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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  Good Van - 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Pete Riess - September 30 - 6:13 am

  Have owned 2 other Dodge vans this one is the best yet. Handles better and seems to be a sturdier vehicle. Audio controls on steering wheel a good safety/convenience feature. Good ride. Be careful however, the exhaust pipe runs just under passenger side slider, easy for child to reach for dropped toy and get burned.

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  Reliable - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Jawa - September 26 - 4:26 pm

  Bought my 2007 SXT 2.0 CVT nearly 2 years ago and have only replaced the cruise control switch ($25). I am not crazy about the CVT but getting used to it. Tires are still original with 80,000 km. Fuel economy average at 8 L/100 km.

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  Why change if its selling "Sport Model" - 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Reiser - September 26 - 10:00 am

  I have owned 4 Grand Caravans 2 of which were Sport. I loved the sport model because it had a stiffer suspension and 16" tires, nicer interior. I ended up buying a Sport 2003 because you are not making this model for 2004. The fact I had to go all over because most models did not have rear AC amazed me. In Florida, you are promoting a family vehicle without AC in the back where the children are? Who was thinking when they designed that option???? I love my Dodge van, when I turned in my last car and bought the Sport 2003 in Sept. I had 118,900 miles on my car. Never had a major problem with this car either. I live in my car and drive for a living.

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  good - 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Nirmala - September 26 - 10:00 am

  This van is the best in the world. I would drive any other minvan expect the Dodge Grand Carvan.

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  03 dodge neon - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By keldy22 - September 26 - 10:00 am

  Great car with great reliability. Smooth ride and trustworthy breaking. Great car for the money.

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  Dodge is a Value Packed Minivan - 2002 Dodge Caravan
  By GK - September 21 - 4:46 pm

  Got this minivan with incentives. It was a great unbeatable price. Just $16000 + tax/registration ( No power windows and locks and CD) but had automatic transmission , A/C and CassetePlayer. Its running great. I have 33,000 miles on it. Had to visit dealership for some weird wiper problems during peak winter but they fixed it. I follow schedule B maintenace from the manual and dont forsee any major issues till 75,000 miles. Lets wait and watch.

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  Not so bad - 1996 Dodge Caravan
  By M Gulley - September 21 - 3:09 am

  I bought this vehicle used 2 yrs. ago at 68,000 miles. Living in Michigan, I have driven my van to Florida and California and back. It has been very reliable I would say. I am currently at 117,000+.I have had a problem things breaking in the inside of vehicle, like cupholder cover and other little plastic parts. Also recently the A/C went out. I also just replaced the radiator. Otherwise Ive been o.k with the Caravan.

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  Money Pit - 2000 Dodge Durango
  By Wm T Vadney - September 18 - 5:13 pm

  Wonderful concept & design, if it was done right! Seems they put a truck chassis on a Neon body. Bought used in 2003. 1st year, ball joints & steering rack replaced @ 41,000 mis, (a common problem they said-steering still wobbly) & brake caliper bushings. ($1,100.00)-2nd year, ball joints again (recall) Now the transmission is gone. ($1200.00 - $2000.00) I figured a truck would be heavy duty. Ram tough my eye. Great design but the system that runs it is terrible. If it cant go it may as well be just an expensive lawn ornament. Even more deplorable is the Chryslers "sorry your disappointed" response and no action to keep a customer. Repairs paid more than paid on loan so far.

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  Should have asked a driver part 2 - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By Acajin - September 15 - 9:00 pm

  My original review was on Jan2/09. To date this has been a good vehicle. It performed great during our northern winters and now has 14,000Km on it. The only problems so far (besides my original review) is the panic alarm has gone off a few times when I use the key fob to unlock the doors. You need to manualy use the key to enter the vehicle and start the car to turn the alarm off. Very annoying for the neighbors at 4:30 am. This is a fun vehicle to drive and is very quiet. No defects other than what I have mentioned. Reliability is excellent. Im getting ready to leave on a 5000Km trip. Gas mileage could be better, the best I got was 8.9L/100km on highway (with the air conditioning off).

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  bang for the buck Rush!! - 2005 Dodge Neon
  By handling guy - September 14 - 7:50 pm

  I finaly went out and drove the SRT-4 yesterday and was more than pleasantly supprised. Understeer was very minimal with considerable wheelspin on slower corners. But when I expected understeer the car clung to its line and glided exactly where I wanted it. High speed cornering was a little less impresive with the car seeming to wobble around and not want to keep a set but overall balance was excellent for a car in this class. Compared to the nissan spec-V the dodge has much less understeer on slower cornering and accelerated with a punch that the nissan didnt have. However on the high speed corners the SER seemed more set and planted at the limit. all in all I had a smile on my face.