Did Dodge make a Charger in the 80s?
Yes. Dodge produced a Charger during the 1980s, but it was a smaller, front‑wheel‑drive model rather than the classic muscle car of the 1960s and early 1970s. The 1983–1987 Charger carried the Charger name on a Mitsubishi Galant–derived platform.
The 1980s Charger in context
The 1980s brought a shift in American automotive design toward fuel efficiency and cost containment. Dodge, like its rivals, revived the Charger badge for a different type of car: a two‑door, front‑wheel‑drive coupe intended to pair affordable operation with the familiar Dodge name. It marked a departure from the high‑performance image of earlier Chargers while keeping a link to Dodge’s shared engineering programs with Mitsubishi and other partners.
Timeline and product notes
The refreshed Charger badge appeared for the 1983 model year and remained in production through 1987. It was eventually phased out as Chrysler adjusted its lineup again, before the Charger name would reappear in later decades in a very different form.
Key facts about the 1983–1987 Dodge Charger
- Platform and layout: Front‑wheel drive built on a Mitsubishi Galant–derived chassis.
- Body style: Two‑door coupe designed as an economical Dodge offering.
- Engines: A range of inline‑four engines, including a 2.2‑liter and a 2.6‑liter, with automatic and (where offered) manual transmissions.
- Production years: 1983 through 1987.
- Market position: A budget‑friendly Charger badge intended to diversify Dodge’s lineup during an era of downsized, efficiency‑focused cars.
In short, the 1980s Charger exists as a distinct chapter in the model’s history: a practical, economy‑minded interpretation of the Charger name, rather than the high‑performance machine the name had represented decades earlier.
Legacy and what followed
After 1987, Chrysler shifted its strategy and the model was discontinued. The Charger badge would later return in a very different form in the 2000s, culminating in the modern, performance‑oriented Charger that blends retro styling with contemporary power.
Summary
The Dodge Charger did exist in the 1980s as a small, front‑wheel‑drive model produced from 1983 to 1987, based on Mitsubishi Galant technology. It represented a practical re‑imagining of the Charger name during a decade focused on efficiency, and it laid groundwork for the Charger’s eventual revival in later years with a new performance direction.
