It’s pretty ironic that in these troubled environmental times, we can still buy V8-engined, mega-horsepower cars that guzzle down fuel at a voracious rate. The current rebirth of the Pony Car, at least for Chevy and Dodge, sounds irrelevant when we’re trying to save the planet. But we’re buying them nonetheless.
At least this small vehicle segment will remain small: we won’t witness comebacks of the Mercury Cougar, the AMC Javelin, the Plymouth Barracuda or the Pontiac Firebird.
Young adults that have owned and enjoyed Pony Cars in the early 70s are probably now retired. Those who have well-performing RRSPs and who are trying to artificially feel younger by getting themselves a Challenger, a Mustang or a Camaro would probably like one that will cause them flashbacks of 40 years ago, when leaded gas cost next to nothing, the word environment wasn’t in the dictionary and burning rubber was socially accepted and encouraged.
But out of the three, the Dodge is third in sales. And yet the Challenger is the one that best reincarnates the Pony Car.
The new Challenger looks very much like the original that was introduced for the 1970 model year. But it casts a slightly bigger shadow, being longer and higher while riding on a longer wheelbase. It shares its architecture with the Dodge Charger and the Chrysler 300, as well as the now-defunct Dodge Magnum.
Despite being on the market for two years now, it still gets its share of looks. It’s got a more imposing presence than its Ford and Chevy rivals, and Chrysler is keeping the product fresh by continuously offering wild colours and decorative striping packages.
Our R/T Classic test car includes vintage script Challenger badges on its flanks, although the badge in the front grille is still the capital-letter italic style, so a little confusion here but nothing worth writing hate-mail to Chrysler about. The Classic package also includes magnificent 20-inch heritage alloy wheels with real chrome plating, not chromed plastic covers like we usually see today on other vehicles.
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| Between the Challenger, the Mustang and the Camaro, the Challenger is the one that best reincarnates the Pony Car. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |
At least this small vehicle segment will remain small: we won’t witness comebacks of the Mercury Cougar, the AMC Javelin, the Plymouth Barracuda or the Pontiac Firebird.
Young adults that have owned and enjoyed Pony Cars in the early 70s are probably now retired. Those who have well-performing RRSPs and who are trying to artificially feel younger by getting themselves a Challenger, a Mustang or a Camaro would probably like one that will cause them flashbacks of 40 years ago, when leaded gas cost next to nothing, the word environment wasn’t in the dictionary and burning rubber was socially accepted and encouraged.
But out of the three, the Dodge is third in sales. And yet the Challenger is the one that best reincarnates the Pony Car.
The new Challenger looks very much like the original that was introduced for the 1970 model year. But it casts a slightly bigger shadow, being longer and higher while riding on a longer wheelbase. It shares its architecture with the Dodge Charger and the Chrysler 300, as well as the now-defunct Dodge Magnum.
Despite being on the market for two years now, it still gets its share of looks. It’s got a more imposing presence than its Ford and Chevy rivals, and Chrysler is keeping the product fresh by continuously offering wild colours and decorative striping packages.
Our R/T Classic test car includes vintage script Challenger badges on its flanks, although the badge in the front grille is still the capital-letter italic style, so a little confusion here but nothing worth writing hate-mail to Chrysler about. The Classic package also includes magnificent 20-inch heritage alloy wheels with real chrome plating, not chromed plastic covers like we usually see today on other vehicles.
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| The Classic package includes magnificent 20-inch heritage alloy wheels with real chrome plating, not chromed plastic covers. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |