When we take a look at Dodge today, we see these sleek muscular cars that produce enough power to make the earth tremble. Cars such as the Demon and the Ram TRX are absolute powerhouses on wheels. Looking back at history, Dodge has come a long way from what they once were, however, the cars they make today are certainly shaped by their automobiles of yesterday.
Prior to Dodge making it big in the muscle car business, they actually were really popular for their trucks. The Power Wagon was a military truck that eventually reached the civilians by the year 1945. Under the Fargo name, Dodge trucks did very well and in fact, sold their power wagon up until 1949. The name Power Wagon is still alive and used today by the Ram brand.
In 1965 competition for the Dodge brand had increased significantly. With Ford coming out with their brand-new mustang and Plymouth with their new Barracuda. To work on counteracting this Dodge came out with their newest fastback charger, the Street Hemi. Powered by their famous V8 engine, the Hemi, equipped with electroluminescent gauges, bucket seats for the front and rear, foldable seats, and a full cabin length instrument console. Although today this first-generation charger is a legend, its did poorly in terms of sales back in the day.
Although the sales of the Charger improved by the late 60s, dodge did suffer in the NASCAR races. It turned out that their cars would gain a lift when at high speeds due to the lack of aerodynamics. Taking the help of aeronautical engineers at NASA. Using the aid of air tunnels, Dodge built the perfect body kit including a smooth nose bumper in the front and a huge wing at the back and the Dodge Daytona was born. These cars looked from a futuristic age and indeed did change the racing scene at NASCAR forever.
Post Dodge witnessed Plymouth's success with their mid-sized, low-cost road runner; they decided to get in on the wagon and created a Coronet version and called it the Super Bee. This was offered in the 1971 model year in the body of a Dodge charger while having the lines of a Coronet. This car also had the famous, most unique-looking front grille of that age that made it very easy to identify.
Although the Ford Mustang was launched years before the Dodge Challenger, Dodge did make good sales with this model. While the Mustang was first introduced as everybody's car that gave the American market a European experience. However, Dodge on the other hand focused their Challenger on a sports-oriented market. Even when compared to the Plymouth Barracuda, the Challenger R/T was longer and set at a higher segment. The Challenger R/T came standard with a 390 hp big block V8.
