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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  Im not a Soccer Mom in the Magnum - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By Paul - April 19 - 9:07 am

  This is a family car with attitude. We love the aggressive styling inside and out. I love how the car just glides over the road, even with all the pot holes from this last winter. The only issue we have had so far is the washer sprayers on the hood broke. Those as well as most of the Magnums parts are "dealer only". We really didnt want to buy a mini van but that was what we where needing, so glad we found this instead.

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  Nothing Compares - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By kcmartin1@aol.com - April 18 - 11:46 am

  Power to spare with milage to be proud of. 1500 mile trip with 80 mph+ cruise most of the time achived 23mpg - COOL. Every day backk and forth to work is about 20mpg, constant city stop and is only about 14mpg. Quite secure ride. Electronic Stability Program (ESP)is fantastic on wet roads you swear this thing has all wheel drive.

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  Awesome car - 2002 Dodge Intrepid
  By Love my dodge - April 17 - 5:13 pm

  My dad got the car with 20K miles on it when it was 2 years old. and not a single scratch or dent. We never had any problems besides the O2 sensor went out. We took this car to Denver from Twinfalls, Idaho. and to Portland Oregon several times. Now that it has 110K miles on it I own it now and the power, looks, reliability, and Gas mileage is awesome. This car with the 3.8 gives most V8s a run for their money. Even after my mom wrecked it its still been an awesome car i have put 22,000 mi on it and had to replace the rear brakes thats all!

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  Great lil mid-size - 1994 Dodge Spirit
  By Edwin - April 16 - 3:38 pm

  i bought this car for $300 from a lady that could not afford to fix it. It had 205,000 miles on it and it would hardly run, luckily parts are easy to find and reasonably priced. this car as the 3.0L V-6 built by Mitsubishi, which is a very powerful and reliable engine. all problems have been fixed and this thing ROCKS. Plenty of room for anything, seats 5-6 people, big trunk for speakers, handles well for its size and even better with bigger wheels 16s-17s. stops well and accelerates well with the V-6

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  I waited a long time for this - 2008 Dodge Charger
  By ashlar90 - April 15 - 9:25 pm

  This is my mid life crazy vehicle. Growing up, girls werent supposed to have cars like these. So I bought my own at 52! It is the most perfect car I have ever driven. The seats are so comfortable they fit like soft gloves. I bought #505 of 1650. Yep, Daytona Orange, even the engine is orange.

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  Nicest Dodge Ive Ever Driven - 1998 Dodge Dakota
  By Ralph - April 14 - 7:25 pm

  I have never driven a 5 speed standard 318 before this truck. I have to say its got some jam. And the throttle response is great. The body has great flowing lines that are arrow dynamic, unlike the new Dakotas that seem square. If i ever decide to buy another truck, it is gonna be a Dakota.

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  If you can find one, buy one - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By Dodge Magnum RT - April 14 - 12:23 pm

  I have driven mine for almost 3 years and can report NO PROBLEMS. Lose the Conti tires and put on performance 255 wides and this car comes alive. Now it goes, corners and stops! I would buy a 2008 if I could find one. The RTs must come off a different line than the SXTs because I hardly ever hear of problems. If Chrysler would put in a better dash without all the charcoal gray, it would be an extraordinary car.

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  Best Car to Start with - 1994 Dodge Spirit
  By spirittttz - April 14 - 10:06 am

  Well, I got this car off of my brother after he went to jail, sad story. It was my first car, I got with somewhere around 100,000 miles. It was in great shape. I learned everything on this car, what to do, what not to do. It ran through everything. Took only 1 tank of gas to get from Linesville, Pa. to Columbus Ohio and back (roughly 461 miles total). Good on gas, very sturdy, took a beating on dirt roads but never shuddered. Not much room inside though. The only thing that could stop this baby was a White minivan rear ending me at a red light. I wish I still had this car.

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  Good Value for the money at the lower priced models - 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By floridaflyer - April 14 - 1:22 am

  We bought our 2012 Grand Caravan back in February and four months later we have 5000 miles on it. We are enjoying it, my wife is more comfortable driving the minivan than my car and she really likes the stow-n-go seating. We have been getting better gas mileage (seeing 21 mpg city and 27 mpg highway, my calculations, not the display on the dash which reads a little higher) than the EPA sticker says and thats with running the A/C. I do keep the Econ Button on all the time, except when I am accelerating up this one onramp that is uphill. When I turn off the A/C and the Econ Button for that ramp, it has great acceleration, with the Econ Button on it suppresses the shifts/acceleration.

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  2006 Charger R/T - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By imdoc - April 12 - 3:31 pm

  I purchased my 06 R/T one month ago. I absolutely love this car. It handles great both in the wet and dry (I dont know about snow yet). I get all kinds of looks as I drive down the street. It has good acceleration. Gas mileage is better than expected for mixed city/highway driving (about 18), and I cant wait to take it to Yellowstone this summer (about 1000 miles round trip). I love the rear wheel drive as it behaves like cars are supposed to. The interior is simple, but I subscribe to the less is more philosophy. The styling is aggressive and I love its stance. I back it into the garage because I like the way it looks sitting in there when the doors open, vain, I know! Excellent car