Autoblog

After taking this weekend's walk down memory lane with the Ricardo Montalban ad for the Chrysler Cordoba, we now bring you the flipside of that particular spot. When the Cordoba was released, Dodge got a rebadged version that took over the Charger nameplate from the sporty muscle machines that preceded it. In print campaigns, Dodge touted the car as the "first luxury Charger." I'm guessing that Charger fans felt completely betrayed by this one. And who can really blame them.

Why anyone would choose this warmed-over Cordoba over the real thing -- with its tour de force marketing campaign (still memorable 30 years later), and Chrysler's established luxury creds -- is a complete mystery.

Compare the Cordoba ad to the less-than-scintillating TV spot for the 1975 Charger starring actress Jennifer O'Neill. (Fun stuff: Note the rotating turntable the car's sitting on, made to look like it's grass.) This is a Dodge Charger?

The slogan was "You'll love the change we made." Yeah, right. The Cordoba was the introduction of something new, whereas the '75 Charger represented the demise of a storied name.

Watch it after the jump, and while you're there, check out a copy of one of the car's print ads.

1975 Charger Special Edition photo via NZ Mopar Registry.

[Source: YouTube]