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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  Best Yet! - 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By KarenP - April 5 - 2:16 am

  We traded in our 1997 GC for the 2005 SXT. We have loved it since the 1st time we sat in it. The seats are extremely comfortable. The ride is amazingly quiet. The van take bumps like they werent even there. This is our 4th Dodge Grand Caravan and this is the best yet. We havent made a long trip in it yet, but I am definitely looking forward to one. Thanks Dodge for continual great design and upgrades.

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  Dependable and Practical - 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By ronwagn - April 3 - 8:00 am

  The best vehicle we have ever owned. Our third minivan. No problems. Stowaway seats are great unless you need to drive on rock strewn terrible roads. It has lower clearance due to the stow away seats. I would buy one again, but will try to wait for a hybrid, preferably with a gasoline generator to charge it if needed. I would consider other brands, but prefer to buy American. Do not know of any other good American options, aside from the more expensive Chrysler Town Car. That may be all that is available next year though. The SXT is fancy enough for us. Anything else we need can be added on separately. We will drive this until it dies and then look for a hybrid minivan that is cost efficient

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  Not impressed - 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By petesmithj - March 30 - 2:46 am

  We love our van because its easy to use with kids. Thats where it ends. Its been in the shop twice for a leaking transmission - the rubber the window on the drivers side falls of if you shut the door too hard. The remote start doesnt work, the transmission clunks when downshifting, the tires are terrible, there isnt enough power and the wing mirrors are fading. We have a total of 14,000 miles now - Not impressed.

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  its not a JEEP - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By dojodriver09 - March 29 - 10:46 pm

  Got this ride last year when my lease was almost up. For a long time felt like I had traded DOWN from the Grand Cherokee.. I still feel that way BUT when gas was over four bucks a gallon I was smiling at my Improved mileage. I was a bit worried about what it would do in snow since I couldnt find meatier tires. I have to say it went every bit as good at the GC and I was even going thru snow on roads that werent even plowed this past winter. When I got home I had snow caked in the grill.. So I guess I will live with it for another 24 months and see whats available when this lease is up. There arent that many on the road where I live.

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  Plenty of power - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By Bob G. - March 29 - 12:06 pm

  Car has more then enough power and is fun to drive. Interior design is a little on the plain side but doesnt matter when you tap the gas to go around some slow poke. Just got to be careful and not give it to much gas.

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  Great car,/poor workmanship with motor - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By Charmaine - March 28 - 8:34 pm

  I believe I was ripped off from the start. I paid 42,000 for my car in 2006. One of the salesman had been driving g it back and forth home before I bought it. I had it for seven years and the motor acted up. I took it to the dealership and they charged me 400 dollars to tears down theotor to find the problem. I was told that a part of the feul injector broke off and fell down in the cylinder and scratched it up real bad. It was sounding like a truck with lou d pipes. I think that everybody that bought a 2006 dodge charger, that had problems with the hemi motor, the shift, and the tie rod ends should sue the makers of the hemi motors for all the troubles, and for being falsely mislead about the 2006 dodge charger.

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  Love the R/T 4.0 L 5spd - 2007 Dodge Nitro
  By RenoRor - March 27 - 11:40 am

  Ive had my Nitro for net yet a week. So far, I love it. Im getting good gas mileage, 18 city and 23-24 hwy. I love the kick from the 4.0L engine. Great bold styling! I get a lot of comments and questions. Its great! The R/T comes with the bigger tires and nice wheels, a nice extra.

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  A fun car and a great car to drive - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By Lute - March 27 - 11:30 am

  This car is a real pleasure to drive and I can merge into traffic with ease from the power. My car is a Mango Daytona R/T (#3913 of 4000). I have averaged 22 MPG in local driving since I have not been on any trips with it yet. I imagine I would get at least 25MPG on a trip. Everywhere I have been with it, I get all positive comments about the looks of the car.

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  Great van and warranty! - 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By luvit! - March 25 - 10:00 am

  There is a lot of advantages with the Grand Caravan. I love all the room and it rides REALLY nice! Four star safety, which is really important to me. The gas mileage is surprisingly good. Great warranty. I cant believe the prices of some of the other minivans. This had such a competitive price and it really delivers! The $3500 cash back was awesome!

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  Recurring problem with brand new van - 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By dandkarcher@aol.com - March 24 - 3:41 am

  I bought this brand new van to feel safe while transporting our family of 6 around. At 3,000 miles all of a sudden the windshiled wipers came on and would not turn off, all of the warning lights came on, a "No Bus" code appeared and I lost power to all the sliding doors. I have had it in for service twice (both times they kept it for a week). They are taking electrical components all apart (harness wires, etc) which makes me nervous because things never go back together the same way. The problem is still happening at random times and it always seems to be after business hours. The most recent time was while driving in a busy downtown area and I had no operating turn signals and did not feel safe driving this vehicle. The dealership and the headquarters want me to basically drive the vehicle (with no prediction of how long this will take) until the problem happens so that they can get an "active code" reading to help fix the problem. So here I am with a brand new unreliable vehicle that I spent thousands and thousands of dollars on that is now requiring multiple service appointments. The whole reason I went for a new vehicle was to have a reliable vehicle that I did not have to take in for service all the time.