Dodge Dynamite!

Since the 1950s, Dodge has produced a series of charismatic performance cars that have given the company a unique reputation among American car makers. The original Charger and Challenger and the more recent Viper and Caliber SRT are outstanding examples of the company’s commitment to cars of high performance and aggressive styling. Peter Grist’s pictorial history of these typically American machines gives a fascinating insight into their ancestry and evolution and celebrates the huge impact they have made on the road and on the track. His account is an exciting introduction that will appeal to everyone who is interested in American automobile history. When the first Dodge performance cars were conceived in the early 1950s, they were a brave step for a company that was well known for its dependable saloons and pickups. Peter Grist describes this change of direction and the radical new thinking that resulted in the creation of the innovative Dodge “Hemi” V8 of 1953. This remarkable engine provided the power for the first sporting Dodges and led to the race-bred D-500 series of 1956, the first Dodge Muscle car. The author includes illustrations of Dodge’s styling experiments.

Mopar Enthusiast, April 2008US magazine
Although the Dodge brand has been a staple of North American life for nearly a century, the nameplate is a relative newcomer to European audiences. That makes it refreshing to get a British perspective for a change, which Veloce Books delivers in ‘Dodge Dynamite! 50 years of Dodge Muscle Cars’.
Author Peter Grist takes an expansive view of the term ‘muscle car’, but provides a solid overview of Dodge from its origins up to current models such as the Avenger. Covered are race cars and performance models from the post-war period, traditional ’60s muscle, newer performance models such as the Viper, and Dodge concept cars. The book is illustrated mostly with factory photography, although the publishers have dug deep into the archives to find images rarely seen, and have also done a good job rounding up vintage racing photos.
Most books featuring Dodges lump all Mopar vehicles into one volume, so if your interests are limited solely to Dodge products, this might be your book. As for the overseas angle, it’s satisfying to note that Dodge musclecars make the same impact in the United Kingdom as they do in the United States.

Hemmings Muscle Machines, October 2007“The page layouts are inviting, packed with images and detailed text; pick it up for a flip and you’ll get sucked right in.”
Cars & Parts, November 2007 “Overall this book is fascinating, informative and fun. Even those who do not adhere to the philosophy that ‘if it’s not Mopar, it’s not muscle’ will be fascinated with the cars such as the 1953 Diplomat and the 2003 Tomahawk concept.”

Octane, October 2007 – UK magazineA very well-illustrated, bright and breezy telling of the Dodge performance story, using loads of period pics and adverts to spice up its cleanly written text. After a brief outline of Dodge pre-WW2, the book gets into its stride with the arrival of the famous ‘hemi’ V8 and ends with the latest concept cars.