In its century-long existence, the Chrysler Corporation has produced some truly wonderful vehicles. Here are 10 of the most iconic Mopar cars.
Mopar is officially the name created by the Chrysler Corporation to brand its line of official parts and accessories. However, it has become more colloquially used to describe any model of car from the company. Today, Chrysler is one of the brands held by parent company Stellantis and includes Dodge, Chrysler, Ram Trucks, Jeep, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Peugeot, Lancia, Opel, Vauxhall, and Citroën among its massive portfolio.
Before the seemingly endless mergers and acquisitions beginning in the late ’80s, the Chrysler Corporation consisted of just Dodge, Plymouth, and Chrysler. The corporation was started by Walter Chrysler when he first produced cars bearing his name in 1924. It then grew continuously and exponentially to become one of the “Big Three” automakers headquartered in Detroit.
For more than a century, Chrysler has built affordable cars for the mainstream of American society, with a few models inching into the luxury car territory. These cars have been known for being affordable, reliable, and easy to repair throughout much of its history. While the company has had some ups and downs over the years, many of its most successful models have become cherished classics by millions of people around the world.
The enduring style and cachet of a classic Mopar is something to be enjoyed and shared. Many of these cars have since become icons of the industry. Here are 10 of the most iconic to ever roll out of a Chrysler assembly facility.Dodge Charger Daytona
By the late ’60s, NASCAR racing was a fully developed and highly popular racing series. Manufacturers fielded cars in the series and were eager to deliver winning cars to the drivers taking the checkered flag. Wins on the track translated to sales on the floor. These efforts also led manufacturers to tweak their production cars available to the public in ways that could deliver an edge in the races. At that point, NASCAR was still closer to its roots as “stock car” racing, meaning the cars running the races were the same available at dealers.
For the 1969 model year, Dodge sought to give its popular Charger muscle car an advantage by adding some aerodynamic parts to the front and rear, along with a healthy dose of power under the hood. To qualify for NASCAR, Dodge had to produce at least 500 cars to sell to the public. With the power maxed out from its 426 Hemi V8, engineers created a long and pointed nose to graft the front bumper and added an unusually tall spoiler to the rear to take advantage of optimal airflow to create downforce, thus increasing traction.
The modifications proved to be successful as the Dodge Charger Daytona dominated the track that season and the next, winning six races in total. However, Dodge had ruffled some feathers, and its modifications were banned for the 1971 race season. This left us with roughly a thousand examples of this legendary car, turning it into a Mopar icon.
[Featured image by Jeremy via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 2.0]Plymouth RoadRunner
For the 1968 model year, planners at Plymouth wanted to get in on the muscle car craze that had been gripping the country at the time. Having access to an array of excellent engines and solid platforms, the ingredients for success only needed to be combined with the right marketing strategy.
The new model was built on Chrysler’s B platform, which was shared by other models of the day, such as the Dodge Coronet. It was a large, intermediate size popular with competing muscle cars and provided plenty of room for a big V8. Power came from a choice of three V8 engines, including the 383 with a four-barrel carburetor making 335 horsepower, the 426 HEMI with dual four-barrel carburetors making 425 horsepower or the 440 with triple two-barrel carburetors making 390 horsepower. No matter which engine was chosen, it provided ample torque for the big car to get moving.
The final part of the muscle car equation was marketing. In a stroke of genius, Chrysler paid Warner Bros. $50,000 to license the popular RoadRunner character from the cartoons featuring Wile E. Coyote. Everyone knew this cartoon back then, and the RoadRunner was famous for being fast enough to always outrun and outwit Wile E. Coyote. This also gave the cars a bit of fun lightheartedness that struck a chord with the public and made it a success. However, the icon eventually lost its luster towards the late ’70s when a redesigned car with a fraction of the power came out in 1975, portending its eventual cancellation in 1980 after selling only 496 cars.Dodge Super Bee
While this car could be lumped in with the Plymouth RoadRunner running on the same platform, the distinct marketing makes it something special all on its own. About six months after Plymouth released its 1968 RoadRunner, Dodge released the Super Bee.
The Super Bee was a large two-door that came with only two engine choices: the base 335-horsepower 383 V8 or the 425-horsepower 426 HEMI V8. Dodge was meant to be the entry-level brand for Chrysler, and the Super Bee was meant to be an affordable way to get lots of power in an attractive package. While many people opted for the more powerful HEMI car, scores more received the base model. A portion of them ordered one completely stripped down with only the bare essentials — no air conditioning, no radio, no power steering, no frills whatsoever.
The Dodge Super Bee was a moderately popular car but was discontinued after the 1971 model year.
