When the Dodge Charger first hit the scene in 1965, it was a Dart GT-based muscle car that blazed around town with a 235-hp 273ci. (about 4.5 liters) V-8 engine. Introduced on its own in 1966 as a two-door fastback that shared components with the Coronet, and outfitted with a 230-hp 318 ci. (5.2 -liters) V-8, its R/T trim was first offered 50 years ago, in 1967. R/T stands for Road/Track and the ’67 model came with a 426ci. V-8 that delivered 425hp and 490 lbs.-ft. of torque and blew through a zero-to-60mph sprint in 5.7 seconds, polishing off a quarter-mile in 14.4 seconds – true American muscle.

Charger was put on hiatus in 1988 and Chrysler brought it back in 2006, as the sixth generation of Charger. Its reincarnation has rekindled its following and now in its seventh generation, I was fortunate enough to test a 2017 Charger R/T and saw that my test ride had gained luxury conveniences, connectivity, safety features and performance over the original, though the track times were about the same as they were 50 years ago.

Looking at the entire 2017 Charger line-up, Dodge had added the exciting all-new Charger Daytona and Daytona 392 models, with Daytona models offering peak performance and heritage-inspired styling including unique SRT Hellcat®-inspired functional performance styling for an even more aggressive appearance.

Additionally, Active Exhaust is now standard on all HEMI V-8 models, and all 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 Charger models now feature a 2.75-inch electronically controlled active exhaust system to deliver a signature Dodge muscle-car sound. Chargers for this year also get an all-new fourth-generation 8.4-inch Uconnect system; Apple CarPlay; Siri Voice control and Android Auto for easy and safe access to Google voice search, Google Maps and Google Play Music. And various trims get new cosmetics, badging, and wheel finishes, while Signature Houndstooth cloth seats are now available on Dodge Charger SXT and R/T models.

Assembled in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, with a unitized steel body and aluminum hood, Charger retains its iconic look from the ’60s, specifically borrowing design cues from the historic 1969 model. Its cross-hair honeycomb grille, broad hood, scalloped body sides, slit headlamps, contoured rear taillamps and spoiler meld together for a muscular and sporty demeanor.

Charger turns heads with its bold muscle look and wide body, coming in at 200.8 inches long, 75.0 inches wide and 58.2 inches high on a 120.2-inch wheelbase with a curb weight of about 4270 lbs. for my R/T trim Charger, ground clearance is a scant 4.9 inches.

As Charger has been all about muscle for more than half-a-century, the 2017 group offers several powerful engine choices. The standard Pentastar 3.6-liter V-6 engine is rated at 292hp (300hp in the Rallye Group of vehicles), and 260 lbs.-ft. of torque for an EPA rating of 18/city and 27/hwy for AWD. The 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 that powered my R/T trim Charger gallops out 370 horses and 395 lbs.-ft. of torque and is rated at 16mpg/city and 25mpg/highway -- my mixed-use tests that included some tire smoking as well as long interstate treks, averaged 23.1mpg. For more might, the super-powered SRT 392, R/T Scat Pack and Daytona 392 trims smoke tires with a 6.4-liter HEMI V-8 that powers up with 485 hp and 475 lbs.-ft. of torque for a rating of 15/city and 25/hwy, and the Hellcat® versions supercharge their 6.2-liter HEMI for a thundering 707hp and 650 lbs.-ft. of torque for track-worthy speed and performance and 13/22mpg if you are still fuel conscious.

My 5.7 HEMI was true to its R/T heritage with good responsiveness, though I occasionally found a slight power delay that reminded me of typical 1960s performance. Passing at speed was pie-easy and on the track, my R/T broke 6 seconds with a 5.9-second zero-to-60 dash and 14.4-second quarter-mile – just what they ran 50 years ago for the quarter.

The driver-oriented interior is well-crafted with premium, soft-touch materials lots of connectivity and adequate space. Charger afford 38.6 inches of front headroom and 36.6 in the rear seats, 41.8 inches of legroom in row one with 40.1 in row two, and shoulder room of a wide-body 59.5 inches in the first row and 57.9 for second-seaters. Knee clearance is 3.9 inches in the rear.

Safetywise, the 2017 Dodge Charger has earned a five-star overall safety rating from NHTSA, earning five stars for frontal and side impacts, and rollover resistance. Charger offers more than 80 available safety and security features, including advanced multistage front airbags, Full-speed Forward Collision Warning , Adaptive Cruise Control with Full Stop, Lane Departure Warning with Lane Keep Assist, ParkView rear backup camera with dynamic gridlines and 9-1-1 call/Assist Call.

