cents on the matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 I feel that this body style has one of those looks that when you first see it, it's not the best looking car you've ever seen, but after a while it tends to grow on you. I'm still waiting for that to happen... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Cole Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 I started a build of the pre-paint Charger by Testors... I got the 5.7 engine finished... ...and hacked off the die-cast hinges ...then packed it up. Maybe someday I will finish it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whale392 Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 With respects to those opinions voiced above........even in its' darker days of styling, the Charger was NOT a 4 door. It never was and should never have been. Personal opinion here, but the heads at Chrysler revamping the Charger nameplate to stick it on that hidious design was just a ploy to market and sell that heap. Now, as Harry stated and someone obviously missed his point, the new Charger had better be a better car for 40 years of design developement (oops...guess someone missed that when they want to compare the new Charger Hemi to the old......Harry agrees the new Charger is a better automoblie). Styling is subjective, and while the new Charger has its own style, that is fine. But a 4 door Charger? While we're at it, let's go and make the Camaro or the Mustang a 4 door as well. See the point? Retro styling doesn't need to be a key in developement, but at least keep it in the same type of car. Even the FOX Mustang (1979-93), while a departure style-wise from the original, was true to the original....small, light, easy power, cheap to buy and modify, and it was a 2 door (even in its hatch configuration it was still a 2 door). Chrysler seems to have missed that small (but oh-so-obvious) clue with its' Charger (and before you go jumping me and calling me out, be forwarned that I am and always was/will be a Chrysler B-Body lover and owner. I own 2 1965 Dodge Coronet500s, and dad owns 6 mid-60s B-Bodies....two of which are original HEMI cars. I came home from the hospital in a HEMI car). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dryvr12 Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 This looks alot like the Challenger, but it's my favorite Charger concept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 (and before you go jumping me and calling me out, be forwarned that I am and always was/will be a Chrysler B-Body lover and owner. I own 2 1965 Dodge Coronet500s, and dad owns 6 mid-60s B-Bodies....two of which are original HEMI cars. I came home from the hospital in a HEMI car). You and Tom Selleck can cruise in your B-body Chargers all day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted June 12, 2010 Author Share Posted June 12, 2010 (edited) I hadn't seen this, but it sure beats anything they have now, even if it is a 4-door and an 8-year-old concept design. Several shots: http://www.acarshow.com/chgcpt.html Edited June 12, 2010 by sjordan2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandpaMcGurk Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 (edited) When I was younger my dad owned a Chrysler dealership, before they went belly up it was a Studebaker gig. The Charger in Casey's picture is pretty much the same car as the hi-line "Cordoba".........love the styling on that car but the lean burn 400 inch engine...the electronic control unit was inside the air cleaner and prone to problems....drove me nuts. Anyway......great looking car with a boat anchor engine...the age of pollution control had begun and the car manufacturers were scrambling to put band aids on everything to meet the new smog regulations. Edited June 12, 2010 by GrandpaMcGurk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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