Retro ad shows how the front-drive Dodge Charger was quicker to 50 mph than Pontiac, Ford and Porsche’s offerings back in 1982.
When you think about the top performance cars from the early 1980s, names like the Ford Mustang Cobra, the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, the Porsche 924 and the Datsun 280Zx might come to mind, but the front-drive Dodge Charger 2.2 probably does not. Based on this classic commercial for the tiniest Charger from the robatsea2009 YouTube channel, it should be included in that list, offering better low-end acceleration than all of those well-known performance cars.
1982 Charger 2.2
In case you cant tell from the video above, the 1982 Dodge Charger 2.2 was marketed as a performance model. With a 2.2-liter 4-cylinder engine that delivered a whopping 84 horsepower and 111 lb-ft of torque, the front-wheel-drive fastback could dash from a stop to 50 miles per hour (that is 50, not 60) in 6.6 seconds.
Considering that many performance cars get to 60 (not 50) in four seconds or less, a time of 6.6 seconds seems slow, but we have to look at the competition from that era. Fortunately, this commercial does just that.
The Competition
Back in 1982, Dodge listed the key competitors for the front-wheel-drive, four-cylinder-powered Charger2.2 as the Ford Mustang Cobra, the Datsun 280ZX, the Porsche 924 and the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. You might think that some or all of those cars should be quicker than an 84-horsepower ’82 Charger, but you would be wrong.
According to this classic commercial, the Charger charges from a stop to 50 more quickly than all of those cars and in the video, the fastback, front-drive Dodge beats those other performance cars by a significant margin. As you can see in the still above, the 2.2 destroys the Mustang, Porsche and Datsun while the Trans Am put up the toughest fight.
While the front-wheel-drive Chargers don’t get anywhere near the respect that the cars with the same name from the 1960s and 1970s, this video shows that the least-powerful cars to wear the badge still offered comparable performance to the leaders of its era.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
