Photos from the Cohort by Hyperpack.
My wife is a fan of dance music, particularly any made between the late ’60s and the ’70s. Be it funk, disco, or salsa she’s always ready for a good time on the dance floor. It isn’t rare for me to find her playing some disco-era Earth Wind and Fire or Chic while working or cooking. Her love for that music period is genuine and heartfelt.
This of course leads to car-oriented-me to ponder useless car-oriented matters, such as: What car would I’ve driven to take my wife to a late ’70s Chic concert? In other words, what would have been an ideal Disco-car? And while a Monte Carlo usually pops into my head as the obvious answer, I think that today’s ’75 Dodge Charger find could work just as well.
Technically speaking, this Charger’s corporate sibling — the Chrysler Cordoba– would be a more appropriate ride. After all, I can do a Ricardo Montalban impersonation pretty well (that Latin accent…) But ultimately, a Charger of this era would be just as good for the purpose. If in good condition, of course.
The reinvention of the Charger as a full PLC has been a matter of discussion ever since the event, but in the long run, the nameplate turned out to be rather malleable. This Charger is usually not the one that pops first into my head when the nameplate is mentioned, but is not nearly as forgotten to me as the ’82-’87 one.
Still, adapt or die. That’s as true for artists as for cars. And the Charger went through some dramatic changes to make it into the ’70s. Not unlike the original Bee Gees, which went from being a pop-soft-rock 1960s outfit to a 1970s disco powerhouse in order to survive; and thrive. You may question the Charger’s transformations –or enjoy them– but it was that, or no Charger at all.
But let’s leave the Bee Gees aside, about whom my wife cares little. Too John Travolta perhaps? I honestly have no idea. What I do know is that she was rather mesmerized when I recently played her Donna Summer’s early Disco hit “Love To Love You Baby.” Not the single, but the LP’s 16 min. piece. An expensive-sounding bit of danceable music with Euro flavor, lush-sounding violins, and a very ’70s rhythm section. And well, a good deal of ‘musical’ moaning. Donna’s piece was followed by some Barry White and Earth Wind and Fire’s “September”. All this while driving on my ’96 VW Golf on our way to the beach.
Yes, it was Boogie Time inside my Golf. All fun alright, but still… it was the wrong car. And thinking some more about it, what I needed was a mid-70s Cordoba Charger.
Donna’s “Love To Love You Baby” came out in ’75, heralding the arrival of the Disco era. The same year the Cordoba-based Charger came out to the market. Depending on your preferences, the confluence of the two being the peak of Western Civilization or the beginning of a long and steady decline.
And no wonder that early Disco sounded so sexy; those 1970s car interiors certainly looked lust-inducing.
But yes, the ’75-’78 Charger was a perfectly full-on Brougham PLC. A change that had been clearly coming, with the ’73-’74 Chargers already available in very Brougham form if so desired.
Base engines for the ’75 Charger were the 360 cid V8, with the 318 cid and 400 cid V8s available as well. And style-wise, the model wearing the trims and fittings for the era. From the “distinctive European road-style parking lights” to louvered opera windows.
Now, when it came to numbers, either the public didn’t fall completely for the Brougham Charger, or were more smitten with the Cordoba’s exotic-sounding Corinthian hides. In ’74, the Charger had moved 74K units in three trim levels, while only 30K units sold for ’75 altogether. Meanwhile, the Chrysler Cordoba moved 150K units.
But can you blame buyers? Chrysler as a brand had more cachet. And well, Montalban’s voice and presence were mighty charismatic, plus the guy could dance too. In case you didn’t know.
I honestly prefer Disco music over the Brougham cars of the ’70s, but that doesn’t take away that these cars speak to some of you out there. And I know that as worn as this Charger is, somewhere out there, someone would Love To Love This Baby.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1976 Chrysler Cordoba – Fine Corinthian Brougham
Curbside Classic: 1978 Chrysler Cordoba – The Fine Little Chrysler
I was in my single digits in the 70s (born in 70), and I remember these colonnade cars fondly. My parents had a 74 Ford LTD Brougham that felt like a cruise liner to me. I distinctly remember using the rear window deck and back seat as my private stern cabin. My mom would routinely be blasting some disco classic back there. It was better digs than some Carnival cruises I’ve been on.
My favorites though are the GM alternatives. Give me a nice 77 Grand Prix SJ or Cutlass Supreme and a KC and the Sunshine Band 8 track.
Another one of the Stranded Rusty MoPars from West Mifflin..
As you can see, the last time this car was likely in operable condition was 1991-92
This Charger was located “behind the fence” on the back of the car lot for many years mostly in this same spot many of those years.
