History of the Dodge Super Bee – Part 3: A New Decade |
Posted on December 29, 2011
As the 2012 Dodge Super Bee gets ready to come rolling down the line at the Brampton Assembly Plant, we wanted to look back at the origins of this iconic musclecar. In our continuing history of the Super Bee, part one looked at its origins and part two discussed its evolution on how it became a force to be reckoned with on both the street and the drag strips across the country.
As a new decade came in, the Dodge styling team was looking to refresh the 1970 Coronet line-up with all new sheetmetal that included a new split bumper, grille, hood, deck lid and tail lamps. It was the distinct (and somewhat controversial) front end styling that had enthusiasts either loving it or hating it – an argument that still carries on some 40 years later.
Under the hood, the engine options carried over from 1969 with the 440 Six Pack’s “lift-off” fiberglass hood went away in favor of a more traditional steel hinged unit with an optional “Ramcharger” fresh air option. The venerable Street HEMI® V8 now got hydraulic lifters to make life easier on its owners and the dependable 383 Magnum traded in its Carter AVS carburetor for a Holley unit to meet the tightening emissions requirements.
The available exterior colors became even wilder with “Plum Crazy,” “Sublime,” “Panther Pink,” and other psychedelic hues. There were now two-quarter panel stripe options and even an available trunk mounted spoiler to give the ’70 Bee the look of a Funny Car ready to hit the track.
Inside, new high back bucket seats and an available Hurst “Pistol Grip” shifter greeted drivers when they climbed aboard. The interior designers even spruced up the dashboard with simulated wood grain inserts.
Like most mid-size performance cars for 1970, Super Bee sales took a dip from 1969, despite having a wide array of options and price points to suit the taste of young customers. Many automotive historians point out it was the insurance industry getting up to speed on high-horsepower cars coming out of Detroit and slapping huge surcharges on unsuspecting buyers.
Regardless, the Super Bee would soldier on for another year until taking a long hiatus for almost three decades. In part four, we’ll look at the final chapter of Dodge’s much beloved Mid-size “econo-musclecar” from the golden era of tire smoking cheap thrills.
Dec 31, 2011 @ 23:07:08
It’s nice that you have a new Super Bee and that you are going back to its roots of making it a bare bones vehcile and pricing it for less, however, it should be a lot less (not just a couple thousand dollars). The car should start for $39,999 or way under 40 grand. It has the standard Charger hood and the bumble bee stripe doesn’t even go all around the car. Come on, let us purchase a 392 HEMI Charger Super Bee for under 40 grand. It will sell better. By the way, when is the redline Charger coming out?
Jan 02, 2012 @ 09:06:17
This car does it for me in several areas. I like the style of the sporty body. To me this is when Dodge made their last real muscle car, I call this a classic muscle car.
Jan 02, 2012 @ 18:52:45
There will be no Redline Charger with the 426 Gen III Hemi sold at the dealer…The 426 engine is a crate motor rated for off-road use only and will not pass emissions. There will be one at the Detroit Auto Show.
Jan 22, 2012 @ 22:25:41
I have been a Mopar fan since my first new car which was a 1969 340 Dodge Dart Swinger 4 speed. I only put 365 miles on it, I had a wreck that bent the frame inches. After waiting 3 months for parts to come, my father took me back to Westernaire Dodge. He would not let me get another 4 speed since he felt that was the cause of the accident, although it had nothing to do with it. We brought home beautiful B-5 blues Super Bee. It was an automatic on the column. I never liked that part of it. although it was a monster. It beat most everything I raced. Being a loyoa AMopar fan, I traded it for a 340 Duster in 72. I have owned a 72 Cuda 340 4 speed and now have a 1969 Daodge Dart with 440 4 speed. I put a pistol grip in it since I love the look of those. I have had many dreams that I had my Super Bee back only to wake up in dissapointment. I am looking forward to seeing the New Super Bee. I would love to afford one. Please think about chrome bumpers The older muscle cars had much more character than new models.