With eight trims available, base Chargers start at $27,995 (SE trim) and run to $67,645 for the SRT® Hellcat trim. My test 2017 Charger R/T with the 5.7-liter HEMI, 20-Inch Satin Carbon Aluminum Wheels and R/T Badging, started at $34,895.

Options added on included the Beats™ Audio Group for $995, with Beats™ premium speakers with subwoofer and a 552-watt amp. GPS navigation with SiriusXM Traffic and Travel, U-Connect and HD radio added $1095 and The D river Confidence group added $1095 for Blind Spot Detection and Power Heated Mirrors w/Manual Fold-Away. A power sunroof added $1195 and Destination charges of $1095 put my 2017 Dodge Charger at $38,620.

You can see the new Charger and a “50th Anniversary of Charger R/T” trim display, along with “100 years of Dodge/Ram trucks” and a 50th anniversary of Plymouth GTX showcase, as well as more than 2,500 Chrysler-brand vehicles from all eras, including classics, muscle cars, high-performance, trucks and new models, at the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals, July 14-16, at the Carlisle (PA) Fairgrounds.



Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years.

The Carlisle Truck Nationals run August 4-6, 2017 at the Carlisle PA Fairgrounds and along with 100-years of truck history on display, there’s a wide array of family-friendly activities too. One such showcase includes frisbee dog action from Lawrence Frederick and his world-champion Disc-Connected K9 team.

The Disc-Connected K9s are no strangers to Carlisle, but will not only be at the truck show for the first-time ever, but will be back at Carlisle for the first time since 2014. Frederick and his team are coming to Carlisle direct from the North Dakota State Fair, but call the south side of Jacksonville, Florida home when not on the road. The Disc-Connected K9s are the only traveling show of its kind with such top notch “talent” on its roster. Making these dogs even more special is the fact that they are rescues that are trained to do what they do best - run, play and entertain. Many of the breeds on the team include Border Collies, Australian Shepherds, Australian Border Collies, Jack Russells and other hyper active mixed breeds.

Dogs from Disc-Connected K9s have provided entertainment around the world and have performed for some of the most amazing audiences. In addition, nearly a dozen of the dogs are World Frisbee Dog Championship Finalists, more than any other team in the history of the sport. More specifically, Frederick boasts five different World Champion dogs, including Harley Davidson, a three-time champion, plus 17 different World Finalists. More importantly, all of these performers are rescue dogs. Disc-Connected K9s not only rescues and trains dogs to perform, they also have their own adoption program. If for whatever reason they rescue a dog and can’t keep it, they adopt it out with no adoption fees. Donations, however, are always greatly appreciated either on their website or at their shows.
Further, coming to Carlisle is a homecoming of sorts for Frederick. Though he currently lives in Florida, he spent his early teen years in the Carlisle/Shippensburg area as his mom worked for a local company.

“It’s always fun to come to the area,” said Frederick. “While I do make it through this region frequently, I still enjoy the trips down memory lane that I experience each time I visit the mid-state. I have been to Carlisle before but visiting the Carlisle Truck Nationals is a first for my team. I’m looking forward to showcasing the dogs in August at Carlisle and can’t want to see everyone at the event too.”

Complete event information, as well as links to register a truck or purchase single day/weekend tickets is available at www.CarlisleEvents.com or by calling 717-243-7855.

In a warehouse in New York City in mid-April the hype became reality for Dodge and its passionate enthusiasts with the unveiling of the 840 horsepower Dodge Demon. With support from mega-star Vin Diesel and a more than 60-minute unveiling presentation on the stage, Dodge ushered in the next wave of street legal muscle for all to enjoy. Dodge knows the passion of their enthusiasts runs deep and as such, Carlisle Events is pleased to share the news that the Demon, not yet in showrooms, will be on display as part of the 2017 Carlisle Chrysler Nationals, July 14-16 at the Carlisle PA Fairgrounds.

The Demon is amazing to say the least. The “base model” starts at $84,995, but considering it’s the fastest street legal car available and out performs some million dollar exotics, Dodge believes that’s a fair price point. But what makes it go fast? How about the fact that the Demon is built to be an elite performance machine and according to the Dodge Demon web page, is powered by a Supercharged 6.2L HEMI® SRT Demon V8 engine and armed with a functional Air-Grabber™ hood scoop and Torque Reserve Launch System. With the powerplant being powerful, a nice set of tires helps keep it on the road (and track) too. That’s why Dodge equipped it with 315/40R18 Nitto NT05R™ drag radial tires. While this car was designed with drag racers in mind, it’s also perfectly safe and legal to drive on the street as a daily driver. It’s that well-built.

