Muscle cars are more than just cars. They’re iconic reminders of how a vehicle car be both sleek and tough, smooth and rugged, all at once. And Dodge muscle cars are in a class of their own, with some models being coveted by collectors. Let’s look at some of the coolest Dodge muscle cars of the past sixty years to find out what makes them so amazing.

The Most Iconic Muscle Cars: An Overview

While there are many different muscle car models we could look at, a few groups of them stand above the rest, usually because they brought something new to the table in some way. These include the following groups of models:

1960s-1970s Dodge Charger

The Dodge Charger was first introduced as a show car in 1964, and then as a concept car in 1965. The first generation of Chargers were released in 1966 and 1967, and they were marketed as sporty luxury vehicles. However, these Chargers had low sales. The second (1968-1970) and third (1971-1974) generations of the Charger did much better than the first one, luckily. The 1969 Dodger Charger came in a couple of different versions, including the Charger Daytona and the Charger 500. There were only ever 392 Dodge Chargers 500s, making them extremely rare today.

The Dodge charger went through a bit of a makeover between 1967 and 1968 to make it a more competitive racing car. It kept the ’67 model’s hidden headlights but had a new flying buttress roof with a recessed window, a refined tail, and only a little use of chrome on its exterior. The Dodge Charger went into its eighth generation, but it’s now being retired.

1970s and 21st Century Dodge Challenger

Like the Charger, the Dodge Challenger is a model that has existed into the present day, though it’s now being discontinued. However, its most iconic era was the one in which it was introduced: the 1970s. Technically, the Challenger was first introduced in the fall of 1969, but it was for the 1970 model year. Back then, muscle cars were called “pony cars,” and the Challenger was considered a late response to the Ford Mustang, which debuted in 1964. It had larger dimensions, a longer wheelbase, and a more luxurious interior, making it appeal to a more affluent young demographic than other pony cars. At the time, this first-generation Challenger had many more trim options than its competitors, and it offered optional features like a rear-window defogger and an air-conditioning system. (Why was air conditioning ever considered optional? We may never know.)

That first-generation Challenger was available from 1970 to 1974, and then the second generation was available rom 1978 to 1983. After that, the Challenger took a long break and didn’t appear as a new model for 25 year, only returning for its third generation in 2008. This generation had new models appear yearly until 2022, when parent company Stellantis announced their discontinuation. The last Challenger was put together in December 2023, as part of a series of Last Call models.

Find Your Last-Call Dodge Muscle Car in Lee’s Summit

If you’re in the Kansas City metro area and you’re looking for one of the last Chargers or Challengers, let us know. We’ll help you find the right one.