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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  It is what it is, I guess... - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By lovethemwahoos - March 13 - 8:24 am

  OK Ill start by saying impulse buy. This was my 4th Mopar product, and sorry my last. I bought this car, and really dont know why in the end. From the plastic interior, satellite radio with no info display, to the awful road noise. I do like the Sunroof, and Yes Essential seats. The CVT seems to work well, corners OK, but in all a massive let down. I swallowed the loss and traded another vehicle off to cover some of the loss to purchase a Pontiac Torrent. Sorry this car is great if you really enjoyed the Neon I guess. Dodge has dropped quality so far, itÂ’s just sad. I am so happy with Torrent, sorry Dodge Caliber just needs to many improvements, glorified Neon for sure. Look around first!

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  Thankfully I Leased - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Ram Horns - March 11 - 7:03 pm

  Absolutely the worst vehicle I have ever had! I leased an R/T and parked it for the last month of the lease not because of high miles but this car was so noisy inside, rode like a truck, wore out all four OEM tires in 27k miles, junked one battery, had no handling at all, no throttle response and poor mileage for a 2.4L. Other owners of the same car agreed with me and family members that had the opportunity to drive my R/T could not believe how bad a car is was.

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  Skip the Dodge - 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By oh77 - March 9 - 10:00 am

  Bought my SXT used, but only 1 owner. Liked it at first as cars didnt provide enough room for kids. Then everything went bad: motors on auto sliding side doors broke, not under warranty, dealers want $1000 or more to fix. Theyre still broken. Power locks didnt work right, motor defects, etc. and it had clean carfax. Always owned Honda/Toyota. Now I know why. Save your $ for something with a much better resale value. Its worth less that what I owe so I cant even sell it.

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  Do not buy Caravan! - 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By tcollie - February 27 - 12:50 am

  Where do I begin? My engine went out at 52,000, the side electric doors operate sporadically, the suspension rattles, the brakes go out very fast, the tranny shifts rough. Do not buy a Caravan!

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  Stick Shifty - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By Velonni - February 20 - 9:53 am

  Bought a 2008 SXT manual trans with traction control/ABS, after years of being Honda customer. Last Honda (95) 245,000 mi. with original clutch! This new car with 13,000 mi. lost third gear! I am short and love seat height but the car feels more cramped than little Civic coupe. The fit and finish is sub par but lots of nooks and crannies. The car is slow, noisy and doggy for a manual trans. Love the sound system but controls are confusing, especially on steering wheel. Astounded at the depreciation after 9 months: nearly half of the value lost.

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  Very disappointed - 1999 Dodge Intrepid
  By angel - February 19 - 11:43 am

  Purchase car August 28 2008. Motor went out December 24, 2008. Also the power window motor went out 3 days buying the car. After going to about 3 auto repairs shops trying to get a rebuilt motor or use motor I was told not to waste any more money on this car because it is no worth it. After talking to previous and past owner of this car mostly the same review, that it is a worthless piece that Dodge could have put out on the market

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  Very disappointed - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Ted - February 18 - 6:36 am

  Lots of problems with this Van right out of the gate. We were having transmission problems that none of the dealerships believed were real. Until about 300 miles before the warranty was up. Then they had to replace the gears in the transmission and a bunch of other stuff. Then little problems. The grab handle on the passenger side became loose, the map lights stopped working, the driver door speakers are blown. This is the second and last Dodge / Chrysler product I will ever buy. I dont care how cheap they sell them for. I guess you get what you pay for.

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  Junk - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By bjstarnes - February 13 - 11:46 am

  I bought my Magnum with a hundred miles, first year out. I would not recommend this car or any other Dodge product to even my worst enemy! I have had my car in the shop at least 20 times in the past 2 years. 4 times in one year for the transmission! I have called Chrysler Corp about this issue and they do not stand behind their work, they will do nothing for me. If you know whats good for you do not buy this car!

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  Not Happy after 3 years - 2005 Dodge Caravan
  By Ken - February 12 - 9:09 am

  At first I like our minivan. Some things are cheaply made like the seat covering. But it rode nice for 2 years. Then the sway bar links went and had them replaced but that didnt fix the noise that I hear still. My mechanic said the problem is with bushings on the sway bar and costly to repair. Now the transmission is going. After 67K miles I should have these kinds of problems. So overall Im not happy with my Caravan

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  Would not recomend - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By Avenger - February 8 - 9:14 pm

  Poor gas millage, poor interior design, poor performance. It feels very heavy for I4 engine. Very poor handling around the corners. Seats are hard. Not comfy. door packets are so small you can not even put an envelope. Steering soft but wobbly like Lincoln towncar. 0 to 60 forever. Only good thing is the slick look, other than that no comparison