I remember when I was 10 or 11 years old, (early on in the car lot days) we took it on a family vacation to Conneaut Lake Park, PA. For some reason Dad parked the 360 Ci 2bbl equipped charger to languish for the next 30 years in this spot, to be hit by other customer cars, tow trucks etc. It is slowly returning to the elements in it’s elegantly rusting state.
I wasn’t much of a disco fan but only one car represents that era for me – a Cutlass Supreme. Late Colonnade or early downsized A/G, 2 doors, vinyl top, whitewalls. Our neighbor had a Cordoba very similar to this Charger. They were definitely not the disco generation … more big band or jazz era.
Classic Disco is on heavy rotation in my world, I still like most of it. Of course I was 8 years old in 1975, but our family ride was a ’75 Cordoba, white with the interior in the attached pic, so it was pretty “Classic Disco” itself. It was followed by a ’77 Monte Carlo, so I guess we were right on trend, vehicularly speaking.
I’ll try that again
That interior looks like it could win an ugly Christmas sweater contest
I remember going to the Auto Show in Seattle in the fall of 1974 with a buddy. The two of us would go hit the discos on the weekends, so we were into that scene. At the auto show a sexy female model in a tight dress was cooing a song to introduce the NEW Charger… the tag line was “There’s been some changes made!” I recall my friend Steve turned to me and said “No kidding!” We we both appalled, since we both loved the 65-66 and 68-70 Chargers. This was a cheap knock-off of the Chrysler Cordoba, and an insult to the tradition of muscle-car Chargers.
I would have been in middle school when this car came out, and my friends and I perfected Ricardo Montalban’s suave line about “soft Corinthian leather.” I was (not) surprised to see that this topic has already been addressed in CC (e.g. fine/rich/soft)
Regarding Disco, I was already a big fan of pop soul and R&B, but not so much the Bee-Gees. Recently I watched the 2020 documentary “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” and have gained a newfound respect for them.
All time fave disco pick: “Got to Give it Up” by Marvin Gaye (1977).
While a strong case can be made for certain PLCs as the main disco-era cars, I would have chosen the low-performance Corvette or, better still, the Datsun ZX, especially the 2+2 version.
But for the brougham-tastic, seventies PLCs, though, I can see the Cordoba-based Charger being a leading contender, primarily because, unlike the Cordoba, which was squarely aimed at PLC buyers, the Charger tried to have some sort of performance connection with the past musclecar versions. The 1975 Charger was neither fish nor foul and an obvious sham that few bought, and sales reflected it.
The absolute worst version was the 1975-77 Charger Daytona with it’s two-tone, stripe-and-decal package, with the worst coming in 1977 with big, billboard-style side tape stripes that harkened back to those of the 1971 ‘Cuda.
To this day, it was the ultimate debasement of the 1969 NASCAR special.
This one may be off script but I feel it a worthy contender having started life as an Eldo. A “tip of the hat” to CC’s Nov 19, 2020 spotlight for the photo!
Now, ‘that’s’ a pimpmobile! Something Leroy Brown would drive.
I’ve shared my guilty pleasure attraction to these Chargers, Cordobas don’t do much for me because I’m not what I consider myself to be a fancy person and there’s a little too much tinsel and pomposity to a car called Cordoba, where Chargers have a little bit more of an everyman vibe more like a Cutlass Supreme. With some of the golden era accessories like rallye wheels and lettered tires(which were actually factory available in 77-78) and a fantasy 440 powerplant it’s an interesting what-if car had the muscle car continued in specification but fashions still proceeded towards brougham neoclassicism.
Having said that this car represents the real reason (not the prevailing racism/homophobia take) why disco died and rock fans chanted disco sucks. It was a pervasive fad that just like brougham trimmings seeped into other genres of music in the cynical quest by the artists to cash in on the almighty dollar. Established Rock bands would sneak in Disco beats into their albums even from the likes of Kiss and rock radio stations changed format to Disco(which is why Disco Demolition started).
It’s not to say Disco was bad music, I’m a through and through rock/metalhead but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a good classic disco tune as I often do. Likewise there are some fantastic brougham PLCs; the Grand Prix, Monte Carlo and yes even this Charger’s more true to itself Cordoba, but start turning established cars like the Cougar and Charger into them expect a backlash. Remember, the Charger, like Disco, died after this generation. The more distinct and sporty(relatively) styled Magnum effectively replaced it and the name was gone from Chrysler until it was revived a few years later on the car formerly known as the Omni O24, the polar opposite of this 1975
To be fair, Chrysler was still very much in their copying GM products phase in the seventies. The Cordoba surely began development around 1973 and was pure PLC in the mold of the new Monte Carlo of that year.
But the Charger seems closer to the first generation, 1970-72 Monte Carlo which could be optioned up much closer to a musclecar. It should be remembered that the 1973-74 Charger could, conversely, be made up in Charger SE guise with its model-specific quarter window treatment. I don’t have the stats but I’d be willing to bet that the Charger SE sold well enough that Chrysler product planners felt that an even more PLC-type Charger would sell well.
