Jet airliners were still a novelty in the late Fifties, when an inventive maverick called William P Lear conceived the idea of a small businessman's jet with the performance of a fighter plane. At the time it was as improbable a concept as a personal spaceship would be to us today. But the self-educated high school dropout Lear saw himself as technological David in a battle with the Goliaths of industry. As the inventor of various avionic devices he had a good eye for aircraft design, and it fell upon that of a Swiss fighter prototype called the P-16. He hired the P-16's designer to mate the fighter's wings and tailplane to a sleek new cabin fuselage.

Despite moving the whole project from Switzerland to Wichita, USA, and gambling every cent he had made from his inventions, Lear's first prototype flew in October 1963. With the delivery of the production Lear jet 23 late the following year, a whole new class of aircraft had been created: the personal jet. Until now only the military had possessed anything similar (but larger) for transporting generals and government officials. Instantly the Lear jet became a new corporate status symbol where the need for speed outweighed the considerable cost.

A handful of passengers would squeeze into the plush cabin for the ride of their lives. The lightweight Lear bolts down the runway like a Mirage fighter and streaks into the stratosphere at more than twice the rate of climb of a Boeing airliner. A Lear 24 recently set a class record reaching 39 000ft altitude in a shade under 7 minutes. Typical cruising levels are around 45 000ft, well above the commercial airline traffic, where it's smooth enough for the secretary to take shorthand memos and keep the champagne in the glass.

This was the Sixties version of the corporate limousine that could take the boss almost anywhere he wanted to go, anytime, at 950km/h. Gone were the hassles of crowded airport terminals and inefficient airline staff. Ground handling operators geared up at airports large and small to expedite this new form of travel as corporations, oil-sheiks and rock-stars caught on.

The Learjet steadily improved as technology advanced. The fuselage was stretched for more room in the Model 25 and the 30-series received turbofan engines to improve fuel economy and range. The 50-series did away with the original P-16 wing and sprouted winglets that are now all the rage on airliners. The Lear has spawned a host of imitators from the Citation by Cessna to the Falcon from Dassault, the makers of the Mirage. But to most observers any bizjet - irrespective of origin - is a Learjet.

To the Chrysler Corporation, luxury and power have never been mutually exclusive. In 1955 the C-300 had every luxury available to the American auto industry as standard equipment as well as the most powerful engine available: a 225kW Hemi-head V8. The legendary "letter-cars" followed, raising the stakes until Chrysler lost the plot with the range in the mid-Sixties; roughly when Pontiac was firing the first salvo of the muscle-car war with the GTO. Following the proven performance recipe of a powerful engine in lightweight body, the GTO started out as a "compact" car but soon became "mid-size" by American standards.

Ford, Chrysler and other GM divisions could not let the GTO's sales success go unchallenged, to the joy of the street-and-strip community. The muscle-car wars raged until 1972 when legislation, emission controls and the "oil crisis" put an end to it. Dodge's weapon of choice was the popular but blandly styled Coronet 2-door coupe. This mid-size car received a fastback body-makeover and unique grille to be given the evocative name, "Charger", for the 1966 model year. The interior featured four jazzy bucket seats, folding at the rear with a console running the full length of the cabin. In 1968 designer Bill Brownlie penned a new shape for Charger, inspired by the aerodynamic needs of the high-banked ovals of the NASCAR circuits. The tapered shape did not initially prove all that slippery (or stable) on the track, but it certainly looked the part right down to the flip-top fuel cap on the left rear fender. It was to prove a winner on the street, track and in the movies.

Under that sleek bonnet it was all about Engine. Although it was possible to order a Valiant 6 (why, on earth?) and many came out with a basic 318, the Big Block engines demanded attention. A high-compression 383 with a four-barrel carb, as fitted to cheapie Plymouth-sibling Roadrunner, gave the car credibility at the robot grand-prix.

For not a few dollars more one could order up a 440 topped by three two-barrel Holley carbs punching out 290kW. The centre carb kept things going for tootling around town - but standing on the accelerator would open up the floodgates of hell. These cars were shockingly fast in an era when standard suspension design left much to be desired. The R/T package improved the handling and braking, while the SE option equipped the interior with leather seats.

Or one could go the whole hog and order a Hemi, the legendary "Elephant" engine of the NASCAR circuits. With hemispherical combustion chambers and robust internals it proved temperamental in everyday use; in the hands of skilled enthusiasts it was almost unbeatable. An aerodynamic "clean-up" produced the homologation-special Charger 500 followed by the Daytona complete with drooped nose and high mounted rear airfoil. The winged warrior achieved a cd drag coefficient of 0.29 and was the first NASCAR to exceed 322km/h on a closed track. Dodge won the Manufacturers Championship in 1970 only to have the winged cars banned the following year. They are virtually priceless to collectors today.

In the fantasy world of the movies, the Charger continues to capture the imagination. Who can forget the car chase sequence in the Steve McQueen movie Bullitt? The pursuers become the quarry, in their jewel black Dodge Charger. A mechanic on the run, played by Peter Fonda, fireballs a '69 Charger into a train in Dirty Mary and Crazy Larry. The TV series The Dukes of Hazzard trashed so many cars that the props department was hard up to find replacements. Like the Dukes' "General Lee" the editor's car is authentic Vitamin C Orange, a rare survivor of the maniacal age of the Muscle-Car.

Specifications:

Charger:

Engine: 426 cubic inch (7.0 litre) Hemi head V8, cast iron with mechanical overhead valves, 10.25:1 compression-ratio, 425bhp at 5000rpm, 2x4 barrel Carter Carbs.
Gearbox: 3-speed auto, 3.23:1 diff ratio.
Suspension: torsion bar at front, leaf spring rear, optional disc brakes at front, 6.0 x15 wheels.
Performance: (Car Life, April 1968) - quarter-mile 13.92 seconds - max speed 220km/h
Mass: 1 934kg
Fuel consumption: 16 to 27 litres per 100km.

Learjet 25:

Engines: two General Electric CJ 610-6 turbojets 1 337kg thrust each
Airframe All alloy stressed skin construction
Mass max gross weight: 7 932kg.
Fuel consumption: 1 200 litres per hr, range 2 400 km depending on payload.
Performance: cruising speed = mach 0.82 900 - 950km/h, depending on altitude.
Max altitude: 45 000ft, rate of climb - up to 7 000ft /min