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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  More car for the money!! - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By very pleased! - April 30 - 4:10 pm

  Bought the fully loaded r/t in black ,nav, 3 row seating , interior looks good (black-grey leather)even by reading all the reviews I gave it a chance, traded a 08 T&C LX this one ,no issues for now!gas mileage is average 19mpg

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  Want-to-be Muscle Car! - 2007 Dodge Magnum
  By JMV - April 30 - 2:45 pm

  Very attractive body style! My RT has 18s, nothing special, but I do plan on getting better performance tires and wheels after my first year with the car (8.08). Agree with some of the past comments about interior design, couldve done better, especially that cruise control stick on the left. Had to add Navigational/6-CD, and BlueTooth for convenience could use audio controls on the steering wheel (another option = $$). Blind spots can be trick at times, but when driving defensively, not that big of a problem! But still a problem. Brakes now beginning to squeak at 10K, need to have them checked out at next service.

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  Dodge Caliber - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By John - April 29 - 4:20 pm

  I just bought my 2008 Dodge Caliber April 28,2008 and I will tell you this car is the smoothest car I have ever driven in. Seating is very comfortable I drove 40 miles and my gas needle didnt budge at all wow! This car is great very roomy in the front kind of tight in the back but hey Im happy with it though.

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  Great Vehicle - A Good Buy - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By Greg - April 29 - 9:59 am

  Incredibly dumb that Chrysler discontinued this model. Without a doubt, the best looking wagon to come out of Detroit in decades. After three years, no problems to report on my 2005 R/T. Very fast, nice subtle exhaust note, great mileage - I averaged 27 on the highway at 65 mph. Really like how quiet the car is. Would recommend this as a used car or for those getting the last of the 2008s. Hope to pair this wagon up with a new Challenger in time after the initially rush for them slows down.

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  If I only have the money to keep it - 1993 Dodge Stealth
  By msunatezilla - April 28 - 11:55 pm

  I wanted a stealth since they came out. Now I own one! It s red, a little banged up from careless prior owner, but overall its worth keeping. I figure its something to restore if I ever get enough money to do it, otherwise I swear its worth ten times its value in parts. Have you seen the cost of parts for this thing? Yikes!!! I get 22 mpg which isnt terribly bad, but in todays economy 35 mpg would be nice. I store it for the winter and I itch to bring her out in the spring. My stealth is terrible on snow. Its probably the performance style tires. Id cry if I ever had to sell it. I worry the transmission will some day go out and the cost to rebuild would be in the $2000 range. Great car!!!!!

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  Amazing - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By Luke - April 28 - 7:19 pm

  Quick review. - Fast - Great styling - 25+ highway MPG with the Hemi - Comfortable - Lose the Continentals and get some 255s all around

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  Excellent Car - 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Mom - April 28 - 5:46 am

  Ride is very good, handling looks interior, leg rooms better then any other mini van on the market. Stow and go seat are very good feature

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  Going domestic - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By daryl03 - April 28 - 2:00 am

  I have always driven import cars honda and toyota. I never would of considered going domestic if not for this car. But it was worth it. You cant beat this car when you are talking about bang for the buck. I chose this car over a evo and drove both of them. I figure for the difference in the price of the two I could add a little performance be faster and still spent less.

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  SRT-4-All - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By Billy-Joe Bob. - April 28 - 2:00 am

  fun to drive, always leaves a smile on your face when you get into the throtte, the look on someones face when they just learned it wasnt a "neon" but a turbo charged monster from dodge.

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  i love this car - 2000 Dodge Intrepid
  By dolfinfan - April 26 - 7:41 pm

  This car is awesome. I have lots of fun with the auto stick and its real sweet looking too!