1971 Dodge Charger
 In 1971, the all-new third generation Charger debuted. It was completely restyled with a new "Pontiac" grille and more rounded "fuselage" bodystyle. Many people have compared the look of the 1971-1974 Chargers to the 1968-1970 Pontiac GTOs. The interiors now looked more like those of the E-body and were now shared by the Plymouth B-body. Hidden headlights were no longer standard, they were now optional. A rear spoiler and a "Ramcharger" hood made the option lists for the first time. A special scoop was mounted in the hood, directly above the air cleaner. If the driver wanted to put clean air directly into the carburetor, he pulled a small lever under the dash and the scoop popped up. This gimmicky (but novel) device had been used on the Coronet R/T and Super Bees, but this was the first time it was used on the Charger.
Dodge also merged its Coronet and Charger lines. From 1971, all four-door B-bodies were badged as Coronets and all two-door B-bodies as Chargers. This change would add the one-year-only Charger Super Bee to the Charger stable.
The Dodge Super Bee made the move from the Coronet line to the Charger line for 1971 only, then the model was discontinued. Several other models were carried over from 1970, including the 500. The R/T and SE versions carried over as well, but the R/T's popularity was on the downslide thanks to higher insurance costs. Only 63 Hemi versions were built, and 2,659 were built with other engines that year. Rapidly rising insurance rates, combined with higher gasoline prices, reduced sales of muscle cars and 1971 was the last year of availability for the 426 Hemi "Elephant engine" in any car. 1971 also saw the end of the high-performance 440 Six-Pack engine (although some Dodge literature stated that this engine was available for 1972, it was pulled at the last minute. However, a few factory installed six-pack Chargers and Road Runners were built very early in the production run). |
