Overview & Reviews

One of America's most storied automotive brands, Dodge has been around since the early days of the auto industry. In the past couple of decades, it has revitalized itself to be a producer of aggressively styled and performance-oriented vehicles.

Two brothers, Horace and John Dodge, began the Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicle company in 1914, after having worked as manufacturers of bicycles and automotive parts. Their first vehicle was a touring car that proved a fast favorite with car buyers; it was soon joined by a roadster and a four-door sedan. By 1917, the company's model line had grown to include trucks. Dodge cars and trucks were used as staff vehicles and ambulances in World War I.

Dodge was briefly owned by a banking firm and subsequently sold by its new owner to the Chrysler Corporation in 1928. From there, the brand slowly evolved into the division responsible for trucks and performance-oriented cars. Post WWII, Dodge introduced vehicles like the military-inspired Power Wagon truck, Hemi-powered Coronet and the Royal Lancer; in addition, the manufacturer began offering dealer-installed air-conditioning.

Vehicles like the Dodge Dart and the Coronet kept the manufacturer in American driveways throughout the 1960s. That decade also saw the launch of one of Dodge's most iconic vehicles, the Charger. Dodge's muscle car was based on the Coronet platform, and featured a fastback roof line, hidden headlamps and a full-width taillamp panel. Best of all, the Charger could pack one heck of a wallop under the hood. A 318-cubic-inch V8 was standard, but buyers seeking maximum brawn could upgrade to a 426-cubic-inch, 425-hp Hemi V8. The company also introduced a Mustang-fighting pony car, called the Challenger, in 1970.

As with other American auto manufacturers, Dodge's fortunes started to slip in the '70s due to changing tastes and increased competition. The company was saved from extinction in the early '80s thanks to government loans and the sales success of its Omni and Aries economy cars (the former an attempted copy of the VW Rabbit). But 1984 was when Dodge made its mark in the history books with the introduction of the wildly popular Caravan. Ideal for families and able to seat up to seven, the space-efficient Caravan started a whole new vehicle segment -- the minivan.

The early '90s saw the company wow the public with the V10-powered Viper roadster and an all-new Ram pickup that set a new standard for big-rig-like styling. A few years later, Dodge came to be part of DaimlerChrysler, a result of the merger of the German company Daimler (owner of Mercedes-Benz) and Chrysler.

The merger never really worked, however, and Daimler sold Chrysler and Dodge to a private equity firm in 2007. Soon after, America's economy slid into recession. Due to poor sales and debt, Chrysler had to declare bankruptcy. The federal government intervened and eventually Dodge came under control of Fiat, a European automaker known for its small cars, an area where Dodge's entries had been roundly criticized for mediocre build quality and unrefined performance.

More recent years have seen Dodge concentrate on the more practical vehicles in its lineup, making notable improvements to the performance and overall quality of its midsize Avenger sedan and Journey SUV entries. Dodge also spun off its truck line, making it a separate Ram brand. But make no mistake; Dodge is still considered Chrysler's performance division thanks to cars like the Challenger and Charger. Time will tell how successful Dodge's latest makeover is.

User Reviews:

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  Love my van - 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By MIndypin - February 11 - 10:00 am

  This is my second Dodge Caravan. I love it. It is really comfortable and gets good gas mileage.

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  Extremely Pleased - 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By GKgrandma - February 11 - 10:00 am

  We bought our van because we were left raising two of my grandchildren and they wanted a van. ITS BEEN THE BEST THING WE COULD HAVE DONE!!! The girls really enjoy it and weve made several long distance trips (16,000 miles or more) in the time weve had it, with no trouble. Youre right - its extremely comfortable to drive and ride in. In fact my son, who has a Honda Odyssy, says hes buying a Dodge Grand Caravan the next time they buy. (Ive riden in his van, and its noisy, small and uncomfortable.) Our ride is also very quiet - something that most comment on when they ride with us. A VERY SATISFIED CUSTOMER

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  I LIKE MY VAN . . . A LOT - 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By SCRATCH - February 11 - 10:00 am

  WE BOUGHT OUR VAN DECEMBER 03 IT HAS BEEN A JOY TO DRIVE AND WITH GAS PRICES UP, WE THINK WE GET GREAT GAS MILAGE FOR THE DRIVING WE DO.

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  Great, but I wonder??? - 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Ye Olde Bald Mailman - February 11 - 10:00 am

  Bought this as a lease return with 29,000 miles on it. We studies all minivans on the Edmunds site and decided that Chrysler Corp. has finally cured their transmission woes and reliability and the 2003 was a really great car. We havent been able to get the van back to the dealer for some transmission problems as they have a 2 week backlog on transmission work. This scares me!! Transmission "shudders" between 1st and 2nd gear and hits a "false neutral" when still rolling a couple miles per hour and then accelerating. I thought Chrysler products tranny problems were cured!! First minivan and maybe the last.

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  Great Deal - 2004 Dodge Durango
  By Durango2004 - February 11 - 10:00 am

  We looked long and hard at the Durnageo, Expedition, and Pilot. The Tahoe wasnt even in the picture. In the end, the Durango had more room and power than the Pilot and was actually less money. The Expedition was bigger and had dual temp control, and a keyless touchpad. The biggest advantage it had was that it seated eight. The Durango had a much better engine-HEMI! It also was quieter and handled better. In the end, it was $5500 less than the Ford which is why we bought the Durango. We have less than a thousand miles on it, but it is getting 16 MPG with almost all of it on the highway. Better mileage than people are getting with the Expedition.

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  Dont Waste your money - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By Darla - February 11 - 8:06 am

  This is the worst car i have ever bought. After 20,000 miles i have had to replace the brakes. I took it into the dealership today because the check engine light came and I need to have the breaks done again. The seats stain like crazy. This is not a good car for little kids. My son spilled a soda in the seat and now it is stained and i cant get it out. I definitely dont recommend this car.

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  2003 Grand Caravan Sport (flex fuel eng) - 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By sadies mom - February 10 - 5:20 pm

  Bought this van used in 2007. Would like to have seen the driver seat move lower to the floor when fully moved forward as in the older models of the dodge vans. I am pretty short and still have a hard time reaching the pedals without moving the seat all the way forward and touching the steering wheel. Otherwise very comfortable. Stereo system excellent. Have had no mechanical problems at all during this year. Have taken on a couple of day trips and there were no complaints of being uncomfortable.

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  Still Lovin it - 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Steve - February 10 - 4:20 am

  Purchased new in 2007. Love the lifetime powertrain warranty - have not needed it yet! Had a few things fixed under std warranty - power side doors. Runs great! 20-22 HWY No Tranny problems, really enjoy it! Had a 1998 Grand Caravan, sold it with 220K and was still running great!

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  Patriot Blues - 2000 Dodge Durango
  By MagnumV8 - February 9 - 2:00 am

  Overall I have enjoyed my Durango. Great styling, excellent exceleration, gorgeous Patriot Blue Metallic paint, and some nice creature features, for a truck. However, being one who swore to never buy an SUV, next time, Ill stick to my words. Noise under the hood, sounds like bad bearings in the air conditioning unit. Popping in the suspension. Never make an emergency stop in this vehicle. One power door lock replaced. Power windows, sometimes. One freeze plug replaced at 64k miles.

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  Best yet - 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By firesocks - February 9 - 2:00 am

  When you sit down and compare apples to apples the Dodge Boys end up on top. Something that the neh sayers need to take into consideration is the Diamler effect put into these vans. Fine German engineering is quite evident in the interior. Fit and finish excellent. Would never opt for retractable rear seat unless the split 50/50 rear could retract individualy.