The problem with the Cordoba-Charger was simply that it looked way too formal for any sporting pretensions. Maybe if it had had the Magnum front end from the get-go, things might have turned out differently.
Or even if the 1975 Charger had, instead, been christened a Mirada before the 1980 car.
The first gen Monte Carlo resemblance is why I do harbor a soft spot for it in the end, like I said I wonder how these would have been regarded had there still been a 440 rallye option. As much as the shape is formal compared to its slick prior bodies, formal and performance aren’t mutually exclusive, most mid 60s Muscle cars had a much more formal and dare I say elegant look compared to the hippy coke bottled shapes of 1970. Fashions change, a few years earlier performance oriented cars were huge and had tail fins.
The problem was in spite of the third gen SEs formal aspects it still looked like a Charger, and though there were ups and downs in styling between 66 and 74 the basic profile of fastback/wide rectangular grille look was always there and imprinted itself in buyers minds what a Charger basically looks like, and the formal roof and classical front end threw the baby out with the bath water. Worse yet it’s not as if people didn’t notice it was basically identical to the Cordoba, no previous gen Charger resembled any cousin B body that closely, there was always a substantial portion of distinguishing steel separating them.
Chrysler had a distinct car in the Charger, in many ways it was the first specialty intermediate PLC ironically, it was a rare break where they weren’t copying GM or Ford as it was essentially Dodges answer to the Mustang without being in the class of the Mustang(so as to not eat into Barracuda’s meager sales), and it was a success up to 1974. I can understand the twisted rationale of badging the Cordoba as a Charger SE for continuity with the previous SE submodel, but the mystery then comes in why did Plymouth/Dodge bother with the new 75 Coronet/Fury coupe bodies? I don’t have the sales numbers but I’d wager neither of those two either sold as well as the 74 Charger and Satellite.
Yeah, simply giving the 1975 Charger some sort of hidden headlight front end might have done wonders for sales. OTOH, the quasi-hidden headlight of the 1978 Magnum didn’t seem to set the sales charts on fire, either.
The 1975 Fury coupe seems like a concession to Plymouth for not getting the Cordoba. In hindsight, it looks like branding the Cordoba as a Chrysler was a shrewd marketing move as it definitely gave it a more upscale appeal (and price/profit margin) which almost certainly helped the car’s success.
So, Plymouth got a Fury version off the same platform (along with the Coronet coupe). Unlike the Cordoba (and even Charger), the 1975 Fury and Coronet coupes are really forgotten.
A shame, really, because if someone wanted the same Mopar accoutremants and basic style as the Cordoba, they could be had in a much less expensive package. Unfortunately, there wouldn’t have been anywhere near the same presence.
I was 23 when these hit the market. Had my then year old Audi Fox. Not interested in anything Disco. It was obvious this was a badge job off off the Cordoba. Dodge was left wanting when Chrysler took the Plymouth Premeiere and nade it the Cordoba. the Charger was to be the upscale version. and got left having to deal with odd styling elements like the badly shaped taillight bezels to work with the unchanged Cordoba rear bumper, not corrected until 77. Dodge should have introduced the cross hair grille or simple thin vertical bars with this Charger instead of the cheap looking “Florida rear window sun screen” grille it came with. I agree that the Daytona version of this was an embarassment.
The problem with using the crosshair grille on the Charger was, back then, it was still a signature design element of most of the Chrysler 300 series.
In fact, it ‘did’ reappear on the 1979 Cordoba 300, then again on the faux-300 1980 Cordoba LS.
Chrysler was big on hiring entertainers such as Ricardo Montalban for their advertising campaigns back in the 70’s. Lou Rawls got the job for the Charger. Very fitting considering the times:
I always felt sorry for this gen Charger…such a glorious name pasted on a carbon copy of the Cordoba. Was the price difference that great between the two that you couldn’t step up to the Chrysler?
These came out just as I headed to college in a small blue-collar city; Monte Carlos, Olds Cutlasses and Mercury Cougars were the go-to nightclub cruisers. Disco and rock were huge. As much fun as it became to goof on the Bee Gees, in retrospect their catalog is wide, deep and tremendously creative. I’m pretty certain it won’t avail itself, but seeing Barry Gibb in concert is on my bucket list.
Someone showed some love for this gen Charger by swapping the Torqueflite with a Tremec transmission on that article from Hemmings blog.
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/swapping-a-tremec-tkx-into-a-76-dodge-charger/
It was on a ’76 Charger but that might work for a ’75, ’77 and ’78 as well as the 1978-79 Magnum.
Oh and my current Bee Gees fave: “Nobody’s Someone” –
As for the Disco Charger, it was a hard sell when the Chrysler Cordoba was just a few dollars more and more prestigious. (For me, disco and PLCs are inextricably linked – with only ’70s-style customized vans exceeding PLCs for disco-ness).
