What makes Dodge as a brand so different from the rest of Detroit couldn't be better explained than by a short video made by the AFICIONAUTO. In the clip, Ted Stevens explains, "MoPar was something we started being interested in the 60s, maybe 'cause they were different. I've always thought Chrysler's styling cues were cutting edge. The lines on a lot of the body styles are just timeless, like the 68-70 Charger, the Challenger, the E-body Barracuda, the Duster. If you look at those cars, you just never get tired of looking at them."

This opinion is one that I think not only MoPar fans can agree on, but motorheads who are fans of other companies can appreciate, as well. Chrysler has always been different, but even before Chrysler came to own Dodge, Dodge was different on its own.

Started in the 1800s by brothers Horace and John, Dodge Bicycles quickly became one of the best bicycles made thanks to a patent for a type of non-clogging ball bearing that Horace invented. From there, the Dodge Brothers took off to create their first car in 1914, the Model 30. Then, in 1916, Dodge sold 150 cars to the US Army and created a truck that was originally used as a military ambulance.

Shortly after, the first commercial Dodge truck was made and it wasn't long before Dodge became the second-best-selling car company in the country. Around this time, John Dodge passed away after experiencing pneumonia, and Horace as well only a few months later from the same illness paired with cirrhosis of the liver. Eight years later, in 1928, Dodge was sold to Chrysler, and the rest is history.

Sometimes, being different is good and lets you stand out from the crowd, while other times, being different is only a distraction from current trends. Dodge has been on both sides of this fence throughout their history.

20 Early: 1916 Dodge Brothers Model 30 Winter Hardtop

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The Model 30-35 was Dodge's first car, priced at $785, The all-steel body was welded and riveted and used a 12-volt electric system, one of the first of its kind. This car paved the way for success for Dodge Bros and a couple years later the Model 30 could be had with a hardtop—on touring and roadster models—paired with snap-on side glass windows at a cost of an extra $165. These cars were "winter cars" something very different from the many auto companies who didn't offer even hard tops on their cars. Ford would eventually follow this trend a year later with the Couplet.

19 Early: First Mechanized Cavalry Charge in 1916

Autoweek.com

Also in 1916, Dodge Bros. sold 150 cars to be used in the U.S. Army. In the Mexican Expedition against Pancho Villa, Lieutenant General George Patton used a trio of Dodge Bros. Model 30-35s to find and catch Pancho Villa.

This was the first time motorcars were used in military action by the U.S. Army.

Patton commanded 10 soldiers and two civilian guides with the 6th Infantry, surprising three of Villa's men and dispatching Julio Cardenas and two of his guards. Patton was promoted to First Lieutenant and Dodge gained a favorable outlook from the military success, further securing their future roles in World War I and II.

18 Early: 1916 Dodge Brothers Screenside Delivery

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The Dodge Brothers had been hesitant to make a pickup truck based off of their cars, knowing they were fully incapable of keeping up with the demand they had already acquired. It was the cavalry charge mentioned earlier that captured the attention of the government, who ordered 20,000 1/2-ton ambulances and chassis.

Dodge Bros. couldn't ignore the opportunity, and produced their first Commercial Car, based off of the ambulance.

With the front of the Model 30-35, it looked like a car, but with the stiffer springs, bigger tires, and a canopy with roll down curtains, it wasn't quite a pickup, but a truck nonetheless. It may have been a little late, as Ford and GMC had already been producing pickups, but with nearly twice the power of the Ford, Dodge had another product that could compete with their arch-rival.

17 Early: European Dodge in 1922

DCB 63 1952 Dodge Kew P6

In 1922, Dodge had moved to Fulham, Britain, to build imported chassis from the United States. A few years later (now owned by Chrysler), they moved Dodge to Kew, where they had formerly built Plymouths. Over time, more and more British-made parts were used in production, and Dodge was picking up a reputation for strength, probably due to the Dodge's war efforts. They used a motor like the ones used in WWII, with the same internals. After the war, Dodge produced the 100, 300, and the 28-ton 500. In 1965, Dodge moved to Dunstable, building the Dodge 50 models (no relation to the Ram 50). Production continued in Europe until 1979, when it was taken over by Peugeot-Talbot.

16 Early: D-500

forwardlook.net

Although other companies had used hemispherical shaped heads, Chrysler is the one to start really using it in many of their cars. Starting with the 331 Hemi first offered in the 1951 Chrysler Saratoga, it took five years for a Hemi motor to be introduced in a Dodge.

Called the D-500, it was a separate model with its own VIN but used the bodies and chassis of the Royal Lancer and Coronet.

Chrysler had set in motion a power war that would eventually usher in the muscle car era, and although Dodge may have benefited from the fruits of its parent company's labor, they made it their own and transformed the Hemi into their own staple in the automotive world.

