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Wikia MWC - Al's Dodge

A man and his freedom

The only car to stay with him through thick and thin, mostly thin, is Al's utterly unreliable 1971 (sometimes a 1973 or 1974) Dodge, the only car he can afford and the automotive equivalent of Peg. The car consistently lets him down at vital moments, and he seems to spend almost as much time pushing as driving it, but Al has a stubborn loyalty to the vehicle, and, in season eleven's Requiem for a Chevyweight (Part 1), and its sequel, he spends a great amount of time, money and energy trying to keep his "baby" going.

History[]

In Requiem for a Chevyweight (Part 1), Al bought it at some point while in high school (though Al was in high school during the mid to late 1960s and the car is from the early 1970s) from a used car lot on Route 12 . Some say Al’s dodge was part of the Bundy Curse. He was paying for it by working at the shoe store during the summer. Al's father seems to think that the car is a lemon and that Al is a fool for buying it, but works on it anyway, so Al can go to the Rolling Stone's farewell concert with his new girlfriend, Peggy Wanker.

In the same episode, he is shown to still have the car on the day he scored four touchdowns in a single game and is still with Peggy, which leads to them accidentally conceiving Kelly that same night (though her birth year is listed as 1971, while Al's four touchdowns happened in 1966). It was also mentioned by Bud that she was conceived in the Dodge in "Rain Girl". Peggy had also confirmed previously that Kelly was conceived in the car in Old Insurance Dodge, though in that episode, Al stated that the Dodge is a 1974 model while talking to the police after it was stolen.

At least one of Al's old girlfriends was also familiar with Al's Dodge. Sandy Jorgenson, Al's cheerleader girlfriend who received the football he scored his four touchdowns with, remembered that Al was working at the shoe store as a summer job and he was working there to replace the carburetor.

Although Peg had her own car during the early seasons, Al's Dodge has served as the vehicle for entire family, often leaving Al as having to ask the kids or Peg to pick him up from the shoe store (which usually falls on deaf ears, leaving Al to hitch hike home) or serve as a chauffeur. 

Peg and the rest of the family hate the Dodge and prefer not to ride in it. Bud happily mocks Al after his Dodge is stolen, saying "I was sad that I had no Dodge, until I saw the man who had one". While looking at the 1994 Dodge Viper, Al calls out Peg in front of the Dodge staff, claiming that she truly hates Dodge. She tries to play it off as merely a joke. He continues on, saying that she got him a license plate frame that reads "I'd rather be driving" and then says "You laughed at the Dodge. You mocked the Dodge. She shot the Dodge, but she didn't shoot the deputy."

Al also feels that the police do not care about his car whenever it is stolen or vandalized. By the same token, the Dodge has been used in attempts to escape the police, though usually unsuccessfully.

After Al tries to see how much the insurance is willing to offer after his car stolen, the insurance company offers only $50, most of it from Al's mental anguish.

Details[]

In "Get Outta Dodge" Bud tells his date that the Dodge is actually a "Dodge-enstein" and is made "from the parts of other dead Dodges".

In No Chicken, No Check and Get the Dodge Outta Hell, Al's car key is shown to be a screwdriver.

Al's Dodge is shown to have a V8 engine most likely a 318 Chrysler Small Block since its a non performance Plymouth Duster. In some episodes it is shown to be a manual transmission. (Push starts)

Color[]

The cars used to represent the Dodge in most early seasons is a Blue 1973-1974 Plymouth Duster, then a Bronze 1971-1972 Plymouth Gold Duster, and at last a Red 1972 Plymouth Duster.

Throughout most of the early seasons, Al's Dodge is shown to be blue. From season 1 until season 4's "Oh What a Feeling", the car appears to be a metallic blue with a white racing stripe and a "Gold Duster" badge near the front wheels.

At the end of Oh, What a Feeling, he traded in his blue Dodge for a bronze color model. However, this was indicated to have been the first Dodge, just repainted and sold back to him as if it were a new car. The Dodge would be bronze for the next few seasons whenever it is shown. It has the license plate "2 RPH 72".

While the color appears to be bronze, in the Season 8 episode, "Proud to Be Your Bud", the operator stated that the color is "Burnt Siena", while also stating that is is a "mid-century" model and has 800,000 miles on it.

In season 9's "Get the Dodge Outta Hell", after the car is washed, it is now red and Al claims that his Dodge was actually red when he bought it. This statement contradicts Al having sold his original Dodge and bought a new one, and suggests he knew or became aware that he repurchased his original car. From a production standpoint, when the trunk is opened for Al to get his Big 'Uns, it is obvious that the inside is actually bronze and parts of the trunk hinges go from red to bronze paint. It is likely that a bronze car was repainted red, and that only the exterior that was anticipated to be noticeable on camera was painted.

The red color would be seen on the Dodge for the remainder of the series, such as in season 11's Requiem for a Chevyweight (Part 1) and Breaking Up Is Easy to Do (Part 3). It has the license plate "61 CMS 2". In that episode, Al also acts as if his current red Dodge is his original, recalling important memories he had in the car going all the way back to high school. The car is shown to have indeed been red when Al was in high school.

Mileage[]

In the season 4 episode Oh, What a Feeling, Al trades his original High school Dodge with 99 thousand miles for a ride to the dealership and later purchases another Dodge that has 18 miles on it. However, as noted above, this was indicated to have been the first Dodge, just repainted, with a rolled back odometer (a very illegal practice).

In the season 8 episode "Proud to Be Your Bud" an automated system states that the dodge has 800 thousand miles. Unless the hundred thousands digit of the odometer where somehow obscured in earlier seasons; the Bundys would have theoretically had to drive 250,000 a year since the events of season 4 to reach 1 million miles; which is quite an amazing task since the Dodge is shown to be so unreliable. 

  • It is possible that Al used the Dodge for travel to shoe conventions across the country though one would think Gary would handle that department.

The season 8 episode "Get Outta Dodge" the Dodge was then said to have had close to 1 million miles on it. During the episode Al drives it over the million mile mark.

Known issues with Al's Dodge[]

Gallery[]

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