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 this Wagon! - 2011 Dodge Caliber
  By Shannon Altmeyer - March 30 - 6:41 pm

  Its size and comfort are perfect for what I was looking for. Bigger than a car, yet smaller than an SUV. Im Im love!!!

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  Super ++++ - 2007 Dodge Durango
  By Steviegene - March 29 - 10:51 pm

  We have had this Durango for a few months and absolutely love it. We needed to tow about 6500lbs to it was a great choice.

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  Black Beauty - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By Heater - March 28 - 3:26 pm

  I call my car the bad yammer-jammer. Young and old continuosly give me the thumbs-up.

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  We love ours! - 2005 Dodge Durango
  By TJ - March 28 - 12:25 pm

  We bought this Durango used with 65000 miles last January. It worked great in Kansas averaging roughly 20mpg while using AC. We now live in Colorado and this vehicle has been a dream. In snow and ice the AWD works great. We average 18 mpg up and down the mountains and around town. When we makes trips to Denver from BV we get 22mpg and got 24 on one trip. We did replace the plugs at 80,000 miles and they were fried. We used Bosch this time and have never had any other problems even with Colorados 85 octane fuel. The rear seat is a little tight for adults, but great for kids and the third seat is great for extra passengers. Sound system is great too. Ride is good for SUV and extremely quiet.

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  Dodge - 2003 Dodge Durango
  By Blackwell6832 - March 28 - 2:00 am

  Great car.. ne of the best I have seen made.

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  HEMI - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By Jim - March 26 - 10:46 pm

  Its fast, fun and I love it!! Handles fantantic.

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  Fun to drive - 2009 Dodge Challenger
  By greggw34 - March 26 - 10:08 am

  I love this car, everyone stops me and wants to talk about this car, I went with the se model due to pricing.. Add dual cat back exhaust where I felt more power response. Getting the Windows tinted was not a good experience... Thinking about adding cold air intake down the road, I had one problem with mine at 500 miles had a problem with the engine? told me the flywheel was damaged? scary but the dealership fixed it, and had no problems since at least for now the car is great to drive, wish the v6 had a little more power...

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  HARLEM BULLY - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By A.PATE - March 25 - 8:26 am

  The Charger is really well put together and a joy to drive. Its a mans car that can also be enjoyable for the ladies. Its a looker that turns heads no matter what part of the country youre visiting. Theres a few things that would make the Charger the perfect car; better gas mileage and a more luxurious interior. I give the Charger "thumbs up"...Dodge has a winner!

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  Rocket Ride - 2008 Dodge Charger
  By JustOrange - March 24 - 4:25 pm

  I just traded in a 04 Mazda 6 for this brand new, 2008 Daytona R/T. I drive Crown Vics for a living and find a 4 cylinder gas friendly but boring! I have admired the new Charger since they were first debuted, but since it was an American car, I was weary. The Charger is the embodiement of everything I think "cool" cars should be - and everything that American cars should live up to. It is my absolute favorite car ever designed. I never got to buy "the" car up until now, I have always gotten the one that sufficed. This is just plain fun to drive. Gas milage is not the selling point to these, but I will gladly sacrifice in that dpt! I look forward to driving my car!

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  Once was just not enough - 2006 Dodge Magnum
  By D.E.Light - March 23 - 8:39 pm

  Bought a new SRT Magnum for my own retirement gift in 2007. Simply loved it but eventually sold it to a friends son who kept bugging me for it (for 3 years). After that I owned 2 Chargers, 1 R/T, 1 SRT and a Chrysler 300C. I really missed the wagon because of the versatility and nasty looks so when I was able to find the second wagon I grabbed it. Never have had any issues with any of these vehicles but then I take care of all the maintenance/repair myself so no one can mess them up. There is a HUGE difference between the 5.7 and 6.1 Hemi LX cars pretty much in all respects so for me it will always be the SRT. The 6.1 responds very well to small changes (tuning,exhaust,CAI) and kicks real butt when you also loose 150-200 lbs of weight from the car which is not that hard to do. Even with the 12 sec. 1/4 mile performance I get around 23mpg on 75mph trips. Best of both worlds and the darn thing is a wagon to boot! Kudos to the SRT team. This gang has brought back the old day attitude and swagger we had in the 60s and early 70s. Chrysler leads and the others follow ( after complaining and trash talking about being beaten of course). Some things never change.