15 Early: Dodge Sweptline Perkins Diesel

Via Pinterest

The Perkins company has been making and selling diesel engines since 1932, with their engines used widely in World War II. Perkins engines for Chrysler in Belguim (and later in the Netherlands) were introduced in 1956 and were made for many different applications throughout the 80s. It was in 1962 that Dodge received the Perkins in this country, though. It is known that they were used in heavy-duty tractors, but little is known whether or not they were used in the D-series pickups. I know I've seen a video around of an original Perkins-Dodge pickup being looked over, but after some searching I haven't found it. These motors were uncommon in the United States at the time, for sure, and Dodge didn't get another diesel until featuring a Mitsubishi engine in 1978.

14 Early: 1963 Dodge 330 Max Wedge

Via Motor1

The debate of what the true first "muscle" car really was comes down to a matter of opinion surrounding what you'd classify as a muscle car. In this conversation, Pontiac's Le Mans-based GTO is typically the first one brought up. Maybe there's a guy who's been around who tries to talk about the 1950 Oldsmobile 88 or the 1955 Chrysler C-300.

Dodge has their place in the argument, though, with the 1963 330 Max Wedge.

The "full"-sized Dodge 330 was actually only a couple inches bigger than mid-sized Fairlane. That smaller stature—plus a big 426 Max Wedge V8 accompanied by a tougher suspension—could pull around 12-second quarter mile times, which by today's standard is still quick for a car you could potentially take off of the showroom floor.

13 Early: 1964 Dodge Custom Sport Special

thetruthaboutcars.com

In 1964, Dodge released a "luxury" pickup. The Custom Sport Special wasn't much to look at in 1964, but a face-lift in 1965 helped that. Equipped with the potent 429 Max Wedge, this pickup produced 365 hp and a tire-scorching 470 lb-ft of torque. A decade before the "Lil' Red Express" and about 40 years before the Ram SRT-10, the CSS was sold with racing stripes, bucket seats, and a center console that could house an optional 4-speed manual transmission. Offered for only two years, the CSS wasn't a big seller, but was the predecessor of the craze of sporty pickups that became popular in the 1990s.

12 Early: Scat Pack

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When you see a Scat Pack logo now, it means a big 392 Challenger, Charger, and even the lesser-known Dart nowadays, but in the late 60s, it incorporated more than just a trio of cars. In mid-1968 Dodge released the Scat Pack, a collection of Dodge's most powerful cars including a big-block Dart GTS, Charger R/T, and the Coronet R/T. All packing huge motors and lots of power, the beneficiaries of this advertising stunt were the first of their kind to include different models under one exclusive mascot, a bumblebee with a motor and tires attached. Dodge was not alone in using the mascot theme, as Plymouth also had both the Duster and the famous Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote that they licensed from Warner Bros.

11 Early: High Impact

blog.dodge.com

Another standout move by Dodge was the use of bright coloring on their automobiles. For an extra cost of about $15, you could have colors like "Plum Crazy" purple, Butterscotch, and the ultra-rare "Panther Pink" that was only offered in the spring of 1970 or by special order in 1971.

The first colors started with the simply named Bright Green, Go Mango orange, and 'Hemi orange in 1969.

The list of choices eventually grew for the next year and carried on through 1971. Colors were cut in 1972 to just 'Hemi orange and Top Banana yellow, with only the latter lasting until 1973.

10 Late: 1970 Dodge Challenger

Mecum.com

As any motorhead knows, the pony car era truly started with the model year 1964 and 1/2 Ford Mustang, while the Chevrolet Camaro followed suit the following year. But Dodge wasn't quite there yet. It took five years for Dodge to have a response to the Mustang, which by now had already had a facelift. The 1970 Challenger may have been a little late, but it took no time to bring it to the competition, with a 426 'Hemi option on offer to compete with the 429 Boss and 427 SS. Lasting for only four years, the original Challenger's life may have not been long, but it left such an impression that it was famously resurrected in 2008 to once again compete in the ongoing horsepower wars.

9 Early: 1978 Dodge Lil' Red Express Truck

blog.dodge.com

I guess that though this honor could go to the Max Wedge-powered CSS, it was the "Lil' Red Express" 360 police package-powered Ram D150 that takes the title of Detroit's first sport pickup. I think this is due to the hardships that took over the automotive world in the mid to late-1970s.

Dodge's rebellion with this truck was created by utilizing a loophole in the restrictions that meant a pickup didn't have to adhere to the regulations applied to regular cars.

Through check-marking all the right boxes, like the Adventurer trim, automatic transmission, and quad-rectangular headlights, the Lil' Red Ram wasn't cheap, being over $8,000 (almost $32,000 today) with all options added. It's this price and a gas crisis in 1979 that are perhaps the reasons the Lil' Red Express was discontinued after only two years of production.

8 Late: 1985 Dodge Dakota

Via Cardomain

The Dakota was introduced as a compact pickup truck to replace the Dodge D50, which was essentially a rebadged Mitsubishi. The D50 had proven to be no competition to Chevy's S10/S15 and Ford's Ranger of the mid-80s. The Dakota was produced to be that competition, and int its first year, it was already outselling the full-sized Ram, becoming Dodge's best-sold pickup truck. First coming with 2.2 liter inline-four and a 3.9-liter V6, the 318 magnum V8 wouldn't be introduced until Shelby shoe-horned one into a special edition pickup. The Dakota was definitely a late entry to compete in the market, but another example of Dodge coming out hot once they got their act together.

