The first-generation Challenger may not blow car fans away with it’s revolutionary design or it’s unprecedented sales. In fact, the vehicle was a relatively late entrant to the ponycar segment, a market that had previously been dominated by the Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro. While the vehicle was generally well regarded by the public, sales dropped significantly as the market for ponycars dropped dramatically. After having produced 76,935 units for 1970 (the vehicle’s first year in production), they were only selling 27,800 units by 1973, resulting in a stoppage of production in 1974.

Nowadays, customers appreciate the vehicle’s throwback style, making it a fairly common purchase among vintage car buyers. With 165,437 sold during the four years of production (and with many of those cars presumably off the road today), the nearly 50-years-old nameplate will still cost you at least $30,000 on the used car market. The vehicle isn’t necessarily rate, but don’t assume you can get one for nothing.

Before you go shopping around for a 2016 Dodge Challenger in Miami, see why the original Challenger was (and still is) so popular…

Read the rest of this entry >>