Yeah, I know. You’re already up in arms. Well, even as I typed the title of this month’s editorial, I too felt a slight churning in my stomach. Personally, it’s been a tough decision to write this subject, as I’ve been one of the loudest opponents to the idea of a four-door “muscle car” – I use the quotation marks intentionally – but given that the performance-bred sedan is quickly becoming one of the most widely sold cars today, it’s worth exploring.

First of all, I’m going to need break down what it is to be a “muscle car.” Originally, the term “muscle car” was coined to describe the mid-‘60s trend of intermediate-sized cars optioned with performance parts normally not available for such cars, most notably the GTO option for the ’64 Pontiac Le Mans.

It's got a stout 440 big block, a fiberglass hood and decklid, and a cool Hurst Dual-Gate shifter, yet for some reason purists refuse to allow the 300H into the "muscle car" group. Image: Car Domain

As smaller pony cars started receiving powertrains equal to their larger siblings, the “muscle” label bled over into the pony car group, all the while, the largest vehicles like 455-powered Bonnevilles and Delta 88s, 427 and 454-equipped Impalas and Hurst-modified 300H Chryslers remained uninvited to the “cool group.”

Although entry-level Malibus could be optioned upwards into a 396 Super Sport, such trim was never available on its four-door or wagon configurations. The same went for the Dodge Super Bee (which started life as a plain Jane Coronet), the Cobra Jet Torinos, and GTOs. If you wanted a four-door with a stout big block, you were going to need to go to the full-sized chassis offering.

By the end of the 1980s though, even those mid-sized vehicles were all but gone. Ford’s Thunderbird and Chevrolet’s Monte Carlo were all that remained of the two-door sedan. Four-door performance packages popped up every now and again, like Ford’s SHO offering for the FWD Taurus, but didn’t really impress until Chevrolet’s LT-1 civilian police cruiser, the ’95 Impala SS arrived.

Arriving during the middle of what could be rightfully considered a “muscle drought,” the Impala SS is justifiably accredited with being the first modern four-door muscle car. This, in turn, altered the traditional definition, now referring to any and all cars that exhibited any degree of “muscle” or outright performance from the factory.

Thankfully, blown Cobra Mustangs, and LS-powered Super Sport Camaros and WS6 Trans Ams prevailed, preserving the muscle heritage…but the boon was short-lived.

GM abruptly terminated its two of its longest running vehicles. The aforementioned Monte Carlos went FWD as did the Impalas. GM was out of the muscle car business.

Ford went the other direction, taking a page from Chevy’s book, and offered the Mercury Marauder. The Marauder didn’t set the world on fire, but the Mustang-powered full-sized sedan did remind people of the mid-90s Impala, and that wasn’t a bad thing.

Then suddenly, Dodge was back in the game.

Remember the "That thing got a HEMI?" guys? Yeah, one of the few times Dodge wholly embraced its middle America "good ol' boy" appeal.

Resurrecting its infamous “HEMI” name for a new two-valve pushrod aluminum-headed 5.7L and borrowing then-parent company Daimler’s E-Class chassis, Chrysler offered a trio of RWD tire-smokers, the 300C, Magnum R/T and the 11th-hour christened Dodge Charger R/T.

The Charger – more than most – received the strictest criticism from all lovers of muscle cars. In the same way Mustang lovers rallied behind keeping the venerable pony car rear-wheel-drive in 1990 (at one time, Ford had the ‘Stang destined to become the “Probe.” That’s a story for another day), so too did vintage Mopar lovers protest the Charger name being stapled to a passionless shoebox.

In fact, it’s likely that the public outcry against most modern muscle – particularly in the case of its proclivity of four-door offerings – is stirred due to this one single vehicle. The ’06 Charger improved bit by bit over the years, culminating with the 425-horsepower SRT8, but failed to wholly apologize for its initial impact.

What could be rightfully noted as Pontiac's hurrah could be the four-door G8 GXP muscle sedan. LS-powered and available with a Tremec 6-speed manual, it was as much as a performer as the 400ci GTO "Judges" from 1969. Yeah, I said it. Image: Road & Track

Sure, Pontiac’s borrowed Holden Commodore, the G8 GXP did the job better than the SRT8, particularly as its LS-plant matched the 6.1L HEMI’s output and could be ordered with a manual gearbox, but the G8 didn’t claim to be a new-and-improved version of a classic (as the GTO did).

Yet, this did little to quell the sour taste in people’s mouths. Years of dull gray plastic interiors, uninspired styling, and thousands of limp V6 units parading around as rental cars, taxi cabs, and police cars left too deep of an impact with lovers of the iconic Dodge vehicle.

The nose is still obtrusive, but from the A-pillar back, the new '11 Charger features the iconic "double diamond" shoulder lines and complex curves of the legendary second generation namesake. I'd even dare to say many would forgive the presence of two extra doors if Dodge could get the nose to look a little more retro.

That is why I think the new ’11 Charger R/T is so important to this discussion, as it has so much damage to repair. Having never driven one before, and therefore unequipped to make a true opinion on the new car, I finally knuckled down and test drove a 370hp R/T a couple Saturdays ago.

While the silver-hued ’11 R/T I drove was uncommonly bland for such a fetching new look (seriously Dodge, what happened to your color selection? No Toxic Orange, Green With Envy or B5 Blue? And an extra $600 for red? What the hell is that?), it successfully erased the previous five years of prior mistakes.

Today’s muscle cars wear yesterday’s pony car titles. We live in a day where supercharged Mustangs are capable of 200-plus-mph and 650 horsepower; where Camaros come with all-aluminum plants and carbon fiber body panels; where 470-horsepower naturally-aspirated HEMI Challengers get nearly 25 miles per gallon on pump gas.

Yet, there are no more intermediates. There are no Chevelles, Road Runners, GTOs, GTXs, Cyclones, or GSXs. Sadly, there aren’t any for a good reason. The demand for an intermediate muscle car is non-existent. Yes, there’s vocal interest, but there aren’t the sales to back up the claim. The four-door performance sedan or dare I say “modern muscle sedan” has sold, and quite well.

Sure, we'd love to see a 6-speed manual option - even if just for the SRT8 and specific R/T trim levels - but the future of modern muscle having one's cake and eating it too. We highly doubt any of the Big Three will ever offer a cloth seat, frills-free all-out performer. Why? People stopped buying those cars a quarter century ago.

We want our classic muscle cars back, not as they were, but in spirit. We want modern cars that look and feel like how we misremember them; a truly difficult task to undertake. I personally feel that no other car has done this better than the current 5.0L Mustang. Both the Camaro and Challenger are good efforts, but pale in comparison to Ford’s execution of the modern pony car.

I believe Dodge’s new Charger R/T is walking a fine line of giving us old school muscle lovers the performance and power we truly want from these classic titles, all the while adhering to larger marketing trends, because after all, they’re in the business of selling as many cars as they humanly can. So it might not be bold, pioneering stuff, but it is providing us with a popular, high performance machine for around $30,000, about the same as a Mustang. And that’s not too shabby.

Light ’em up,
Kevin