Yep, that would be me and my car. Any 1975-79 B-body (incl. 1975 Road Runner, Fury/Monaco, Charger/Magnum, and cop cars) are easy…the black metal is 1971 B-body, and there’s quite a bit shared with the E-body.
> As much fun as it became to goof on the Bee Gees, in retrospect their catalog is wide, deep and tremendously creative
You ain’t kidding! The album cover title shown, Bee Gees 1st is misleading – it’s actually their 3rd album. This is their first hit song (Australia only) from 1963. Listen to it and remind yourself these are the same three people who sang “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”, much less “Stayin’ Alive”! Luv the Bee Gees, glad I got to see them live in 1979, only the second concert I ever saw.
Always was/ am a “Bee Gees fan”.
This is a Walmart Cordoba. Not for me.
Disco overstayed its welcome by 1975, and by 1976 I was a Sex Pistols, X, Ramones and Clash fan. So, the car I associate with disco music is a full size two door Mercury Marquis, or Cougar. “Love to Love You” was amazing with is Moroder beats, very Kraftwerk, but disco is boring, in my opinion. By the time the Disco Demolation happened in Comiskey Park, I had pretty much forgotten about that stuff. (When geezers show up singing your music – it’s a sure sign that your music if for geezers.)
Detuned, emasculated horsepower cars, Watergate, Jerry Ford, inflation,Jimmy Carter, the Iran hostage crisis, gas crisis (1 and 2 ), bad TV, bad fashions, polyester, and disco all defined the early years of the Great Malaise. For me the 70s was the decade that never was.
All true.
But, as unbelievable as it might seem, the ‘Me Decade’ were way better than the world today.
Given how well executed the Cordoba was in styling, marketing, and packaging, for the PLC market, any badge engineered Dodge would come off as a cheap imitation.
Canada’s disco queen answer to Donna Summer, was Patsy Gallant.
‘Good Times’ by Chic, probably tops my list of best Disco songs.
On my list too as well as this one-hit wonder “Born to be alive” by Patrick Hernandez.
I once read somewhere that Born to be Alive is considered the first disco song.
Born to be Alive came out in 1979, about four to five years into the disco era.
I recall years ago, Rolling Stone magazine crediting Rock the Boat by The Hues Corporation from 1974, as the first disco song.
A case could be made for the Love I Lost by Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes, from 1973.
Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes:
Others said “Do the Hustle” by Van McCoy or Carl Douglas’ “Kung-Fu Fighting” are the first disco songs or the first seeds of disco was from “The love I lost” by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.
By 1981, Kool & the Gang’s Celebration and Gino Soccio’s “Try it out” still have some disco vibes.
Stéphane, you would recall ‘Wow’ by André Gagnon being one of the biggest early Canadian Disco hits.
Daniel M.
I remember André Gagnon’s “Wow” althought it was much more later then I found who did it. Some radio stations in my neck of woods played it very often until the mid-1980s.
And speaking of the 1980s, here an other hit titled “Babe we’re gonna love tonight” by Lime.
You are correct. The dance/disco station(s) in Gatineau/Hull, played ‘Wow’ for years after it first hit.
Many outstanding European disco-inspired acts, like Lime.
That one tops my “worst” list.
“CC” keeps rolling this eve. This ‘worst” reply is supposed to be for the “Good Times” (by “Chic”) , alluded to above.
((I’m wearing my glasses now))
Sister/brother in law got one of these in “1977”. Silver out , cranberry in, cranberry pinstripes too. No vinyl top.
Mileage wasn’t bad for a “two year old ride”.
They were able to garage it; stayed pretty nice.
Forget what size “V8″ was up front.
I drove it a time or two. Ran so, so smooth. Bucket seats were a touch ‘low”.
Made seeing over the “miles long hood” a bit tough some times.
Good stereo!
I’m enjoying listening to the disco links, I hated disco then, now not so much .
-Nate
I turned 20 years old in the fall of 1978. At the time, I hated disco. I am still not a fan, but in retrospect it is not quite as bad as I thought at the time, at least in comparison to some new music.
My pick for a disco-era car would be a ’73-’77 Grand Prix SJ. Pretty decent car in its own right, and could pull off disco duty if needed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LvTpjK-MEY
I turned 21 in 1975. I started going to clubs and discos. I even took some dance classes to learn the basics. You had to look a little like you knew what you were doing on the dance floor! I got to talking to one of my female co workers, we reminisced about the disco period. She had a Trans Am, they were really popular at this time. Oh, I drove my Coupe de Villes.
Disco is the soundtrack of my young adulthood, hearing it takes me back to those good old days. I met my Wife at a disco and forty years later we’re still together.