I realize the photos are not that great; these are another set of photos from my mass archive. I used to shoot for quantity, not quality necessarily, and this grouping of Charger pictures shows that clearly. As I've said many times before, Boise, Idaho is a real-life time machine when it comes to cars and trucks, and this Dodge Charger is living proof of that.
Charger you say? Yes-- this actually is a Dodge Charger. While most know the name as one worn by a 1960s muscle car, the name has been applied to a variety of bodystyles and classes, most recently the much-loathed rear-wheel-drive full-size sedan that bowed in 2005. In the 1980s, the name was applied to a front-wheel-drive economy car disguised as a sporty-looking hatchback. A far cry from the muscle cars of just ten years prior, these 1983-1987 cars were equipped with a bevvy of lethargic four cylinder engines, producing anywhere from 79 to a tire-smoking 107 horses. Whooo! And.. if you were lucky and you ordered the 2.2, you got special "2.2 Hemi" badges. I wish I was joking, but I'm not. And what did those graphics intend to show off? All of 96 horses! Since this one doesn't have the obnoxious graphics, I can only assume it is equipped with a Peugeot 1.7L four underhood. Not exactly what I'd call a muscle car by any means.
While I do realize the 1980s was a rather dark period in the whole automotive landscape, I cannot help but like some of the results. Of course, I like the first generation cars and the '68 to '70 cars better, this generation is at least interesting. I don't think I have seen another one of these cars since I shot this one in 2007 or 2008. As one can see, this example is far from perfect, but I think it's honestly one of the only ones of this generation that still exists some thirty years after it was introduced. I don't like these enough to buy one if the opportunity arose, but I do think the few remaining examples need to be saved.
