This is something that I've always wondered about. Anyone who makes it semi-big in the classic-automotive world always seems to be a Mopar nut. Mopar stuff is cool and all but they get an awful lot of coverage and attention. I know more about 383's, 440s, 426's, Superbirds, Roadrunners, Cudas, etc than I care to simply thru osmosis.

There's not a lot of classic Oldsmobile, Buick, people on Youtube, etc. Well, no one who gets any popularity anyway. I know the later LS engines certainly get their coverage but it's not like the Mopar stuff.

Thoughts?

 

Man, its been that way as far back as I can remember. I started driving in 1973...with a '69 442 convertible (which I bought for $500). While there were a few other GM muscle cars in our H.S. parking lot, the majority by far were Chargers, 'Cudas and Road Runners that were really nice examples as most were less then 5 years old.

 

I like Mopars, they are as rare as BOP cars down here. Most car shows are packed with Chevies, Fords, and the full gamut of pickup trucks.

 

We have a large Mopar classic car culture here in the greater St. Louis, MO area. Any decent sized cruise-in or show you go to has a significant number of very nice Mopars there. I believe it's because we had 2 Mopar plants operational here from 1959 until the last one closed in 2009, 50-years. Here's a few of the major muscle cars that were produced here during that time period:

• 1964–1966 Plymouth Barracuda
• 1965–1976 Dodge Coronet/Plymouth Belvedere
• 1968–1974 Dodge Charger

 

I think one thing is that Chrysler was always the third of the big 3. GM had so many divisions and you were supposed to buy a higher car as you achieved success. Ford just had Ford for performance. While there were some Mercury performers, I think most of the FoMoCo muscle stayed under the blue oval, so all your Motorcraft guys were Ford guys, whereas the verious GM enthusiasts for muscle were primarily Chevy, then Pontiac, then us, then some Buick dudes. There were not Cadillac performance cars, I believe, back then (although there certainly have been since.)

Chrysler was, I believe, something different. All three divisions had fast stuff, and they united under the name of their parts department, of all things, which is what MOtor PARts actually is. This is decent marketing, as they're all MOPAR under the hood and they all appreciate each other's stuff. I knew three Mopar guys, thick as thieves. One drove a Chrysler, one drove a Plymouth, and the other daily drove a Dodge, and they were the best of homies as Mopar Dudes.

It would be like if we hung out with the Corvette guys, the Camaro guys, the Chevelle guys, the Grand National guys, and the GTO guys. We'd all be fans of the General.

 

I live in a GM and Chrysler town. It always been GM at the top, Mopar in the middle, and the ford guys walking. 😁

My dad worked for GM for 36 years, I’m a firm believer in not biting the hand that feeds you. It wasn’t until after I started working for Ma Mopar that I started buying Mopar stuff.

I often wonder what the parking lot was like in the mid 60s and early 70s. There are LOTS of Mopar nuts around, with some high dollar collectible cars in their garages.

The Chrysler factories have been in this town since at least WW2. The original factory started out as Haynes Auto, when Haynes went out of business Chrysler bought the building and started making cast iron transmissions. In 1956 they started building the aluminum torqueflight transmissions in the factory I currently work in, and used the old Haynes building for storage. In the early 80s a friend bought the Haynes building and started an auto salvage yard. He retired a few years ago. There is still a ton of old Chrysler stuff in that building.

Interesting history fact: there are fallout shelters and tunnels that run from the Haynes factory all over this town. I have been down in a few of the tunnels, it’s definitely NOT someplace you want to go without several flashlights!!! Needless to say, it’s very dark with lots of obstacles. For. As ok I know, maybe Jimmy Hoffa is there? It is kinda neat seeing all the fallout shelter propaganda and instructions on the wall.

 

I drove a few Mopar products back in the 70's and 80's because they were cheap around Lansing (my ex inlaws had a mix of Oldsmobiles and Mopars. I thought they were total garbage IMHO. My family drove mostly Oldsmobiles and other GM brands! Dad would kill me for not driving GM. He worked for Oldsmobile/GM 38 years. We are currently down to 4 GM vehicles 2 Chevrolets and 2 Oldsmobiles.

Pat

 

So..is this where I admit I'm a Mopar guy.. lol.

Growing up in an Olds family is what spiked my interest/influenced my decision to purchase my 442, but I definitely know way more about Mopars.

 

I am a Mopar guy as well as an Olds guy. Mopar's are a different breed of car. My 442 ragtop is a nice cruising car where my 340-4speed 1969 Dart is just all about quarter mile rapid acceleration. Mopar culture is also very open to highly modifying your car for racing. Show's such as Mopar Nationals and Holley Moparty are centered around the drag racing culture. You will always the true numbers cars that will will bring big bucks but most of us just drive our cars. just my 2 cents.

 

I love the new Challengers. Hope to own one some day. That way I can say I own GM/Pontiac/Olds, Ford and (soon ) a Mopar! Personally, I like all Muscle Cars, from AMC to Olds.

 

I was born into a GM-loving family. My mother had 8 siblings who were all GM as well.

I picked that up. But in the late 60s/early 70s, there were some killer Mopars. I loved the colors, the style, the Hemi mystique. But compared to a GM muscle car, they lacked some refinement in interior, comfort, sound isolation, ride. As Cfos0031! said, they were focused on ACCELERATION.

