CAR GAZING
Get it while you can
Dodge Charger a classic American muscle car
By Derek Price
Forget the 1950s. Decades from now, people will look back on today as the golden age of American motoring.
Think about it. We've just lived through a years-long horsepower war that's put more excitement into the hands of more drivers than ever before. It's not uncommon to find cars that make 300 horses right on the dealer lot, many of which – like the Pontiac G8 – are actually affordable.
We can buy a super-Corvette that makes 620 horsepower and is faster than some Ferraris, a luxury SUV that feels like a mobile living room, or an American family sedan that's just as reliable as a Japanese car. Heck, even the legendary Camaro has come back from the dead.
And even more than the 1960s, today is the true muscle-car era, a time when not only raw power and style, but also handling, steering and braking all combine to make some thrilling machines.
A perfect example is the Dodge Charger. This modern-day muscle car has a look and feel that's authentically American, from its police-cruiser styling to its available V8 power that can smoke the back tires. It's big, brutish and exciting, but it's also practical for a family because of its roomy cabin and four-door layout.
Unfortunately, if you like this kind of car, you'd better buy one quickly. They won't be around much longer.
Thanks to new federal fuel economy standards that will require cars to average 39 miles per gallon in just a few years, cars like the Charger are going to either disappear or become so expensive that very few people can afford them.
Even in its most fuel efficient version with the smallest V6 engine, the Charger gets just 26 mpg on the highway. That's not bad considering what a big car it is, but it's definitely not good enough to meet the upcoming standards.
More impressive is the mileage the Charger gets from its biggest engine, a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 that makes an almost unbelievable 368 horsepower and still gets 24 mpg on the highway. That's an engineering feat Dodge ought to be proud of, because few engines make so much power while burning so little fuel. That counts as a fuel-efficient car in my book.
Another surprising trait is how well it handles in corners. Unlike the American muscle cars of old, which were said to only go fast in a straight line, the Charger feels perfectly comfortable winding down narrow country roads or slicing through corners. It's no sports sedan, but it's more nimble than you'd expect from such a heavy car.
My favorite feature on the Charger, one that's wonderfully easy to use, is called "uconnect tunes." This $650 option includes a 30-gigabyte hard drive to store all your favorite music, turning your car into a rolling MP3 player. I plugged my USB drive into the dash, and within a few minutes it had copied my entire music collection onto the hard drive, which is controlled by an LCD touch screen.
Pricing starts at $25,585 for the basic Charger SE, which comes with a 2.7-liter V6 engine that makes 178 horsepower. For $27,200 you can get the Charger SXT with a bigger 3.5-liter V6 that makes 250 horses. And if you want the Hemi-powered Charger R/T, pricing starts at $32,910.
Let's enjoy this golden age while it lasts. It won't be long before we're looking back on these good old days because, ironically enough, Uncle Sam will have legislated classic American cars like this out of existence by 2016.
(Derek Price is a newspaper editor and freelance writer living in Texas.)
The above article is provided for the interest and entertainment of our visitors. The views expressed in this article are only those of the author, who is solely responsible for the content. AutoGuide.net does not endorse any of these views, and is not to be held responsible for any of the content provided in the above article.
Click here to read Derek's past articles!
If you have any questions or comments for Derek or the AutoGuide.net, please fill out this form.
