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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  Very satisfied with our new Dodge GC Crew - 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By oregonfamily - December 21 - 7:29 pm

  Our intention to drive what had been a very satisfactory 2002 GC beyond 150K miles ended when it was totaled in a rearend collision. We didnt expect Dodge/Fiat would be on our short list, but it drove much better than a Toyota LE, the 2011 update almost remakes the car (we drove a 2010 rental, and wouldnt have bought that), and we could get a Crew GC equipped exactly as we wanted for $3-9K less than less well-equipped competitors during the May minivan sale. Odysseys had very limited availability and frustrating packaging of options; Sienna LE had vague steering and inexplicably felt "too long" parking (rearview camera was a must); the Quest was tempting in some ways, but weird.

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  B5 BLUE CHALLENGER 5.7 - 2010 Dodge Challenger
  By BobH - December 21 - 9:14 am

  I have had 2 Mustangs Gts 2005 & 2007. Also 2 Corvettes 2006 & 2007 Lt3 autotrans. My wife and I also have two streetrods, a 1932 ford Deuce Hi boy Coupe and a 1940 Ford Deluxe Coupe , both with late chevy running gear . So we wanted a driver that looked good, was easy to get in and out of and had a reasonable performance package . We looked at the new Camaro and the new Mustang but after seeing and driving the new B5 Blue Challenger R/T we decided to sell off the Vette and bought the new 2010 R/T and have never looked back . We also bought the optional Dodge "life time warranty at the time of purchase.

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  Charger - 2008 Dodge Charger
  By Josh - December 20 - 5:04 pm

  I have 2008 Charger with 60,000 miles. I lease 2 years and go only to 60 K. I have bought Impalas, Intrepeds, magnums and now a charger. I love this car. I am up for a new one and have ben looking around. I like driving a big rear wheel drive car. What I really love the way it handles. I have had one issue, the key stopped working and I had to have the car towed. I am always scared about the Trans.

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  Traded it in - 2002 Dodge Durango
  By MartyandViv - December 20 - 12:10 pm

  Horrible gas mileage. After 25,000 miles made way too much noise.

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  The Last In Line - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By JohnD - December 20 - 6:46 am

  My black 2008 Dodge Caliber SRT4 has been nothing but outstanding. As of 12.20.09, it has ~2900 miles on the odometer & sits in my garage off the road in the winter. This is the last of the old Chrysler designed/engineered cars from the 80s prior to the Fiat buyout. You Mopar fans need to find these cars if you are interested, as the SRT4 has been discontinued for 2010. It is a one-of-a-kind. It will most likely be a collectors car in 20 years (similar to the FWD Shelby cars of 1980s era) Great Buy!

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  Dodge Intrepid 99 - From a 18yr old view - 1999 Dodge Intrepid
  By RedLine - December 20 - 4:06 am

  Brakes went 2 times, After Driving it harder then 6 cars put it one, Floored on Every STOP LIGHT, Brake Usually last minute, Hard Surfaces, Stop Go Driving - CAR IS GREAt, Dont tell my dad bc he thinks the car sucks bc brakes went 2 times, but its really my fault, Started driving carefully now though, hope it lasts cant let it die early..

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  2009 dodge challenger - 2009 Dodge Challenger
  By Dan - December 20 - 2:01 am

  The only reason I rated the performance a 9 instead of 10 was the manual shifting should not have the skip sifting from 1st to 4th. It wants to do it when I am going around a corner and the speed is not enough for that.

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  2008 Charger - 2008 Dodge Charger
  By Josh - December 19 - 8:12 pm

  I have a 2008 Charger 60,000 miles. w2.7 v6. The car is bid and I have had only two issues with this car. One I had to tow it bad key. Also bad tow problem. They replaced the front tie rod. It has been fine since. The car is coming off lease and surprising I think I am going to buy another Charger. The car is big and handles well. It also get good MFG. I am looking at Camry (Boring and slow) Impala (fast but sloppy handling) Ford Tourus (Close second) Accord (Nice but slow and back hurts) They say Dodge stinks but $22,000 its hard to beat!

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  The truth... - 1998 Dodge Avenger
  By ptr1ck - December 18 - 7:48 pm

  I purchased this car 2 years ago, it has been great. I now have almost 150,000 on the ticker and its still going strong. Could use some more power but overall its really not as bad as many want to say. I am about to purchase a BMW and am sad to see this car go. I have had some issue with the sun roof popping but I dont even want to mess with that.

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  Great little car - 2005 Dodge Neon
  By Brock - December 18 - 3:28 pm

  Ive owned my dodge neon for just about four years now. I bought it brand new off the lot. Its a sxt model with an automatic transmission. The past two years, Ive been commuting eighty plus miles a day to work and home again. With the exception of a new battery and four new tires, my neon drives and performs well. I do all the maintenance my self. My neon has a few squeaks and rattles which is normal for the amount of miles it has, but it continues to serve me well.