1971 Plymouth Duster 340: Al Bundy's Dodge in Married with Children

"Every now and then a guy who drive a Dodge likes to close his eyes and imagine it's a Ferrari." -- Al Bundy

Heh, heh. I'm a big fan of Married with Children. It's just so silly.

Of course, there's a car involved. Al Bundy, the loveable loser shoe salesman who peaked in life way back when he was a high school football player, drove a Dodge -- a brown, dusty Dodge that had been stolen in one of the episodes and Al went nuts to get it back.

Though the show often dismissed the Dodge as a loser's car, fit for a guy who's way past his prime, in reality, the car that was referred to as the Dodge was 1) not a real Dodge but a 1971 Plymouth-made Duster 340, and 2) a popular entry level muscle car in its heyday.

Quick Facts: Plymouth Duster 340

Smaller than the Plymouth Barracudas, but derived from the same family of cars (Plymouth Valiants), the Plymouth Dusters soon outsold the 'Cudas. They were fast. Its size gave the Plymouth Duster an excellent power-to-weight ratio. In fact, a Car Life Magazine test ran a stock 1970 Plymouth Duster 340. The Duster finished the quarter mile in 14.7 seconds at the speed of 94 mph. It accelerated from 0-60 mph in 6.2 seconds.

For its time, the Plymouth Duster was equipped with some of the best interior package such as optional low-back style seats, optional fold-down rear seats, locking glovebox, and optional electrically heated window defogger.

Additionally, the Plymouth Duster 340 had dual exhaust, a 340 cid V-8 engine, heavy-duty suspension, 3-speed manual transmission, and dual snorkel air cleaner. Again, this was really a neat gem of a muscle car, often overlooked because of the Ford Mustangs and Chevy Camaros.