1966-1967

In 1966 Dodge took the Charger into NASCAR in hopes that the fastback would make their car a winner on the high-banks. But the car proved to have rear end lift around corners which made it very slippery on the faster tracks. The lift was because the air actually travelled faster over the top of the car than under it, causing the car to act like a giant airplane wing. Drivers would later claim that "it was like driving on ice." In order to solve this problem Dodge installed in a small lip spoiler on the trunk lid which improved traction at speeds above 150 mph (240 km/h). They also had to make it a dealer-installed option in late 1966 and through 1967 because of NASCAR rules (with small quarter panel extensions in 1967). The 1966 Charger was the first US production vehicle to have a spoiler. David Pearson, driving a #6 Cotten Owens-prepared Charger, went on to win the NASCAR Grand National championship in 1966 with 14 first-place finishes. 1967 NASCAR SpoilerSince the Charger was such a sales success despite its midyear introduction, changes were limited for 1967. Outside, new fender-mounted turn signals were introduced and would serve as the main outside indentifier between a 1966 and 1967 Charger. A vinyl roof become available as well. Inside, the full length console was gone, due in part to customer complaints about entry and exit from the back seats. It was replaced with a regular sized console. Bucket seats were standard, but a folding armrest/seat and column shifter was an option allowing three people to sit up front. As for engine options, the 440 "Magnum" was added and the 361 cid engine was replaced by a 383 cid engine. The 440 was conservatively rated at 375 hp (280 kW) with a single 4-barrel carburetor. The 318 two-barrel engine remained, although it was now an Chrysler LA engine, unlike the 1966 polysphere "poly" design. The 383 4-barrel and the 426 Street Hemi remained as options. Despite the Chargers' NASCAR racing success of 1966, sales slipped by half. In 1967 only 15,788 Chargers were sold. The Chargers faced competition from the Trans-Am Series, the Ford Mustang and the just introduced Chevrolet Camaro. Dodge decided that a major redesign was in order, rather than a minor face-lift.

1968-1970

In 1968 Chrysler Corporation unveiled a new ad campaign featuring a Bee with an engine on its back. These cars were called the "Scat Pack". The Coronet R/T, Super Bee, Dart GTS and Charger R/T received bumble-bee stripes (two thin stripes framing two thick stripes). The stripes were standard on the R/Ts and came in red, white or black. They also could be deleted at no cost. These changes and the new Charger bodystyle proved to be very popular with the public and helped to sell 96,100 Chargers, including over 17,000 Charger R/Ts. A famous Charger was the four-speed, triple-black 1968 Charger R/T used in the movie Bullitt. The chase scene between Steve McQueen's fastback Mustang GT and the hitmen's Charger R/T is popularly regarded as one of the greatest car chase scenes ever filmed. During filming of the scene, the Charger proved to be extremely durable. When performing the various jumps over the hills in San Francisco, the Mustang GT encountered several suspension problems, while the suspension of the Chargers used never failed once. A similar 1968 Charger R/T was seen in the Blade Trilogy trilogy of films. In 1969 Dodge had its eye on NASCAR and in order to compete it would have to create two of the most rare and desirable of all Chargers: Charger 500, and the Charger Daytona. The television series The Dukes of Hazzard (1979-1985) featured a 1969 Dodge Charger that was named The General Lee, often noted as being the most recognizable car in the world. "The General" sported the Confederate flag painted on the roof and the words "GENERAL LEE" over each door. The windows were always open, as the doors were welded shut. The number "01" is painted on both doors. Also, when the horn button was pressed, it played the first 13 notes from the de facto Confederate States anthem "Dixie's Land". The muscle car performed spectacular jumps in almost every episode, and the show's popularity produced a surge of interest in the car. The show itself purchased hundreds of Chargers for stunts, as they generally destroyed at least one car per episode. (Real Chargers stopped being used for jumps at the end of the show's sixth season, and were begrudgingly replaced with miniatures.)

1971-1974

1971 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). The 1972 Charger bowed with a new "Rallye" option to replace the former R/T version. The SE model now had a more formal roof appearance than the others had. The 440 engines were still available, but now had to use the net horsepower rating instead of the gross horsepower rating. This would cause their horsepower ratings to go down substantially, although the net horsepower rating was actually more realistic. Also beginning in 1972, all engines featured lowered compression ratios to permit the use of regular leaded or unleaded gasoline rather than leaded premium fuel as in past years due to increasing tighter emissions regulations. A low-compression 440 with a 4 barrel carburetor became the top dog engine (basically the same engine you could get in your grandfather's New Yorker), and the use of the pistol-grip 4-speed Hurst shifter was limited to engines of 400 cubic inches. Unusual triple opera window on 1973 Dodge Charger SEThe 1973 Chargers sported new vertically slatted taillights and a new nose (and no more hidden headlights, even as an option). The 318 was still standard, with the 340 (available only on the Rallye), 360, 400 and 440 remaining as options. The SE models had a new roof treatment that had "triple opera window" treatment surrounded by a canopy-style vinyl roof. All other models had a new quarter window treatment, ditching its AMC Gremlin-style window in favor of a more conventional design. Sales this year were around 108,000 units, the highest ever for the 1971-74 Charger generation. 1974 was a virtual rerun of 1973 other than a slighty revised grille, the biggest news was that the Rallye option was dropped (along with the 340 engine option with the 360 instead). All other engine options remained the same. Several performance rear end ratios, including a 3.23 limited slip rear end were still available. A four speed transmission, was still an option except with the 440 engine. Emphasis in these years turned to luxury instead of performance, hence the high sales figures for the SE model, but one could still option a Charger with respectable performance options if one were so inclined and turn in decent performance figures for the day. The Charger, however, was no longer considered a performance car, and was gradually turned into personal luxury car, because all manufacturers "saw the handwriting on the wall." The muscle car era came to a close, and the 1975 Dodge Charger would be the final nail in the coffin. The Dodge Charger featured on the USA network show, "Burn Notice", is either a 1973 or 1974 Dodge Charger.

1975-1978

Beginning in 1975, the Dodge Charger was based on the Chrysler Cordoba. The Charger SE (Special Edition) was the only model offered. It came with a wide variety engines from the 318 in³ (5.2 L) "LA" series small block V8 to the 400 in³ (6.6 L) big block V8. The standard engine was the 360 in³ (5.9 L) small block. Sales in 1975 amounted to 30,812. In 1976 the model range was expanded to four models — base, Charger Sport, Charger SE and the Charger Daytona. The base and Sport models used a different body than the SE and Daytona, and were essentially a rebadging of what had been the 1975 Dodge Coronet 2-door models - and available with a 225 in (3.7 L) Slant Six, which was not offered on the SE and Daytona. The Charger Daytona was introduced in hopes or rekindling the performance fire, but it amounted to little more than a tape/stripe package. It did offer either the 360 small block or the 400 big block. Sales did go up slighty to 65,900 in 1976 but would quickly plummet after that mainly due to the fact the base and Sport models were one-year only offerings that did not return for 1977. In 1977 the base Charger and Charger Sport were dropped as this body style became part of the newly named B-body Monaco line, and only the Charger SE and Charger Daytona were offered. Sales dropped to 36,204. In 1978 only about 2,800 Chargers were produced (likely to use up leftover stock of 1977 trim parts), after which it was replaced by the similar 1978 Dodge Magnum.