This weekend was truly the nicest of the year so far. Easter Sunday was T-shirt weather, and a lot of people broke out their convertibles to cruise around. I found myself in Cold Spring, New York with a few friends, and spied this very nice Dodge Challenger parked on the main drag. I am not huge Mopar fan, but this particular car was pretty darn cool. It was also the first original Challenger I had seen in person since they came out with the new modern retro-futuristic version of it. I am guessing it is a '71, but please correct me if I am wrong.
The Challenger has a hulking stance that makes it look visibly less athletic than a Mustang, Corvette, or Camaro of its day. I think the large overhang in both front and rear contribute to this effect. Yet compared to the modern Challenger, the original is much lower and meaner. I love how late 60s and early 70s cars are often designed so that the front end design basically consists of a single thin chrome bezel that surrounds the inset headlights and grille (my favorite example of this is the front of the '69 and '70 Shelby Mustangs). The appearance is both clean as well as aggressive, and the Challenger has that look down perfectly.
What I really like about this car is some of the detailing they did that still seems fresh. The tail light surrounds and grill area have some subtle surface details which are quite contemporary to my eye. The car also has wipers hidden underneath the cowl, which was pretty advanced for the time (My '83 Alfa doesn't even have that, even though Giugiaro had a hissy fit about it). There is a very slick glovebox integrated into the center console that sort of undulates as it jogs to the side around the shifter. This type of motif is very popular in today's product design. The white leatherette seats are also totally slick and still look very modern. I need to design a dining chair that looks so good! The fuel filler cap is a fantastic detail on the side that was also referenced in the re-make of the car, but what the new car lacks is the tiny, jewel-like Chrysler Pentagon badge that graces the front quarter panel just behind the front wheel. What a cool touch!
I certainly spent a while enjoying looking at the car. I hope you enjoy the photos here!
Monday, January 2, 2012 at 11:53AM 
Spent the day Friday in the Alfa, motoring through the twisties outside of Cold Spring, NY with my buddy from Autofrei riding along with his camera. He got some very evocative shots! See more of them as well as his wonderful full write-up at Autofrei.
Naturally, I was wearing my Autodromo Vallelunga watch that day.