Iconic automotive giant Dodge was founded in 1900 as the Dodge Brothers Company. From there on, the brand was acquired by Chrysler and became famous all over the world. Dodge is most well known for the muscle car era. From the Challenger to the Daytona, there have been steady successes from the brand in that arena. However, as with any carmaker, there were a few mistakes along the way.
Certain Dodge models of the past and present have been questionable – to say the least. The brand’s critics would argue it doesn’t have a firm focus, and that’s a problem. Those critics also argue there have been quite a few failures with the Dodge brand because they don’t listen. Consumers want cars with style and substance, and the recent Dodge models have been anything but that. Because of that, we looked back at the 25 worst Dodge models of all time.
25: 1982 Dodge Charger
You read that right, there was indeed a compact Dodge Charger. With a paltry 82 horsepower, the Omni-based Charger was a miniature version of the original. The design was hatchback based like most of the compact cars from the era. This Charger was a far cry from the muscle car of the past. The hatchback design was similar to other vehicles that were on the market (via Autoweek).
The compact Dodge Charger might seem like a far cry from the muscle car heritage, but there were some positives. The increased fuel economy was a major advantage. The Charger also had a much better off-the-line performance than the Camaro or the Mustang at the time. It was just difficult for Dodge enthusiasts to get over the fact that the Charger had become an Omni clone.