Dodge Magnum
The model name Magnum may sound familiar since Dodge used it on a successful line of station wagons produced from 2005 to 2008. But the model dates back to 1978. The original Dodge Magnum was a luxury muscle car coupe produced for two years in 1978 and 1979. Back in the late ’70s, the American performance market was practically dead. Insurance companies and environmental and safety laws killed the muscle car culture and new cars had embarrassingly low power figures (via The Truth About Cars).
The muscle car market wasn’t gone; there just weren’t any cars that could have performance numbers close to the models from the late ’60s. As one of the prominent muscle car companies, Dodge knew this and tried to introduce a model that would have some power in a luxury package to appeal to the broader audience. This is how the Magnum was born. It was a cool-looking coupe with all the right ingredients for the time. It had rear-wheel drive, a long hood, a short deck, and a thumping V8 in the front. The biggest engine was a 5.9-litre V8 with 195 hp. Of course, this is diminutive by today’s standards, but back in 1979, this guaranteed respect. Unfortunately, its high price didn’t help sales and the Dodge Magnum didn’t return for the 1980 model year.