But I loved my 442's combination of power and comfort. And I owned GM cars for many years. Until the 1980s when GM tried everything they could to p!ss me off.

They succeeded. I vowed to never buy another GM and I stuck with it (I bought my Vista Cruiser in 1983, a few years before my ban). But I missed having a modern performance car.

When the new Challenger came out, then added a 6-speed manual and Plum Crazy paint (2010)--I jumped in.

I still have it; it's the modern 442 that the old GM would have designed.

So, I'm saying I completely understand the Mopar attraction through the years. It's not the GM vibe but it's just as much fun.

 

MOPAR;
Mostly
Old
Parts
And
Rust

 

Miscellaneous Old Parts Arranged Ridiculously

This from a guy who loves his Valiants!

 

mostly older people and red necks

 

More slang:
M-y
O-'l
P-ig
A-in't
R-running

LOL.

 

d
I wouldn't gauge the world based on number of postings on YouTube.
Just look at a bit of MoPar history. Who developed the hemisherical combustion chamber and manufactured cars using the "Hemi" head engines.
What engines were the most commonly used in Top Fuel cars in the late 1950's to well into the 1980's ? Chrysler Hemi's !
Who built the and trend setting S/S and FX drag rcacing cars in the early 1960's ? Chrysler/MoPar
Who supported drag racing and NASCAR racing ? Chrysler/MoPar.
Who some of the most desirable performance cars for average people ? . Dusters, Superbee's, R/T, etc.......to Hellcat. Chrysler/MoPar.

While I have never owned a MoPar, I respect the cold and fearsome cars that Chrysler produced. .

 

Chrysler did not invent the Hemi engine...
The hemispheric engine was invented in 1901 by Allie Ray Welch, a man from Wisconsin. He first used a two-cylinder version to power a boat, and in 1905, the Belgian carmaker Pipe used the concept for the first time in an automobile, putting a hemispheric four-cylinder engine in a vehicle.

Chrysler introduced the Hemi engine in 1951, an internal-combustion V-8 engine with 180 horsepower. The Hemi was designed to be more powerful and perform better than other engines at the time, and it quickly became popular in racing and performance cars. The Hemi engine is still used in many high-performance vehicles today, including the Dodge Challenger and Charger.

 

I went back and read my post and I could not find where I said Chrysler INVENTED the hemispherical combustion chamber. Perhaps go back and read my post a couple more times. Also note that I mentioned " and manufactured cars".
I am also aware that motorcycle manufacturers used hemispherical combustion chambers before.

 

My group of gear heads growing up was pretty diverse. When we graduated high school and we joined the work force ( although as I remember we all had jobs in high school) and had regular income we started buying our cars. I had a 57 Chevy sedan delivery (but my everyday driver was a 65 Tempest I shared with my dad) my buddy Rich a 69 Nova SS-396, my buddy Jim a 69 Chevelle, my other buddy Rich a 66 LeMans convert. My buddy Dennis a 70 Mustang Boss 302 and the lone Mopar belonged to my other buddy Rich (hard to keep up with the Riches ehh) a Plymouth Road runner I don't recall the year. Now I have to say on most days that Road Runner
was the quickest of the bunch, except for the sedan delivery but not a fair comparison because it was set up for the strip and the other guys were pretty much stock except for ornamental do-dads. I cant take credit for the sedan delivery speed as I bought it that way!! guys father forced the sale because he got tired of baling the kid out of speeding tickets and jail !! it was street legal. Of course we had our Chevy vs Ford vs Mopar disputes but we were one happy group of gear heads. Ahh the good old days !!!! I have a confession though, If I were not driving my Olds My dream would be a 1967 Buick GS the styling of that car sets me a tingle !!!!

 

I bought a 6 month old Chsllenger last November for my wife. I have wanted one since they first came out years ago. We have finally reached the point in our lives where a 2 door car is somewhat practical again.

 

Ralph,
You are correct. Sorry for the confusion.

 

My first car was a '60 Valiant, slant 6 with a left-hand push-button auto trans. Traded it for my second car, a '71 Duster. Slant 6 with a 3-on-the-tree.

 

Dodge had the greatest car advertisement in history. Thanks to Hollywood, and the legendary stunt driver Bill Hickman.

Bullitt 1968. Regarded as containing the greatest car chase in history to this day. For those that have never seen it, its 10 minutes of pure intensity and exhilaration.




And Hollywood has never let go of the 68-70 Chargers impact. It's been featured in major motion pictures for every decade since the 1960s.

1970s, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, Cannonball.
1980s, Christine.
1990s, Blade
2000s, The Fast and Furious, Blade 2, Blade Trinity, Death Proof.
2010s, Drive Angry, Furious 7.
2020s, Fast X

It doesn't hurt that the second generation Charger looks both menacing and beautiful at the same time.

 

Guys I get it, Mopars are awesome too. Don't get me wrong, I think they're awesome too. It's just that it seems like if you're a true gear head with a Youtube channel or a TV show......you're a Mopar guy. I can't think of any Youtube personality or TV personality who isn't a diehard Mopar fanboy. At least that's what these media sources would have me believe.