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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  Its now called my Revenger. - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By wyJJ - October 12 - 10:10 pm

  Drive this car along I-90 in WY. Hit a deer at 75 mph with 250 miles on the odometer and the car ran another 75 miles to get me home. Realized that all that the damage was mostly plastic and that had probably saved the structural aspects of the car. Was wearing my seatbelt and I did not get tossed foward at all, felt extremely safe. I drive this car 120 miles round trip to work and home, through the fall and now winter, good handling car, I have not had any problems driving on snow and no problems starting this car in the cold. Brakes and steering are not soft and not touchy. Decent clearance for a lower riding car, suspension is great and rougher roads/dirt roads are no problem for this car

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  Overall decent - 1998 Dodge Intrepid
  By joe - October 10 - 8:57 pm

  Fast enough to get you a hefty speeding ticket but not fast enough to outrun a police cruiser! This car is quite good if you take care of it. Yes it doesnt run like a $50000 luxury model but what did you expect? Good value for a large car. Ask around your town for opinions about local dealers, Ive had good service where Ive bought it but bad experiences with the ability of other dealerships to perform maintenance when Im out of town,

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  A 7 - 2005 Dodge Stratus
  By terry - October 10 - 2:16 pm

  It is a good car for a Dodge but there are several minor things that you would expect with a Dodge. The interior cup holders stink. It does handle and perform fair. But for the money there are a lot of nice things. I would definitely have gone with the Ford Fusion if it was out 2 months ago.

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  Its a hard vehicle to love - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Connie - October 8 - 4:20 pm

  I will be honest: I find the new look of the 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan to be ugly. It looks like a box from the rear and an SUV in the front. Gas mileage is OK, cabin noise high, and the heat/AC nodules hard to operate. The front bumper cracked when I drove in single digits over the winter, cracking the bumper. Ice had stuck to the inside of the bumper and when the ice melted, it dropped, cracking the bumper. The Paint is also cheap. My one good kudo is the cargo space. I use this van for car-camps when I drive long-distance on weekends to attend road races, and crashing in the back with the seats stowed away is great. I wish I could love this vehicle, though. Its so ugly.

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  Good car, but some problems - 1998 Dodge Avenger
  By KatyW - October 7 - 9:56 pm

  This is essentially a great car, except for two major problems. First, the door handles break off. BOTH of my handles broke within a year of having the car! I personally know two other people who have had this happen to them, and I see other Avengers on the road with messed up handles all the time. Its not a cheap problem to fix, either ($250/door without paint!). Which brings me to the second problem: the paint. Almost every black Avenger I see is oxidized like crazy - my entire trunk is now white, and the roof isnt far behind (even though I waxed it regularly and kept it in covered parking).

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  Pretty Good Car - 1995 Dodge Intrepid
  By Shane - October 6 - 2:25 pm

  I have known owned it for a year and a half, bought with 77000miles, transmission stop shifting at 78000 miles, and it was replaced with a used one what a mistake that was. Shifts good most of the time, leaks fluid, shifts hard when fluid is full. The 3.5 gets about 16MPG in the city, and 27 on the highway. Good car over all, except the transmission.

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  X corvette fan - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By Ken - October 5 - 5:56 am

  I have owned sports cars all my life and this one is the most fun yet. Its not as refined as a Corvette but it is more fun to drive especially since I can take my whole family along for the ride. This thing actually draws more attention than either the new or the classic Corvettes that I have owned. It obviously doesnt corner as well as a Vette but it sure accelerates like one and I think that Chrysler is being a little conservative with the 13.5 sec et on 1/4 mile times. The engine is obviously capable of more if you can just get the tires to stick to the ground.

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  Program Vehicle - 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Mike - October 4 - 9:13 pm

  We purchased the Grand Caravan SXT used (Program Vehicle) in late December 2007. We needed a 7 passenger vehicle to accommodate our children and grandchildren and this one fit the bill. It gets slightly better gas mileage than the 2002 Ford Windstar it replace (averaging 18.3 to 22.3 mpg). The Caravan has less interior room (Body width appears narrower) than the Windstar. The back bench seat will not fit 3 passengers if you put a child or infants car seat in the designated middle position.

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  OK for a starter - 1999 Dodge Stratus
  By speechie - October 3 - 9:07 pm

  I bought this car for graduate school and it had already been in the shop to replace the head gasket. Since that time, Ive replaced the brakes, O2 sensor, CV axles, among other things. I guess Dodge either makes a reliable vehicle or a lemon. It now has 92000 miles and Im trading it in for something else. Im not in love with this car and Im looking forward to something else, especially with better gas mileage.

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  Very reliable - 2000 Dodge Dakota
  By Albert Flagg - October 3 - 7:36 am

  I have had this truck for 4 years now.It is by far one of the best vehicles I have ever owned. I bought it in 2001 when it only had 25,000 miles on it.I now have 92,000 miles on it and it still performs like a new truck. Everyone who rides it say it rides like a car.I have driven from georgia to Oklahoma several time without a glitch. Whenever I travel driving ,I drive my truck . I get complements all the time about how beautiful a truck it is. The only problems I have had is the air conditioner compressor went out and,the passenger door lock was humming when activated. Those problems were covered under the warranty and resolved. I think I can say I love my truck.