Charging back to the future in a Dodge

It was more than two decades ago that I fell in love with the 1969 Dodge Charger. Born around the same time as me, this car had more muscle than Popeye.

Even before The Dukes of Hazzard made the car famous on television, the Charger was well-known as being big brother to the Dodge Challenger, and in the shadow of the Plymouth Barracuda.

But in my eyes, the car was beautiful on its own. Unlike the 1968 model with the round tail lights, or the 1970 with the different front, the 1969 just seemed to get it all right.

I thought of the car recently when I found my old MOPAR car club jacket, my first such jacket and now yellow with age. I last wore it when I was going with a boyfriend in the early ’80s who adored the Charger as much as I did, and who loved to show his car off to me.

Without a parent to monitor its speed or to quash eating ice cream for dinner, he and I drove all over town and out into the countryside. We were young but it was all quite innocent — I remember most the faint odour of fuel mixed with the smell of hot leather seats on a sunny day.

I can’t recall any conversation between us because it was impossible to hear each other over the roaring engine and the whorl of the wind through the open windows. It was a time without worry or stress.

Now, though, there are some lines appearing on my face and a sense of practicality, of responsibility, is creeping into my life. I took the jacket off its hook and tried it on. A little smaller than I remember, but it’ll do. I need something to wear in the new Charger.

I’m headed out for a drive in the 2006 Dodge Charger, all-new this summer and built in Brampton to complement the successful 300 and Magnum.

The tester car is the SXT model with a standard 3.5-litre V-6, giving 250 horsepower and 250 lbs.-ft. of torque. This is ample power for worry-free driving, although it can’t boast the bragging rights of the more powerful Charger RT with its 5.7 L Hemi V8.

It doesn’t lurch like the old MOPAR car, but has a smooth-shifting Autostick for its five-speed automatic transmission. What would that long-ago boyfriend think of such a thing?

And what would he say about the lack of body roll in the corners, and the brakes that don’t lock up? The all-speed traction control would make him a better driver — whatever would he think of that?

There’s no smell of fuel in this car, and the scent of the fresh new leather is held in by the sealed windows, closed to contain the air-conditioning. Storage nooks are ideal for cell phones and pagers. It’s much quieter than before, with just a faint sound from the engine to remind that this is intended as a sporty car.

Conversations are still a challenge, though, as the stereo system with its six Boston Acoustics speakers and 276-watt amplifier has plenty of energy to play my old tunes stored on the MP3.

Really, despite its 17-inch aluminum wheels, this Charger has little resemblance to that MOPAR muscle of the ’60s. Its four doors make it a family sedan, not a sports car.

But that’s okay. We all move on, and the new 2006 Charger SXT can stand on its own merits. It doesn’t need a famous badge to garner it praise.

I can think back now at that ’69 Charger I once adored, a reminder of my adventurous youth. Back then, most thought of it as just an affordable sports car but now it’s become a valuable classic.

Returning from my drive, I put the jacket back on the hook, still smelling faintly of fuel and grease. It was good to wear it but I was pleased for the comfort, not the speed, of the new car. It didn’t disappoint or challenge my more mature needs.

So everything old is new again. There is hope, after all.