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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  Winner - 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By bob - February 2 - 9:56 pm

  This vehicle has a great design, large headlights .Tail lights stand out at night, body design is attractive. The van has no rattles and is quite air tight. The van has a lot of storage space and a good visibilty. Anti Lock Breaks work with little effort applied, seats are comfortable.

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  Never Again!!! - 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By sarahnichole975 - February 2 - 5:40 am

  We purchased this van used in 2005 as a demo. The first year was fine, downhill quickly from there. AC compressor is out and before it went out we replaced the switch 3 times, both tail light covers fell off, power locks and windows work when they want to, pieces on inside break easily, not enough power to push this tank. Passenger sliding door hard to open. Back liftgate is testy. Mine doesnt have stow and go and moving those seats around and/or out is tough!!! 100 other little issues with it. But all the little things add up to one big piece of junk!!! You could not pay me to own another one. Upgrading to a Sienna!

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  Seatbelts are Unsafe - 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By jribeiro - January 29 - 10:00 am

  The seatbelts can become disengaged inadvertently. Please see www.unsafebelts.com

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  Brakes, Rotors, Transmission....... - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Chris - January 27 - 9:20 am

  Purchased the vehicle brand new from dealership. At 18k started hearing screeching noise from front tires. Outcome? Complete brake overhaul from calipers, rotors and brake pads, all needed replaced. Dealership said there was no reported issue even though I showed them pages and pages of customer complaints about the brakes. I did this out of my own pocket for the safety of my family. Now before warranty expires the transmission is slipping. We took to dealer said there was a recall and fixed right? Wrong? Today wife had to take back to dealer, $95 bucks to look at it since no longer under warranty. Rental out of my pocket and the outcome is still TBD...... Terrible experience.

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  Excellence! - 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By G Claussen - January 24 - 6:23 pm

  I love this thing! Super value and all the storage I could ask for. The kiddies love it and the wife, well, who cares what she thinks. Nice rig for SURE!

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  Happy Family - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By Tracy K - January 24 - 6:06 pm

  We purchased the Journey R/T AWD and we are so very happy with it. Its sporty, handles well, has lots of room and storage. We bought one with all the bells and whistles and are having fun with it. My kids love the DVD player and the temp control in the back.

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  lust at first sight - 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By victor morris - January 24 - 10:00 am

  when i first saw this van,i almost got rearended i hit the brakes so hard..i was passing by a dealership in richmond,virginia and i saw the side door glide back.the leather seats that were exposed reminded me of my fathers lazyboy football chair,large and inviting.i made the first available u- turn,i had to investigate.once on the lot,the magnetic pull locked in on me like an alien tracter beam.once inside,i knew that i had to have it.auto doors(3),leather,dvd,radio controls on the steering wheel...best purchase of my life

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  I Love My Van - 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By KH2OS11 - January 24 - 10:00 am

  I have driven a Dodge caravan for 5 years now and I love it. Everytime they come out with something new we upgrade. It is like driving a car but with the room of a bus! I like all the room. With three kids to take around it is very nice to have a van that I can count on to meet all my need with the kids.I love the automatic slid doors!! I would never drive anything eles!! That is the truth

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  Rock on Charger - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By Red Thunder - January 23 - 11:30 pm

  I purchased a Charger SRT8 and paid a mark up because I wanted it and I wanted it now!!! It has amazing power. I particularly liked the SRT8 because of the amount of interior space. It is nice to have a car with great looks, speed and comfort for 4-5 adults. Lot of people are speechless when they see the car and even more when they look under the hood at the 6.1 liter bundle of joy. I got all the SRT packages and they are worth it. The navigation system is easy to use as are all of the onbourd computer systems. All in all, worth every penny. So happy I have mine.

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  Horrible product - 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By rosaliny2 - January 23 - 6:29 pm

  I purchased this van with about 25,000 miles on it in 2012. Within the first month there was a clunking when shifting out of park or from reverse to drive. It was loose motor mounts. Less than a month after it started clunking again. This time it actually broke the motor mount and the new part took a week to come in. This happened every 2 months. 10 months into ownership, the rear calibers stuck. 1 week after the brakes were replaced and calipers cleaned ($400) 1 caliper stuck again. New calipers from a dealership were already sticking and my mechanic had to replace them before he even got them on. I ended up putting $1500 into a new rear brake system with less than 50,000 miles on the van.