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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  My wifes dream machine - 2014 Dodge Durango
  By pcrmike - June 30 - 2:19 pm

  Well, after looking at all the other three-row SUVs out there, and driving a bunch of them, my wife fell head over heels for the styling and features of the Durango Citadel. It was thousands cheaper then the competing vehicles from Buick and GMC, while driving better IMHO, plus, the interior quality as well as the feature ease and understanding of the intuitive controls was the best in class in our view. Our black granite pearl with chrome Durango turns heads everywhere, and with its glare in front and racetrack taillights out back, the first night we had it, our son remarked, "Lord Vader, your ship is here". The ride and drive is stunningly solid and quiet. LOVE IT!

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  Best Car Ever!! 2014 and Still Going Strong 232000 miles - 2001 Dodge Intrepid
  By uniquelylisa - June 28 - 4:55 pm

  I bought this car in 2008 for only $1400 because it had 150,000 miles. In 6 years I have had to go only regular maintenance - oil, tires, plugs, breaks oh and 1 tire rod. Its so much fun to drive but the shop I take it to says I have to change the timing belt they are concerned it has soo many miles. Honestly, I know they are right and it should be done. Great Car in fact the best car I have ever bought and Ive had only new cars up to the day I bought it...it was suppose to be an interim car til I decided what next. 6 years later I still Love IT

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  Best vehicle Ive ever owned - 2004 Dodge Durango
  By echolynfan - June 18 - 6:10 pm

  Purchased mine brand new in 2004 and currently has 128,000 miles. This has been the most reliable and best vehicle Ive ever owned - did the regular maintenance...new tires...brakes, battery etc. but thats IT.

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  If you find one you like, GET IT. - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By rnz2014 - June 16 - 10:52 pm

  My sister, myself and a friend all have one. Mines a 2007 R/T without AWD & I LOVE IT. Ive had her for three years, & Ive had no major issues. Her alternator is starting to go, but thats 7 years of wear & tear. The car runs like a car, but feels more like an SUV. The Caliber has dependability that we all loved about Chrysler Group at one time or another, & the R/T has enough power to make driving fun. They handle well, and have a great turning radius. With window guards, the window noise when open at high speeds is practically gone. Bought mine with 99,000 miles, and she now has 128,000 miles. Great car, would definitely buy another.

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  Sold C5 Corvette for this Car! - 2010 Dodge Challenger
  By dando1 - June 4 - 11:03 am

  I have had ALOT of cars.. 55 Chevys including a Nomad. GTO, Trans Ams, Etc... I sold the Corvette to buy this car.(Actually looking for a 300 srt8. The corvette was so uncomfortable, and noisy and a hard ride I felt like I was beat up after riding in it for a few hundred miles. I also had a 70 Challenger. The 70 in no way can compare to the new version. This car is so darn comfortable. NO WIND NOISE, or barely any road noise at all. It soaks up road imperfections so nicely. I have read about how the camaro this and how the mustang that. I dont care. First I dont race my cars. Second, there is no way they can have this type of a ride. The heavy car feel is something I love.

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  Dodge Has Been Busy! - 2013 Dodge Charger
  By randallscott - May 30 - 1:16 am

  During the last 20 years or so Dodge has definitely been busy designing and building cars that exude visceral appeal! The 2014 Charger SXT is just such a car! Its rated at 300 hp with an 8 spd tranny that is rated to deliver 31 mpg hwy. On a short test loop I recorded an average of 35 mph with little more effort than avoiding hard throttle application, and managing my approach to stop lights - I would say Dodges numbers are accurate for those who actually drive to conserve fuel. The Charge is a full-size, 4-door...spacious interior, very well laid-out instrument panel with large 8.4" touch screen display, Garmin Nav system...pretty much all the bells and whistles.

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  Nothing Better In Its Class! - 2014 Dodge Durango
  By dbalsam - May 27 - 1:58 pm

  My wife and I are still shocked we are driving a Durango. Wife traded her 2008 Infiniti QX56 which she loved but it had a lot of miles on it so it was time for something new/newer. Cross-shopped QX56, QX60, Pathfinder, Acadia, Enclave, MDX, Explorer. Stumbled upon Durango Citadel model and was shocked. The interior quality and tech options are amazing and the exterior is unique as well. Drives so nice and smooth. Ton of looks by people trying to figure out what it is as there are not many on the road. If they sold under Jeep as Extended Grand Cherokee they would sell a ton as it is built on same platform along with Mercedes GL SUV. Ok though as I like our "secret". Test drive one!

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  Great value - this is for V8 Citadel with all options - 2013 Dodge Durango
  By zmra09 - May 18 - 10:24 am

  We had a 2011 Traverse LTZ that we were very happy with. Liked the dependability and the room. We were just looking for something nicer inside and with a little better ride and quieter. We looked at Acura MDX (too small even the new one) New Traverse and Buick (mild refresh not too exciting) Infiniti QX60 (nice, a little slower and would have been $10k more than our fully loaded Durango Citadel. From the first moment I drove the new 2014 Durango I was impressed by the handling how solid and quiet it was the ease of use of the Uconnect control system, and the performance. We got a fully loaded Durango Citadel with with 5.7 L Hemi V8.

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  LOVE our 2007 Durango!! - 2007 Dodge Durango
  By reagle3 - May 11 - 8:45 am

  Purchased 4 years ago from a friend who had updated with high performance additions, fun to drive. Previous vehicle was Suburban, mpg and higher mtnce/tire costs expected on full size SUV. No mechanical issues Dodge replaced gas cap due to recall. Towing power was more than adequate when pulling fullsize Uhaul trailer. Have to trade - either a bent valve stem or rod issue at 114,000 miles - even tho we used high octane (91) gas the last two years and synthetic oil - as far as we know. To be safe, use 93 octane and only synthetic oil. Never use ethanol even with flex fuel engine. Would buy it again! Tend to drive vehicles into ground - over 200k will miss doing so with this vehicle.

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  A lot of car for the money - 2011 Dodge Charger
  By gtfo - May 8 - 10:22 pm

  I bought a brand-new 2011 Dodge Charger 3.6L V6 Rallye Plus, and it has 29,300 miles. There were 3 recalls: 1. Front-door handles - handles seals failed to block out the rain, causing a short-circuit, making passive-entry feature unusable. 2. ABS/Stability Control fuses - potential overheating of the fuses/fusebox, and not work. 3. Halogen (not HID) headlight wire harness - potential overheating of harness, and light not work. All recalls done free. Repairs took 2-4 hours each. But, Ive experienced NONE of the 3 potential problems. Comfortable, appropriate power, good handling for big car, reliable, good car overall.