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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  2016 Dodge Charger SXT - 2016 Dodge Charger
  By Sliim - July 10 - 7:40 am

  Going from a 2 Dr g35 coupe to the Charger....not looking back. Love the car.

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  Wow, Its a Great Car - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By rainville - July 9 - 3:56 am

  We bought our Caliber in April 2006 and we love it! It gets great gas mileage. I listed what we averaged for one month and it was driven a lot in city miles, and we got great mileage! We also love the way it looks and drives! The inside is also sharp! The color we bought is the sunburst orange and it is sharp! We also liked the red! It is just a great all the way around< we did own a dodge ram 1500 quad cab and I thought we may not like the caliber because of the size but it has a lot of room and gets great gas mileage. That was the reason we were looking to trade because of gas prices and went on the Dodge web site and seen the Caliber and liked what we saw!

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  Very good vehicle - 2006 Dodge Caravan
  By CassM - July 8 - 9:19 pm

  Very few problems at 39,000 miles. All minor. Great ride. Cant complain, after 3.5 years. I expected much worse, from reading expert reviews before I bought the vehicle.

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  Close to Perfect - 2009 Dodge Challenger
  By BootCamp - July 3 - 1:55 pm

  Saw the Concept car in late 2006. Hadnt bought a new car since 1986 - nothing worth getting excited about - until I saw the Challenger. Ordered my SRT in March, got it in November. It was worth the wait. 6 speed is tight, limited slip 3.92 gearing is great. 425 HP from 370 cu in is better than the original 426 cu to hp ratio. Handles like a car half its weight. The styling is amazing. The Pacifica Studio folks did a great job! Hit the retro look nail on the head in every way! Cant go anywhere without someone wanting to chat about the car - and look under the hood. Huge trunk and back seats - compared to Mustang and Camaro. The car has been flawless under all conditions. AMAZING RIDE!

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  Great Salespersons Vehicle - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By Randy - July 3 - 6:26 am

  I live in my car. I love all the cubbyholes. I store my brochures & samples in the in-floor storage compartments. It keeps items safe & dry. There is plenty of room to take customers out to lunch. I have almost 14,000 miles on my Journey, and it has given me nothing but pleasure. My company pays for my gas so I am not always easy on the peddle. Surprising I have been averaging almost 22 MPG since the day I bought it. The only maintenance has been 2 oil changes and a tire rotation. I like the new automatic oil change indicator. It actually monitors my driving habits and the environment I drive in. My first oil change was at 5,111 miles and my 2nd at 11,008 miles. GREAT CAR!!

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  Laramie Crew Cab 4x4 with 4.7L Engine - 2009 Dodge Dakota
  By Kent - June 30 - 12:33 pm

  I have owned three 4x4 Crew Cab Dakotas and this is my first Laramie. I love the comfortable leather heated seats, but what I love the most is the ride. This 2009 model gives the best ride of the past three that I have owned. The 4.7L engine has excellent power. I purchased the Mopar aftermarket tonneau cover and believe it has helped with gas mileage. I get 22 MPG on highway and 18 MPG going back and forth to work which is a 50 mile journey round trip. This is the best gas mileage I have had in any of my past Dakotas and also the best ride. The ride is smooth and really compares to the plush ride of a good car. Topping it all off is the premium sound delivered by the Alpine system.

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  My minivan - 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By lou frank - June 28 - 7:10 pm

  Love my van, mpg could be better love stow and go, hard to use unless you have the seats all the way forward, vibrating at around 30 to 35 bothers me, never can seem to get it fixed, will keep after them. I didnt like how the muffler side pipe shows so I put on custom running boards to hide them, looks great. I am impressed with the power accels great. Should have a built in antenna. Not good in a car wash, had to replace my antenna already, only had it two months.

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  Still love this car - 1995 Dodge Intrepid
  By Orchid - June 28 - 3:16 pm

  Still gets 20 in the city and 28-30 highway. Had to replace the timing belt and water pump(second one) and the starter but heck it is almost 15 yrs old!!! I will just cry when I finally have to give it up but let me tell you, I will drive it until the wheels fall off or I can qualify for the $4500 credit - not likely due to the mileage it gets. Never a clunker and there are still a number of these big guys out on the road here in GA.

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  Caravan 3.8L LE/ES 4-dr has been great - 1996 Dodge Caravan
  By michaelrh - June 28 - 12:42 am

  Original owner, second mini-van. Short wheelbase w/3.8L engine can be a hot rod (at the expense of gas mileage.) Very comfortable for long drives, excellent visibility. Exterior styling is timeless -- I still think it is an attractive design 13 years later! One $200 transmission problem at 70,000 miles, but the car has not been particularly expensive to maintain.

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  So far so good - 2000 Dodge Intrepid
  By frank-egny - June 27 - 2:00 am

  I love this car! At 20000 miles I have had only one minor problem with the car. The bracket that holds the parking brake handle broke and was fixed under warranty. I find most of the complaints about this car true (low roof line, hard to get in, hard to see the corners,strange noise coming from upfront, the window motors start with a big bang) but I still think this car is a really good car over all. No problems with the seals or the A/C or the trany or the steering.