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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  Looks, Muscle and brains!!! - 2009 Dodge Charger
  By BEBE - October 16 - 1:51 pm

  We have had this car for 5 months. We test drove the Camaro, Challenger and this Charger R/T Daytona. This car continues to win every time we drive it. Even the Fuel economy (while not great in town) is impressive overall. Averaged 25 MPG on a 1500 round trip to Colorado. And what a comfortable ride for this caliber sports car. It has a great balance between tight handling and comfort. The uconnect, dash and console, emboidered leather heated seats, lighted cup holders, car information center (and on and on) are all outstanding feartures that have made driving for me and my family an experience again. Oh yeah, and the insurance classifies this as a four door sedan...SUCKAs:)

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  not the fastest but oh well - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By Victor Cox - October 16 - 10:00 am

  i traded in my 93 probe gt for a yellow sxt neon auto... i love it. its my little put put wagon im 19 male and baught it because it was practicle and because there are still plenty of aftermarket parts to make it a quick little yellow bumble bee would have rather had the manual and r/t modle but was all i could aford...

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  Love this car - 2009 Dodge Caliber
  By bigd - October 16 - 9:57 am

  My wife and I drove several different cars and finally selected the Caliber. We chose the R/T because we wanted the the power the 2.4L provided. All the little extras have turned out to be a lot of fun and add to the enjoyment of ownership. This is a lot of car for the money.

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  double trouble - 2002 Dodge Intrepid
  By mike - October 16 - 8:55 am

  Bought this car for the room and price. Its huge inside. We got the 2.7 for the milage and itll do 30 on the highway. Everything was good until 90,000. It started with a water pump and ended with $3,000. Now the transmision is on the way out and 130,000. Dont forget about the front end falling out of it also. If your going to buy a Dodge go ahead and purchase a transmission with it, theyre terrible. Im done with dodge.

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  Love it - 2004 Dodge Dakota
  By David - October 15 - 11:28 am

  Our Dakota is a great medium sized truck. The towing capacity is more then adequate for our little trailer. I know much has been said about the fuel economy of the 3.7 litre but I have to say that we get 20-21 around town ans 24-25 on the highway. We keep it at 65MPH. Do wonder about the OD on the transmission under 50 and on hills at that speed I feel it performs better with the OD off.Comfortable and solid drive!

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  Could have been - 2002 Dodge Dakota
  By Nate - October 14 - 9:46 pm

  Ive had the 4.7L for 8 years and as a whole it has been decent. I like the ride comfort, roominess of the cab, power and the 4wd in the snow. However, the front end has been painful to maintain. Seems that it always has issues whether it be ball joints, cv joints, flex hoses, calipers seizing up, various bushings needing replacement, etc. The calipers have actually seized 3 times. Crazy. Without the front-end problems this would have been the best vehicle Ive ever owned. Since this is not the case, the 83 Subaru GL 4wd I had in college still reigns supreme.

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  Best Van Made - 2003 Dodge Caravan
  By Dale In Florida - October 14 - 8:09 pm

  Best vehice I have ever owned...I,M 62 AND HAVE OWNED TONS......

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  I will stick to Dodge vans - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By shaughn - October 14 - 2:15 pm

  I have had an 07 caravan with over 300K kms on it with never an issue, so I got a new 08 Grand Caravan because the body on old one was going. And I must say I read all the negative comments about this van and wonder why mine has been so flawless. Yes the brake pads and rotors had to be replaced at 60k, but I was told this normal on this model for some reason. I solved it by not replacing with factory pads and rotors. Upgrade to the heavy duty rotors. The metal is harder and dissipates heat better resulting in my rotors now having over 70k on them and no issues. There were 3 recalls for AC and spindles. No more issues since. 750km to a tank for mileage on highway/500km in town. Not bad i say.

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  Bang for your Buck - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Rich - October 14 - 1:26 am

  This is the most comfortable car to drive in its price range. Believe me before my purchase I had test driven them all. I love the design and the fact that this car looks different from everything else on the Market. I was between this car and the Mazda 3, to get the Mazda with the Same features it would have cost me $2000-3000 more!

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  65000 mile review - 2004 Dodge Dakota
  By teejay - October 14 - 12:08 am

  well i have just payed this baby off and she has just over 65k miles. still running strong. just regular maintenance issues and new tires so far!! now after just purchasing a 19 foot travel trailer i wish i had the v- 8, but hey i will be giving thie truck to my 17 year old son soon and buying me a new quad cap V-8. do you hear me dodge i want a good deal!!!!!!!