Dodge Charger (1983-1987)
The Charger of the late ’70s was a slow car that threatened to kill the muscle car reputation of the glorious late ’60s and early ’70s. Dodge felt that the name deserved another chance. In those days, Chrysler Corporation was all about K-platform front-wheel drive cars. Dodge introduced the Charger as an option for the compact and bland Omni in 1981. The appearance package proved somewhat popular. It was enough to convince Dodge to try it as a separate model for 1983, and that’s how the L-Body Charger was born (via Auto Evolution).
Despite the famous name, the 1983 to 1987 Charger was just a sportier version of Chrysler compact models. With four-cylinder power, front-wheel drive, and no particular performance, the Charger was just the car to fight import compacts.