You have got to hand it to Daimler Chrysler, the company behind the successful launch this summer of the 2006 Dodge Charger: the car hearkens back to the glory days of pure Dodge power while successfully incorporating the latest technologies from the German American automaker. One of the biggest names in the muscle car era has returned with a vengeance: the Dodge Charger.

When Daimler and Chrysler merged in 1998, many Mopar fans felt that an important era in American automobile manufacturing had abruptly come to an end. Indeed, the venerable maker of Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge, and Jeep vehicles would no longer be controlled exclusively from their Detroit base. Instead, the German manufacturer of luxury Mercedes automobiles would set the course and steer the company in the direction they wanted it to go. Or so it seemed.

Fortunately, what started out as a rocky marriage between a pair of perceived unequals has resulted in offspring that are, well, cool! It took several years for the relationship to get on track and that became evident with the release of the Chrysler 300M and Dodge Magnum vehicles. Both cars have performed very strongly since their release in 2004 and have literally set the ground work for a successful launch of the Dodge Charger earlier this year. The Charger is based on the same platform of the 300M/Magnum and was originally meant to have been a sedan version of the Magnum. Instead, Dodge gave the car its own personality.

Alright, enough of the background. Let