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When the conversation turns to Classic cars the 1973 Dodge Challenger may come to mind. This car was designed at a time when "muscle cars" were just beginning to fall from favor not because the American public no longer wanted them but because the environmentalists were starting to put their noses into the American car market.

The Dodge Charger went virtually unchanged as did the Plymouth Roadrunner but the

1973 Dodge Challenger underwent major changes this model year. In prior years the Challenger could be equipped with a 400 cubic inch motor which boasted 425 Horses and ripped through a quarter mile in under fourteen seconds. To compete with the Plymouth Satellite and the new wave of environmentally friendly automobiles the 1973 Dodge Challenger although still a handsome automobile went through a metamorphosis in the engine compartment. The meaty 440 cubic inch engine was gone from this model and replaced with for the lack of a better word a paltry 318 cubic inch motor with 150HP. This was the standard motor and didn't hurt sales much but the Challenger wasn't the car it was in the past. The only other engine offered in it that year was the 340 cubic inch which had 240hp and moved the much lighter model that the previous year off the starting line almost as quickly as it's Hemi powered predecessor.

This was still a sporty car and there wasn't much in the way of luxury in the interior design as practicality became the norm for this year and many years to follow. We can thank the environmental protection agency for these changes. The 1973 Dodge Challenger was an easily handled machine which made it favorable to both male and female drivers. The Challengers of the past were mainly manly machines and appealed to men much more than the fairer sex.

Times were changing and the car market had to follow. In the 1973 Dodge Challenger we found both a fast easily handled car that had decent gas mileage and was environment friendly as the regulations were changing in regards to emission controls. Say good bye to the muscle cars and hello to oil embargoes and emission controls. The muscle cars of the 1960's were soon to become dinosaurs in the 1970's.

Learn more about this author, James Douglas Doorsman.
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