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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  Good Buy - 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By JPowell - October 16 - 10:00 am

  Purchased 6-cylinder Grand Caravan in summer of 91, after plenty of research. Great van for a young family (2 adults, 2 kids). Recommend the 6- cylinder with luggage rack. Pros: Driver and passenger comfort are excellent. 6-cylinder provides plenty of power (test drove the 4-banger too...a bit of a dog). Drives like a large car, very smooth with enough pep for passing. Cons: One recall to replace side door latch (handled very efficiently by dealer). Removable seats are very heavy...not a one-person task. Because of this, we avoid removing the seats and use the luggage rack instead.

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  My Favorite Car - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By jg - October 15 - 2:06 pm

  I have had my car for almost a year now. I live up north and we have had over 15ft of snow so far this winter and only half way through it. It handles well in the snow, this was one of the major reasons I chose this car. It doesnt have any problems starting on those below zero mornings. I make long trips regularly and this car helps me get through them. The seats are very comfortable. The only problems I have had were there when I purchased. The cruise control was never hooked up correctly and one speaker didnt work right (which there was a recall on so I got all 4 replaced). I know some people say it is loud but it is the quietest car I have ever owned.

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  Updated review from last year - 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Jeff Clark - October 14 - 9:53 pm

  I reviewed this last Nov. after purchasing in Sept. 04. We now have 13K miles and have been on several trips. This van has yet to visit the dealership. The 6-disk dvd changer is a god-send for the two kids while traveling. After several hours of riding, I do get a little uncomfortable. So, the leather seats do get hard on the rear and back after 4-5 hours. Everything is still working as expected. So far, I would not change a thing, except for seat comfort. Mileage average is 19.

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  Surprised purchase - 2006 Dodge Magnum
  By damian - October 14 - 2:46 pm

  I purchased this car to get away from the look and feel of the SUVs and to my surprise, it seems I got a big car with comfort that you would get in a luxury mode,l and the sportiness of a smaller car. The drive is simply breath taking

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  Dodge This Rental! - 2016 Dodge Dart
  By JRWKilleen - October 12 - 8:49 am

  I cant recall ever renting such a piece of junk! How Enterprise can consider this a full sized car is beyond my understanding. It is horribly underpowered. What amazed me was that this so-called modern car had no USB ports! I thought I was looking in the wrong place, so I went online for the info. Sure enough, this bare bones heap had none. The interior was absolutely cheesy!

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  The best SUV I have ever owned - 2004 Dodge Durango
  By JBrown - October 12 - 2:00 am

  I love the room and the quiet ride. The Hemi is the best engine I have ever owned.

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  06 Charger R/T - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By J Lewis - October 11 - 4:16 am

  I waited 20 years for Dodge to build a car like the new Charger. I have an early production Charger R/T with no options. I love the beast! Lots of power, especially at low RPM, big brakes, and decent handling without killing the ride. And the styling is just great! Excellent fuel economy for a full size car if you keep your foot off the gas (good luck at that). The power steering is typical Mopar - lots of feel, but also lots of boost and no centering power, so you have to keep an eye on the car. She will wander off if you arent careful. It helps to drive with both hands, which also makes the turn signal and cruise control placement make sense.

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  Meets expectations - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By mbs - October 10 - 4:00 am

  Very fun car to drive. Great for long road trips. Be aware that the car is a bit difficult to park, but is otherwise a solid platform for around town or on the road.

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  130,000 Grand Caravan - 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By ftn - October 9 - 10:33 pm

  Have put nearly 130,000 miles on our Grand Caravan ES AWD with only routine maintenance. The vehicle has been great - very reliable - big enough to carry everything we need. Gas mileage could be better but overall weve been VERY pleased.

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  Infuriating Garbage - 2016 Dodge Charger
  By DANIEL DALY - October 9 - 12:44 pm

  Where to start? So I bought this car (2016 Charger SXT 3.6 V6 Rallye fully loaded) based on expert reviews. Do not trust them. This car is the prime example of what is wrong with the American auto industry. Great ideas that are poorly executed. The styling is kinda boring. The interior is a plastic sea of bland styling and afterthought peices. Poor quality plastic at that. Its as if they couldnt think of anything to fill in the blandness so they just tried to rely on the gizmos to impress you. Speaking of gizmos, lets start with the instrument cluster. It is a great looking instrument cluster. Very impressive actually. Reminds me of offerings from the German brands. It is also easy to navigate. There is hardly any reason for your hands to leave the steering wheel. It is clear they want your attention on driving. It probably also helps to keep your eyes out of the cockpit so you dont notice how bad the interior really is. The seats are very comfortable and have many adjustments. You cannot change the color of the interior lighting like you can on the Ford system. The infotainment system is okay. Much better than the Ford Sync system. It is responsive and easy to navigate. I have also had to reset it nearly every time I drive it. The Uconnect system is honestly not worth the hassle. Trying to get my Samsung S5 and this system to cooperate is a pain. The app is straight up garbage. Wifi in the car is a joke. They also charge $40 per month for this "feature". It just stops working after using it for any amount of time. The voice commands especially for the navigation is abysmal. It was bad in the Ford but so much worse in the Dodge. Dont even bother to use the voice feature with the navigation. The navigation itself is okay. Seems to work as advertised. It is a superior system to Fords in this regard. The voice system is half baked at best. Seriously the worst system in the cars I have owned. Even Hyundai has a better system. Its a complete waste. Now, lets chat about the nuts and bolts. Power is supremely lacking for a supposed 300 hp V6. I live in Colorado and have 650 miles on the car and can tell you it is absolutely terrible on the power. My buddies 2008 Toyota Camery has better power. As a matter of fact the Audi A4 has a better feel to the power with an 80 hp deficit. I should have bought the Audi. Lessons learned. The AWD is infuriating. You wouldnt think it would be as most cars with AWD just kinda leave it on. This car is rediculous. The AWD stays off and leaves the car in RWD normally. If the temperature is 40° or lower the AWD comes on. If you run the wipers for an amount of time the AWD activates (thats true). If you activate sports mode the AWD activates so now you can burn more gas with no real benefits at all. You dont get more power. You dont get better handling it just revs longer before shifting. Seriously, thats it. If you turn off the traction control the AWD activates. If you use the paddle shifters the AWD activates. In manual mode the AWD activates. It is so stupid to leave the driver no control over the system. For instance, if I want to downshift going down a hill the car will throw on the AWD and then I can burn more gas for no reason. Or if its cold and dry out I am killing my MPG with the AWD for literally no reason at all because it is 39° outside. This car allows no fun at all because of the half baked idea with the traction control and "sport" mode. What is wrong with the ding dongs at Dodge? This system makes no sense. Dont even try to drive it agressively, it will kill your fun quick. It handles like a grandpa boat. Thats all I can say about that. Oh and when I tried to take this terrible car back I had discovered it depriciated $10,000.00!!!! All within 250 miles of driving it. I expected $5000 or even $8000 and frankly would have paid it just to be rid of this awful car. But $10,000? Seriously!?! Best I can do is warn others to stay away. Please learn from my stupidity. Do not even consider this car. It is the worst possible decision to purchase this car and I regret it immensely. For this much money you can do way better.