Yeah, I know. They're big, heavy Yank Tanks. I guess that's the reason I like them - they're the US equivalent of a supercharged or turbocharged Bentley, massive weight forced into going fast through brute power. Compared to a "proper" sports car of the period, such as a Lotus Elan, they're in a different world, with a different way of working.

  I'll freely admit that The Dukes of Hazzard has a big share of the blame for this car being in my favourites list. The show's General Lee made the car an icon, and there's probably no other car ever been made that would look more right as the good-ol'-boy-carryin', creek-jumpin', confederate-flag-emblazoned star of the show. You feel as if every Charger should come with a copy of Copperhead Road inside the owner's manual. Let's not forget, as well, that mean, black Charger which Steve McQueen's Mustang went up against in Bullit, or the monstrous supercharged drag racer at the end of The Fast and The Furious.

  Some people find it strange that I should come at things from this angle, rather than on technical merit, but I'm afraid that it's going to be a recurring theme throughout this section. Sure, there are cars I love because of how they're designed (in the engineering sense, as well as stylistically), but there are others where it's not just the car itself, but the assosciations that come with it. The Charger is one of these - making the transition from just being another musclecar to being a piece of modern pop culture.

  In my opinion, the styling of the car is just about perfect. Somehow, no era of American car design before or since the mid-to-late-'60s has produced vehicles that I like, and for me the Charger is the perfect example. It has a simplicity about it, looking almost slab-sided, but with the little touches such as the pseudo-vents at the leading edge of the doors, the vacuum-operated headlight covers that gave the front grille it's uncluttered look, and the muscular bulging around the haunches.

  Of course, there's the engine. I have no idea why, but the words "Mopar Four-Forty" just sound right to me. Yeah, it's a big ol' lump of pig iron, but the Chrysler Big Block seems just like the Charger - refusing to pretend to be something it's not. I like that kind of honesty, which probably captures the main reason why a car like the Charger could ever appeal to me. It's an antidote to plastic-shrouded, emissions-compliant modernity, and that automatically appeals. If nothing else, it's the same engine that provided the motive power for Jake & Elwood Blues, as well as the Jensen Interceptors.

  While it's bigger brother, the Challenger, found stardom in Vanishing Point, for me the definitive Dodge will always be the Charger. Will people disagree with me for liking a car based mostly on image, style and other slightly hazy justifications? Probably. Are there cars that are faster/better built/more powerful/sweeter handling? Definitely. But I'd like to think that the Charger is something more than a logical choice, and that it somehow epitomises one of the basic philosophies of everyone who loves cars, and big, powerful cars in particular: If you need to ask, you just wouldn't understand.