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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  Awesome Silver R/T w. orange stripes - 2003 Dodge Dakota
  By silverrt03 - June 2 - 3:21 pm

  I can honestly say I think my truck is awesome. It majorly burns rubber. 360 V8 kicks major rump. Since there were a limited amount of these for the last official R/T i am proud to own one. Leather seats, another rarity are very comfortable. Infinity sound system awesome dude. the only bad point is that my truck only gets about 13 miles per gallon on average. in the city try 10mpg. Other than that i really like my Dakota.

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  Good Gas Mileage with CVT - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By Lacpac - June 2 - 1:05 pm

  2.0 with CVT trans. Great mileage if youre light on the pedal. Up to 32 mpg on hwy at 65mph. 25-26 around town. Synthetic oil, Nitrogen in wheels at 39pds and K&N air filter. Trans is smooth! Interior is hard plastic, for which some reviews give it a bad rating. Slap a Honda logo on it and make it a box on wheels and the critics give it a 10!..Go figure. Sheet metal is a bit thin, easily dents if you try to push the door shut without using the handle. Great headlights, really covers a wide area. Comfortable seats. Like the partial reclining rear seats. Only mechanical problem was a clicking front bushing when it got wet outside. Rear brakes also need to be cleaned frequently.

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  Great car - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By Kent - June 2 - 12:23 pm

  Have only had the Charger for a little over a month but I must say it is one great car. Drives wonderfully and has no lack of power. The seats are comfortable and everything inside is right where it should be. The dash is on the plain side but very functional. Also love the sunroof...gives the whole car an "airy" look.

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  Avoid 4.7 V8 engine!!! - 2003 Dodge Dakota
  By Stein - June 2 - 11:03 am

  Ive had my truck for almost 6 years and have loved it until now. Over the past 6 months Ive had to replace thermostat (not a huge deal) then the radiator and now Im told the 4.7 V8 engine has a possible blown head gasket with only 88,000 miles. After finding this out Ive read NUMEROUS accounts of the same problem with this engine.

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  Comfortable transportation - 1998 Dodge Caravan
  By smoke2345 - June 1 - 7:40 pm

  Ive had my minivan for eleven years and had only major issue I have had is to replace the starter after seven years. I hear a lot about bad transmissions in these vehicles, but I have not had a problem with mine. Possibly because I have had it serviced when I was supposed to. Overall, its been very reliable.

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  Im pleased - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By Tom - June 1 - 12:53 pm

  Only local trips, great ride & handling. Like radio controls on back of steering wheel & great sound system. Gotta love all the storage space. Averaging 18+ mpg around town. Taking road trip soon, looking forward to see what mpg will be.

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  A good bit-little car - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By happy driver - June 1 - 11:08 am

  Moved into Caliber from minivan and am impressed. Hard plastic interior panels make for easy cleaning after the kids. Driver seat crank makes for more customized feel. Fit of all body pieces and interior trim pieces is smooth and feels sleek. Solid thud is heard when doors close, never a question if it is or isnt shut. Slight rattle when radio is up too loud...good factory sound system! 2X trip meter and outside temp display is nice. Plenty of leg room for passenger and driver seat doesnt sit ON the floor. Easy to enter/exit because chassis rides tall. Good handling with 17" tires. Im eager to take a road trip to test it in the long-run.

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  WARNING ABOUT BUYING A 2008 AVENGER - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By WORST CAR TO OWN - June 1 - 10:37 am

  I purchased my 2008 Avenger in April 2008. I am very disappointed with it. I have 12,478 miles on it. Brakes grind, door and side pannels creek like crazy...cant find that problem to fix, Im on my 4th mygig radio(Keeps Freezing up). Sluggish tranny(4cyl). Front noises when you turn or go over a bump. AC doesnt work well, numerous blind spots, chrome plasic around shifter inside blinds driver, poorly designed trunk pours water into the trunk when wet and many many more just running out of room. PLEASE DO NOT BUY ONE.JUNK This is just the worst car I have ever owned. Back in 1997 I had a brand new avenger and loved it so I thought I would take a chance with the 2008. What a mistake.

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  Why Wait? - 2009 Dodge Challenger
  By Glenn R - June 1 - 8:42 am

  Fantastic Auto! Got the 6speed manual been geting 29.5 mpg here in New Hampshire on the highway. the average mpg is around 25mpg. this mpg does drop when I show off or when speeds exceed 75mph car handles well even at speeds in excess of 100mph (straight line that is) fun to drive on twisting Vermont roads. over 9300 miles now engine and drive train great car cant say enough about it. If you want one buy it now. dont what the goverment will have you driving around in the "the peoples car" they will all look the same performance will be some thing we will dream about (remember the Yugo?)

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  What a nice Surprise! - 2009 Dodge Caliber
  By artist - June 1 - 2:50 am

  Great for transporting to art fairs large pictures, etc. Easy getting in and out of seats - love the set up of being higher in the seats looking out the wide span windows, makes one feel like sitting in a small jet cockpit! I did however, pinstriped the sides at the top line with gold pinstriping and it really set it off! Didnt realize how much I would use the cold glove box until I left them in it and came out from shopping and they were still cold! Great stereo! Wish I could do something with all of the lights going on after stopping and and then fading. Great riding in it - smooth, but a little noisy than my last Toyota. But a lot easier to drive. A well thought out car design.