ORIGINAL: BLK 6050
Our current Challengers are actually the fourth generation American car (two different manufacturers) to carry the name "Challenger". Back in the early 60's (1964) Studebaker had a model called the Challenger, and in 1965 even had a model called the "Daytona". And, both looked better than the "second generation" Challenger....
(Just trying to muddy the waters a bit...)
**By the way, there could be other "Challengers" in the very early years of the auto...just couldn't find any...so who knows...
Actually, ours are the fourth generation in direct lineage. There was the Essex Challenger in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Essex eventually got absorbed by Hudson. Hudson eventually became part of AMC. AMC eventually was bought by Chrysler, so there's the direct link. (Because of the Hudson link, Dodge therefore was perfectly within its rights to revive the Hornet name in the 1970s in honor of the "fabulous" Hudson Hornet of the 1950s.)
I don't know of any direct link between Studebaker and Chrysler, unless perhaps Chrysler bought up some of their old factories. [8D]