Dodge worked diligently to not only produce this car, but to market it as well and the stories behind that and all that went into building the Demon will be told at Carlisle during event weekend. Most of the weekend the Demon will be positioned on the midway within the Dodge booth, but select times throughout the weekend it will roar from its parking spot to an area in front of the stage where automotive enthusiast and TV host Steve Magnante will talk about it; bumper to bumper.

Featuring the Demon is just one great aspect of Carlisle Chrysler Nationals weekend. The event packs nearly 3,000 cars into the facility and hosts 50,000+ guests, coming from around the world. Our displays for 2017 include features dedicated to the GTX, Dodge Trucks, RO23 and WO23 run of cars, the R/T and an FM3 display, better known as Panther Pink. Complete details about the show, special guests including Dukes of Hazzard star Tom Wopat, links to buy tickets, register a car and more are available at www.CarlisleEvents.com or by calling 717-243-7855.

More than 30 years after the Dukes of Hazzard left the CBS airwaves and over two years since it was abruptly dropped from syndication for political reasons, the program and its cast remain hugely popular. Cast members still appear at events across the country and if it’s not a cast member appearing, it’s almost certain that a General Lee will be part of the show car display. For Carlisle Events in 2017, both come together for a fun weekend as Tom Wopat (Luke Duke) of TV’s Dukes of Hazzard returns to the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals (July 14-16).

Born in Wisconsin, Wopat burst onto the national scene in 1979 as a cast member of The Dukes of Hazzard. In addition to that role, for which he’ll forever be known, Wopat is an accomplished singer as well as continuing his acting career on screen, on stage and on TV. He’s appeared on Fantasy Island, Christmas Comes to Willow Creek, Cybill, Murder She Wrote, Home Improvement, All My Children, Longmire, the Academy Award winning film Django Unchained and more. Musically speaking, Wopat is quite diverse. His career has reached from the aforementioned television and film work to high visibility Broadway roles in 1999’s Annie Get Your Gun and 2008’s Catered Affair (he received Tony Award nominations for both), as well as Chicago, Forty-Second St., Sondheim on Sondheim and more.

In 2015, Wopat was reunited with former Dukes star John Schneider for an automotive ad campaign which renewed interest in him and brought their always popular show back into the minds of a generation of fans. The two even recorded a Dukes themed Christmas CD together. In fact, they still connect during the holiday season for a handful of live events where they’ll sing tracks from their CD.

The Wopat appearance at Carlisle in 2017 is made possible in part due to support from Cooter’s Place of Luray, Virginia. The business, owned and operated by another former Dukes cast member, Ben Jones (Cooter), has a gift shop with a wide variety of Dukes apparel, food and snacks as well as historically significant Dukes memorabilia, cars and displays. Cooter’s Place will be on the midway at Carlisle in 2017 and that’s where guests can find Wopat for a photo, autograph or to simply “talk shop” with one of TV’s most iconic stars.

Wopat will be available Friday and Saturday of event weekend and will offer multiple autograph sessions per day. The first autograph will be free with an item brought to the event, plus Wopat and the Cooter’s Place team will have additional merchandise, photos, music and more available for sale. Guests or enthusiasts of the event or fans of Tom Wopat and the show can learn more about the weekend and his appearance at www.CarlisleEvents.com or by calling 717-243-7855. With so much history, horsepower and culture onsite, it’s a can’t miss weekend at the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals!

Dodge has been building trucks since 1917, and it introduced the Ram to the light-duty market in 1994. With angular styling and its iconic black honeycombesque grille, Dodge now produces Ram as its own line, launched as a stand-alone division in 2009, a now complete with a “R-A-M” badge in place of the animal head logo if you want it.

In its second year of existence, Rebel – the trim I tested, out of 12 trims offered – adds Delmonico Red to its palette of exterior colors as a no-cost option; and Rebel and various other trims add as options new monochromatic accents; body-color “R-A-M” tailgate letters across a range of monochromatic paint schemes; and new body-color running boards to amplify the design effect; body-color running boards

The Ram 1500 Rebel brings an aggressive off-road design to the full-size truck segment, presenting a custom truck with capability. Equipped with factory lift, 33-inch all-terrain tires, Bilstein® Monotube Performance Shocks, skid plates, tow hooks and other off-road-ready features, Rebel also takes advantage of exclusive air suspension in order to offer increased ride height.

