Guess the year, make and model!

Guessing a classic Dodge Charger’s exact year isn’t as easy as it looks, the nameplate has gone through eight distinct generations since 1966, some barely three years apart. Hidden headlights, split grilles, and that famous ‘Coke-bottle’ body line each belong to a different era of the car’s identity. The second generation alone became a pop culture icon thanks to The Dukes of Hazzard. See how many of the details in this photo you can place.

Classic black muscle car driving on a suburban street.

Take a guess before you read any further: what year, make, and model is sitting in that photo? The Dodge Charger nameplate has worn eight distinct generations since 1966, and the changes between some of them are dramatic enough to fool even serious muscle car people at a glance. Hidden headlights, a Coke-bottle body line, or a split grille can each point to a completely different decade, and Dodge wasn’t shy about reinventing the car’s whole personality every few years. Ready to see how close you got?

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Eight Generations, One Name

The first-generation Charger arrived in 1966 as one of the first cars purpose-built for the muscle car era, offered exclusively with V8 power ranging from a 318 up to the 425-horsepower 426 Hemi. Dodge reinvented the car again for 1968 with the swoopy Coke-bottle styling and hidden headlights that most people picture when they hear the name Charger, a design so popular that Dodge sold nearly three times its projected first-year volume. A third redesign followed in 1971 with a heavier, more aggressive look, before the Charger drifted away from muscle car duty entirely later in the decade.

The Details That Give a Charger’s Age Away

Spotting the generation in a photo usually comes down to a handful of details: hidden headlights and a full-width taillight panel point to the late 1960s cars that later became famous on The Dukes of Hazzard, a split waterfall grille suggests the early 1970s redesign, and squared-off, formal styling signals the Charger’s brief run as a personal luxury coupe later in the decade.

The car in this photo carries the classic mid-generation look that most people associate with the name, but the exact model year takes a closer look at those specific cues to pin down.

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