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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  SXT sport - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By Travis - September 21 - 9:52 pm

  Have had this car for just over one month. Had a large Chrysler 300M and have been really happy and impressed with this car. Although the car is much smaller than the 300 it doesnt feel small. Mostly city driving and get 24 mpg. 17 mpg on 300. The CVT is great. I believe that complaints are from people who are not used to it. Plenty of smooth power. Premium radio with Boston acoustics is the best I have heard. Car is really functional and fun to drive. The gas savings is a great bonus and the car is great for the money. Looked at a Honda civic and felt the auto was underpowered, not smooth and felt small. This is a great bargain. Highly recommend this car.

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  No Ford! Dodge! - 2005 Dodge Dakota
  By chesman12 - September 21 - 7:58 pm

  Just bought my 05 4wd Dakota 4 months ago. Love it on road- off road even more! Thought it was too low it crawled over everything like it was pavement! Reliability is awesome. Can take this truck ANYWHERE you can think up. 4lock works great- very impressed.First 4wd Ive owned. Best overall mid-size truck on the market- roomy, comfortable, [even in the ext. part.]

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  I love my Charger! - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By Johanna - September 20 - 5:10 pm

  I had been bugging my husband for a year for this baby! I finally got it a few weeks ago. I got the RTand I am loving it! Its so much fun. The kids love it too, and my husband is jealous. All my friends were shocked because Im a girly girl, but I love muscle cars. I get stopped all the time by people complimenting my car. All my friends husbands are jealous! I got the windows blacked out to match the car, spoiler is being added this weekend. Ive never been so excited about a car before. My dad had one before I was born, a 1969, and now Im keeping on with the tradition.

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  My Dodge Avenger - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By Jase - September 19 - 8:46 pm

  I bought this car because I was looking for an affordable AWD car that also had great looks.So far I am very satisfied with my Avenger. The R/T trim adds the most powerful engine available and it is plenty powerful. The car can take off when I need it to. There is ample room, both front and back. Watch for the blindspots they are numerous. Overall I am very happy with the car and in retrospect would still definately buy it.

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  locks are the problem - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Linda Kohler - September 19 - 6:30 pm

  The biggest problem with the van is that you can lock the doors with the sliding doors in the back still open. Once you push the lock and not have the doors closed, it still locks with the doors in the open position. This should be corrected by Dodge.

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  Great - 2008 Dodge Charger
  By Jen - September 19 - 3:36 pm

  We just purchased our 2008 Charger and LOVE IT! It is an awesome car! The inside has plenty of room and the trunk is huge. It rides and drives great. The stock stereo is wonderful. I had someone ask if I had put my own system in. I let them know that it was the system that came in the car. We also get lots of of people wanting to look and drive the car. So far I have not found ANY problems.

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  Its bad! - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By biscuitg09 - September 18 - 10:35 am

  I cant explain how awesome this car is i love it so much its so fast so comfortable and i have no complaints. Im used to driving my 1995 dodge Dakota, but now wit this 5.7 lr hemi powered beast man its no match i drive it everywhere and the whole time im on the road, the eyes are on my, i put a srt-8 spoiler on it and it is a dark red with silver pinstripe. white leather interior, sunroof smoothest ride i have ever been in and a custom chrome grill. i could go on but im am leaving it at that, but i cant say one bad thing about this car.

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  Love Dodge - 2004 Dodge Intrepid
  By Michael - September 17 - 2:52 pm

  One of the best cars that I have owned. I love my intrepid and have only had normal maintenance.

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  would do again - 1995 Dodge Caravan
  By love it - September 17 - 10:34 am

  I bought this van from a company fleet sale with 124,000 miles on it and immediately put it to work as a service van. it has performed exceptionally well with only routine issues such as oil, brakes, tires, etc. I have only had issues with the ABS ($340.00 to repair), transaxle seal leak ($250.00 to repair), and entire new brake system ($750.00, quick oil change place put wrong brake fluid in reservoir, seals all expanded. The vehicle now has 197,000 miles on the 3.3 L V6 motor and performs flawlessly. I havent used it as a work vehicle for about 4 years now but keep it to haul college kids stuff from home to school when needed. Too bad they do not make this van as a service van anymore.

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  Awesome car and a good buy - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By jolschlager - September 15 - 9:51 am

  I absolutely love my new Avenger SXT. It replaced a 2008 Hyundai Sonata that was wrecked while on vacation. I noticed a huge difference in mileage, gas, and comfort. This car has it all for someone who seeks comfort and performance. I recommend this car to anyone who is considering purchasing one. Very affordable, and fun to drive. I love this car more than any other car that Ive ever owned, and its worth every penny I spent on it.