7 Early: 1984 Dodge Colt Turbo

barnfinds.com

Turbos were no new item in the 80's. After the gas crisis, every automotive company was looking for ways to make better fuel economy without snuffing out power and the turbocharger was a good solution to this issue. Starting in race-inspired exotics, the tech found itself in a couple of Chevys in the 60s, including a Corvair.

Through the 80s, Japan went turbo-crazy, and due to grey imports by Daimler-Chrysler, Dodge got turbo motors from Mitsubishi.

One of these early turbo cars was the Colt GTS, which cost about $7,000 in 1984. This got you a 102-hp, 122 lb-ft hot hatch that would do 0-60 in 9.5 seconds. The Colt would eventually be replaced by the Omni, which would get its own special treatment from Shelby.

6 Early: 1989 Dodge Caravan Turbo

dianlv.us

The minivan was first introduced to the world in 1984, and it took the other half of the decade for its warm welcome to wear thin. By the late 80s, the public was starting to realize the shortcomings of Dodge's Caravan, namely that it didn't have enough power to really haul around all those people quickly. So Dodge came up with the solution for 1989 with the introduction of a turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-four option. Dodge had offered turbos previously in sporty K-cars, but it made sense to throw in the kind of benefits you could get from a turbocharged, 150-hp Caravan. The real crazy thing was that for two years, you could have a turbo-powered minivan with a five-speed stick shift.

5 Early: 1990 Dakota V8

momentcar.com

Although late for arrival, the Dakota left a standing impression of how awesome a small pick-up could be, but it wasn't necessarily just small. The Dakota could be had with a 318 Cubic Inch V8, as well as an eight-foot bed, or a 6.5-foot bed with the extended cab. No other domestic manufacturer had offered a V8 on any compact pickup, but Dodge did, pushing the Dakota to the forefront of the mid-sized pickup offerings from both the US and Japan at the time. The Dakota would continue selling with the 318 (5.2-liter) until 2001 when it was replaced by a smaller 287 (4.7-liter) V8 which carried on until 2011, when the Dakota disappeared entirely due to poor sales.

4 Late: 1989 Dodge Ram Cummins

dieselarmy.com

Dodge may have had diesel motors since the early days, but they were outsourced and often imported, whether from Perkins or Mitsubishi. The mass-produced Dodge Diesel didn't come until a few years after both Ford and GM were in the game. The Cummins, however late it may have been, was still a great competitor when it did arrive, though, with 400 lb-ft of torque compared to Chevy's 257 lb-ft and 338 lb-ft motors made by the International Harvester for Ford. From 1989 to 1998, a  turbocharged straight-six, 5.9-liter would power the Dodge D-250 and be carried on to the redesign in 1994. Because of emissions regulations in 1998, Dodge switched to the 24-valve Cummins—leaving the much-beloved 12-valve behind—and it's these motors that still serve in Rams today.

3 Early: 1994 Dodge Ram

caranddriver.com

By 1993, the Ram D-series had been in production for 22 years, and the look was becoming tiresome. Although Dodge got a boost in sales due to the new Cummins motor being introduced in 1989, they were still hurting.

It wasn't until the following year that they did something new with their pickup.

The redesigned Ram was new and daring, ditching the boxy looks and instead going with a more aerodynamic-based design. With a hood set above the fenders and a distinct chrome grille, the new Ram stood out. However, Dodge didn't really cement their new radical thinking until a couple years later when the biggest gasoline motor offered on any pick was first installed, the 8.0-liter Viper V10.

2 Late: 1992 Dodge Viper

roadandtrack.com

Chevy's Camaro and Corvette, Ford's Mustang and GT, Dodge's Challenger and... This has always been the problem for Dodge. As a company, it had had many brilliant and amazing cars but up until 1992, they haven't had a lasting "halo" car. A car to put Dodge on a world stage, until a project was developed in the late 80s with Carroll Shelby and Lee Iococca at the helm. The Viper was shown first at the Detroit Auto Show, with an iron-block V10 putting out an estimated 300 horsepower. In 1992, the production version didn't change too much from the concept, except for its Lamborghini-derived aluminum V10 that pushed out 400 hp and 450 lb-ft. The car remained in one insane form or another until its discontinuation, leaving the "halo" car reputation for today's Challenger and Charger models.

1 Late: 2009 Dodge Journey

bestcarmag.com

The Crossover craze of today has spawned unusual models from every company across the world. Here in America, we've had crossover offerings since the 90s from Toyota, Honda, and Mazda.

Detroit's domestic market got onto the bandwagon with their own offerings like the Chevy Equinox in 2005 and the Ford Edge in 2007.

It was up to Dodge to finally follow with the Journey in 2009. With 283 hp V6 and all-wheel drive, reviewers couldn't seem to make up their mind whether they liked it or not. But it's hard to say how much of an impact the Journey will leave in a market that seems to be flooded with everyone's input.

Sources: RustyTrucks.tripod.com, Allpar.com, Hemmings.com, and TruckTrend.com.