Departing from the brand’s iconic “crosshair” designs, the blacked-out Rebel grille tops a completely new black off-road front bumper design with a durable powder-coated surface. The front grille design and “R-A-M” branding offer a new styling signature for Ram Truck. On Rebel, you also get a distinctive Ram tailgate, front and rear, Rebel Premium cloth bucket seats with Radar Red interior accents and heated front seats.

From the first look, this Ram is one bold, aggressive and sporty animal -- all 5740 pounds of it. The Ram 1500 Rebel is available in three short wheelbase Crew Cab configurations, while sporting a muscular, forward-sculpted demeanor, large angled headlights and a power bulge in the hood. Measuring out at 229 inches long, 79.4 inches wide and 75.7 inches high with ground clearance of 9.3 inches on a wheelbase of 140.5 inches, the Crew Cab’s bed is only 5.7-feet long. The open tailgate to the ground sat at 34.9 inches.

Ram offers several engine options. This brawny truck in various trims can power up with either an efficient turbocharged EcoDiesel 3.0-liter V-6 engine that produces 240 horsepower and 420 lb.-ft. of torque, for towing up to 9,200 pounds while delivering fuel economy of 29 mpg on the highway; or a 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine with variable-valve timing that offers 305 horsepower, 269 lb.-ft. of torque and fuel economy of 25 mpg. But for me, Ram means HEMI, and my Ram 1500 Rebel muscled up with the legendary 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 engine with fuel-saving cylinder shut-off and VVT. That means 395 hp and 410 lb.-ft. of torque for an EPA rating of 22 mpg/highway.

My test Ram 1500 Rebel and its HEMI was quick, responsive and powerful around town, on the interstate, off road, on the job and on the track. Getting some tire smoke, my Rebel pulled off a 7.4-second zero-to-60mph dash en route to a 15.5-second quarter-mile. My pedal mashing didn’t help the fuel economy, which averaged 15.9mpg during a week of highway runs, passing at speed, sprints and some off-road excursions.

The Ram 1500 Rebel’s interior is comfortable and functional. Rebel is roomy, with 41 inches of front headroom and 39.9 inches for Crew Cab second-seaters; legroom is 41 inches in row one and 40.3 inches in row two, and shoulder room is 66 inches in front and 65.7 for rear passengers. Among cabin amenities are dual-zone air conditioning, power windows, power locks, speed control, a media center with a 30-gigabyte hard drive, and heated and ventilated front seats are included and roominess prevails

Ram 1500 says safety with standard front airbags, front and rear side-curtain air bags and seat-mounted side pelvic-thorax air bags with Enhanced Accident Response System, knee bolsters, seat-belt pretensioners and ParkSense rear park assist. The 2017 Ram 1500 also includes standard electronic stability control, all-speed traction control, trailer-sway control, hill-start assist and anti-lock brake system.

The base 2017 Ram 1500 Tradesman starts at $26,495 in 4x2 configuration with a 6-ft.-4-in. box, and moves through 12 trim levels to the $52,875-base Laramie Limited. The spiffed-out Rebel trim is the 10th trim and starts at $45,095 in 4x2. My test Ram Rebel, in Flame Red and a black premium cloth interior, had a Crew Cab and 5-ft.-7-in. box. It added, 4x4 drive and was priced at $47,195. Moving up in power from the 3.6-liter V-6 to the 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 engine added $1950 (well, ya “gotta” have a HEMI and the additional 90hp) and upgraded to an 8-Speed automatic 8HP70 transmission in the package.

The $695 Luxury group added an Auto-Dimming Exterior Mirror; Exterior Mirrors with Turn Signals and Courtesy Lamps; Glove Box Lamp, LED Bed Lighting; Overhead Console with Garage Door Opener; Power Heated Mirrors with Power Fold-Away
Rear Dome with On / Off Switch Lamp; Under Hood Lamp and more. A rear window defroster added $195; a power sunroof was $1095, and oddly required the addition of 9 Alpine speakers and subwoofer for another $445. A spray-in bedliner added $495. With destination charges of $1395, stickered my Ram Rebel truck-as-tested stickered at $53,465 before incentives.

You can see 100 years of Dodge/Ram trucks and more than 2,500 vehicles from all eras of the Chrysler brand, as classics, muscle cars and high-performance new models all converge at the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals, at the Carlisle (PA) Fairgrounds, July 14-16.


> Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years.