Seeing how the market reacted to the Chevrolet Camaro and the Ford Mustang in the 1960s, Dodge went to work at developing a rival. In late 1969, the Dodge Challenger and its twin, the Plymouth Barracuda were introduced. Their advantage over the aforementioned Camaro and Mustang was that they both could be ordered in numerous trims and options with any engine from Chrysler’s lineup (Dodge and Plymouth are owned by Chrysler). Plymouth positioned the Barracuda against the Camaro and the Mustang while the Challenger rivaled luxury muscle cars such as the Mercury Cougar and Pontiac Firebird. It sold well but there was one caveat: timing. These two muscle cars rose to prominence as the muscle car segment declined, not to mention there was the oil crisis shortly after. Discontinued in 1974, the Challenger was revived not as a muscle car, but as a rebadged Mitsubishi Galant Lambda. Unsurprisingly, this Challenger was discontinued in 1983. As the 2004 Ford Mustang restarted the pony war, Dodge revived the Challenger. This time, it would stay true to the 1970s Challengers and Barracudas.
RNR Automotive Blog 