Chris Muller posted a shot at the Cohort that represents the polar opposites of the spectrum of cars in 1973.
I cropped his shot, so that the Dodge Charger and Jeep Commando, shot in Richmond, VA., would be more visible; hopefully he won’t mind. Interesting tidbit: the Commando’s optional automatic behind either the AMC six or V8 was the GM THM400.
I never cared for the “Canopy” vinyl top on this car. My preference was either slick or the SE version. Aside from the fact that the Charger has gained bulk, compared to it, the Commando looks like a throwback to the early sixities… “Longer, lower, wider vs. tall, skinny, short! 🙂
Wasn’t the Commando introduced as the “Jeepster” in the mid 60s ?
A few years off from my Dad’s first car. His Charger was a 71, but same color scheme, probably the same options as well
And to think that fifteen years later Jeep would become sisters with Dodge in the Chrysler Corporation.
Kind of funny how Jeep’s got the THM400, while AMC cars got the Torqueflite trans. The 400 must have been easier to adapt to a transfer case.
AMC and Jeep used a huge variety of engine/transmission/axle combos over the years, which can make it pretty challenging and expensive to own one.
that my polar opposite vehicles, ’76 coupe Deville and ’66 wagoner both have the same transmission has made me chuckle more than once.
Cool shot! I both vehicles, but I think I’ve finally figured out what looks slightly “off” about this generation of Charger. The slope of the hood appears to actually decrease moving forward from the cowl, giving it an almost convex appearance toward the front, from some angles.
I’ll take the Jeep Commando any day.
The Dodge? Other than it being a pillarless hardtop, I’d probably pass on it, but I’d have to think very hard about it. The styling was ungainly, and for such a small interior, the outside is humongous! That being said, lots of cars at the time we very large outside, but inside room was wanting.
You can have it! I spent a lot of time in both of these things, and the Charger was fine, but the Jeep was just garbage. A friend’s uncle owned a local Jeep dealer back then and he had a new one in ’73, his senior year in HS. It broke down a lot, and was soon replaced with a Gremlin, which was a rock solid car. He had the Gremlin for over a decade, replaced by a ’69 Corvette.
I think a gearhead of some manner lives here–I’ve seen other interesting vehicles in front of this house at various times. The Charger I think belongs to the owner; it’s not often street parked but many of these houses have garages or driveways on the alley in back. The Commando appeared to be a temporary visitor.
CC effect is still in force, as one of these Chargers pulled in behind me in traffic a week ago.
Looking at this one makes my arms hurt – the only one of these I ever drove had manual steering that was apparently designed as an upper body workout.
That to me was the ultimate in cheapskate moves, not getting PS. I drove a ’68 Satellite once that belonged to a neighbor, who asked me to try to diagnose a miss. It was just plug wires. I test drove it and was shocked when I realized it didn’t have PS. I wondered why it had that huge steering wheel..
The stupid Charger was the ultimate strippo – zero options. Rubber floors, 3 on the tree and no radio. And being a 74, it had that new small steering wheel with the huge thick 3 spoke hub that made a nasty manual steering even worse. I remember more than once trying to do a hand over hand parking maneuver when one hand would be blocked from the rim by that stupid fat trim piece.
My friend’s dad actually went to a junkyard and bought an older 3 spoke wheel from a low-trim 69-70 Mopar B body. It was a big improvement in being able to muscle that thing in and out of tight parking places.
Let’s keep in mind that “King” Richard Petty won a lot of races in this body style Charger, having previously switched from Plymouth to Dodge. I’ll also suggest that if the Charger had mag wheels or any of the factory mag-style wheels that it would look better.
What city/town is that? Philadelphia or Baltimore?
Richmond, Virginia. Specifically the Fan District, west of downtown and near Virginia Commonwealth University. Most of the homes are town houses like these (essentially detached row houses) and date from about 1900 to the mid 20’s.