A large variation of muscle cars have been built over the years, but one of the more popular is the Dodge Challenger. The Dodge brand is owned by Chrysler, a firm who has aspired to build the best brand.

The Dodge Challenger history kicked off during 1970, with the 1st generation Challenger. From that point, Dodge went on to produce the second generation vehicle in 1978 and finally the third generation version in 2008.

How It Began, 1970 to 1974,First Generation

Many folks wondered which other vehicles the Dodge Challenger would compete against. As soon as the specifications and design of the new Challenger were made public, it soon became clear that the likes of the Ford Mustang and the Camaro would have a huge battle on their hands. The advantage they had though; these muscle cars were by now extremely established.

Dodge set to work developing the most perfect muscle car they could. Whilst it was to be compared with the Mustang, it had a much shorter wheelbase. Dodge definitely attempted to do things their own way, developing a car that was much more well equipped, offering owners much more creature comforts.

The style had dramatic differences in comparison to the competition as well. The design was lead by Carl Cameron, who previously had experience designing the Charger back in 1966.

Clearly the balance of style and performance was effective. The company was able to sell in excess of 165000 Dodge Challengers during its 1st generation.

Second Time Around, 1978 to 1983, Second Generation

Chrysler clearly realized fast that with the Challenger they had struck gold and with good reason did not want give that up. The styling was good, the power delivery was right and pretty quick they had a huge following. They left it 4 years and they built the second generation car for release in 1978.

The 2nd generation car was developed based on the Plymouth Sapporo which was by now growing in its following. Chrysler tried to differentiate their Challenger as much as they could though. As previously, Chrysler went for the sports, elegant style.

Whilst Performance was an area in which the first generation Challenger did not lack, the second generation Challenger did surprise a few folks. It was sporting a 2.6L engine, which seemed incredibly small. That being said, it had 4 cylinders, so the power plant, for its size and weight, was more than adequate and it soon became well respected for being a fantastic track platform.

Retro Becomes Fashionable, 2008, Third Generation

Obviously modern manufactures like to keep with trends, and Chrysler were aware that they had something special here with the retro markets going big, so of course they did not wish to leave the Challenger back in the 80s. 2008 saw the release of their third generation vehicle to many highly anticipating followers.

With the release of the 3rd generation the Dodge Challenger still lives on, and is likely to for a long time.