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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  My Dakota - 1999 Dodge Dakota
  By Sierra - August 7 - 6:34 am

  I have owned my truck for 5 years. It is comfortable and fun to drive. It looks nice and the paint job is very good.

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  An Excellent Buy - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By Clarence - August 7 - 3:00 am

  I love riding this vehicle. I got it fully loaded and the family loves it. This is by far the best Sedan that Ive owned. The Hemi definitely gets you where you need to go...and in a hurry if need be.

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  Pretty nice little van. - 2006 Dodge Caravan
  By Reid Benham - August 4 - 6:35 pm

  Nice to drive, wish it gave better gas mileage. Drivers seat is difficult to move back and forth. No defects in material or workmanship. In 6,600 miles I have changed the oil twice and rotated the tires, not bad for American Iron.

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  First American Car in 20 years - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By cmoth - August 4 - 10:20 am

  So far so good. I love the fold flat seats. Extremely versatile. I opted to not get the myGig, just kept in simple. With a lifetime powertrain warranty, keeping it simple makes sense. Well keep this van for 10 years. I am very tall and the flexibility of the pedal positions, and lack of an obtrusive center console made the Grand Caravan my choice over Honda and Toyota. I drive less than 7,500 years and my 1998 BMW 528i was costing $2,500 in annual repairs to achieve this meager goal. The Caravan is fantastic economy and reliability by comparison.

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  Dodge SWB Caravan - 2005 Dodge Caravan
  By teckelwood - August 1 - 11:58 pm

  My 05 SXT(SWB) Caravan is responsive, easy to park and handle, and very comfy. Quiet inside, and a pleasure for me (62") and my wife (54") to drive. We are in our mid seventies, and are fond of Dodge minivans. Quad seats are a pleasure to move around and sit in. This is a great car for our older bodies with comfort and performance in mind.

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  Great fun little car - 2005 Dodge Neon
  By andy - August 1 - 9:04 pm

  The Neon has had a bad reputation over the years but Dodge really hit something with the 2005. I bought it just because it had decent gas mileage, but it turned out to be better than I thought it would. I average around 30 mpg with a good variation of both city and highway driving. The sound system that came with it is awesome for it being factory installed. The outside looks great and it is a really sporty car. I love the smooth ride and comfortable interior it offers. I love the power that it has too. Nothing that will blow your socks off ,but it is a really quick car, especially for not being turbocharged.

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  Still Loving It After a Year - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By NickTheFish - August 1 - 9:03 pm

  Ive driven this car for a year so far, and love it as much as the day I drove it off the lot. The AWD is great in any less than optimal traction situations - its very cool to just power away up a hill from a stop light in the rain with no wheel spin! It doesnt drive like your daddys station wagon. The handling is much more like a high performance sedan (i.e. Mercedes). You wont believe the amount of stuff you can get in this thing. The loading crew at Lowes never thought wed get a 4 burner grill (in the box) in there along with an arbor, a dozen plants and some bags of potting soil the other day. Weve towed a 3400lb trailer on multiple occasions with no sweat. Great car!

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  Worthy of my love! - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By G. - July 31 - 4:10 pm

  I have been the proud owner of 1968 Ford Mustang for over 15 years. Ive been wanting to set him up as my "Go for a Sunday drive" car but hadnt found anything worthy of my attention, a car worthy to be my everyday car. That is until I found my Caliber. It just fit right the first time. A little sporty, a little tough and very comfortable.

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  My kick ass 2017 dodge challenger - 2017 Dodge Challenger
  By Eddie Pitts - July 29 - 12:44 am

  I knew exactly what I wanted when I purchased my dodge challenger. I had been looking at the body style since it came back on the market in 2012. I had seen the reviews about it being difficult to see out of and the blind spots and how heavy the car was all the negative stuff. But I remember the dodge challenger form the the early 70s when it was a sexy beast of a muscle car. Then I saw the cars of the later 70s turned into big square blocks of metal and then all of the years of seeing the Honda and the Toyotas rule the road. So when American Muscle started showing back up (even American Muscle made by a french Company out of Mexican Parts in Canada) I got excited. When I finally saw my 2017 challenger with the scat pack, in Yellow Jacket Yellow with black tail stripes and leather interior. I had to have to it. From the moment that I pushed the start button and heard that 6.4 liter rumble to life I got a permanent smile on my face. Since I learned how to drive in the 60s I knew how to adjust my mirrors to eliminate blind spots. You can push the sports mode button and the steering stiffens up enough that you can feel the road properly. The active exhaust sounds so freakin good that you find your self tuning down the 650 watt alpine sound system to listen to the engines music. The uconnect is intuitive and it almost links your devices to itself. The performance pages give you the option of seeing detailed workings of your car as you cruise and the timers let you keep track of your performance. Plus the launch control and the the programmable features that allow you change the way the car shifts, the stiffness of the steering and other controls makes the care flexible for various conditions. I didnt buy this car hoping for any kind of fuel economy, hell I dont care if everytime that I push the start button someone goes out on the tundra and clubs a baby seal to death. I bought this car because it is a beautiful evil wicked beast that is fun to drive and it makes me happy. If you buy one of these cars for any reason other than that then you will most likely end up bitching and whining about something. If you are a skinny jean wearing half caff/decaff latte drinker you wont like this car. But if you like to feel the road, hear the rumble of an engine, and feel the g-forces push you back in the seat then this is your dream car

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  I love this car - 2006 Dodge Magnum
  By Don Shrum - July 28 - 8:19 am

  Ive had it one year. I have put 36,000 mostly highway miles on it. Highway mileage ranges from 26 to 28 miles per mpg. I love the styling and the interior roominess. After owning it a year we still get compliments on it. Its a red beauty.