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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  Second Dodge disaster - 2000 Dodge Intrepid
  By DG Rochester NY - November 19 - 9:14 am

  Fun to drive and looked good. Sold with 93,000 miles. Cheap interior plastic parts and carpet, door molds fell out of door, cheap leather on seats. Replaced power divers power motor. Window just fell to bottom of door. Transmisson died at 92K. $1,300 for tranny! 3.2 L engine ran OK but started blowing blue smoke. Cut my losses and sold. Second Dodge! Both were junk! Will never buy any other Dodge or Chyrsler again.

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  1997 Dodge Caravan Sports - 1997 Dodge Caravan
  By Song - November 19 - 8:10 am

  I purchased my 1997 Dodge Caravan Sport new for $22K in 10/1996. 12 years later, the van has 135,000 miles on it. I heard tons of complaints from consumers about this van but I personally never experienced any problems with the van at all! Is it a coincidence or merely lucky? At 135K miles, the original transmission still shifts smoothly, no electrical problems of any knid at all! All I did was to replace brake pads every 30K miles,change engine oil every 7K miles all by myself. I did change front rotors at about 100K miles. Engine never tuned up, transimission fluid never changed either, AC still works like new and blows ice cold air. Changed 3 sets of tires in 12 years, of course!

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  4 years and Still Strong - 2004 Dodge Intrepid
  By Kasper - November 17 - 6:55 pm

  I bought this car in 04 for my wife. The only part I had to replace was the cable from the shifter to the transmission and tires this past summer. Aside from the dings this car is like new still and runs like it.

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  2004 Dodge Intrepid 3.5 LTR EXT - 2004 Dodge Intrepid
  By Mark - November 17 - 3:14 pm

  68,000 miles had to replace the crankshaft position sensor, 3 cam sensors, 3 batteries. Car would die and not restart. Would wait for awhile and then it would start. Found that the coupling where the positive battery cable met up at the jumper post above the air intake filter box had become corroded. This was causing the battery and cables to overheat. Flickering lights and total shutdown of the engine ensued. Cleaned the corrosion and replaced battery cable. Car runs like new.

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  Awesome for Dodge! - 2009 Dodge Caliber
  By Robbie1 - November 17 - 7:25 am

  Well, what can I say. I used to hate Dodge, but I went for a Saturday drive in my SUV and came home with my 09 Caliber SRT. The exterior looks are 100% more attractive than the standard Caliber, very aggressive features that is what caught my eye. After taking it for a test drive, I was sold. I also own a BMW and this "little rascal" is more fun than driving the BMW. The suspension and steering is very tight with enough power to have some man fun! This will be my weekend entertainment.

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  Dodge did it again - 2009 Dodge Avenger
  By Jim - November 17 - 7:23 am

  I bought this car for my wife but it is just a great car and fun to drive. Our gas mileage after installing Amsoil went up to 37 city 41 hwy. I would recomend this car to everyone. It will keep your family safe

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  City Mileage Excels! - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By Ron - November 16 - 6:10 pm

  We bought the Avenger when we turned in our lease on a Dodge Caravan. My wife loves the Avenger. She is getting 24 miles per gallon (true city driving). You feel like you are sitting up high. You do sacrifice that performance feel at the start, but the city mileage out weighs the strong "pedal" feel. Nice size car for our family of five. Handling and acceleration is "soft" compared to my Mazda 6. So far we are very satisfied with the Avenger!

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  BEST VAN IN 25 YEARS - 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By ETP - November 15 - 11:20 pm

  I bought the 4.0 with leather and sport suspension with 17" wheels. Anti sway bars in the back and front as well as anti dive and lift. Very well built quality vehicle.

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  Disappointed - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By Disappointed - November 15 - 6:13 pm

  I test drove this CUV and at 60 mph is ran 2500-3000 rpms in fourth gear. When I gave it some gas it shifted down to 5500 rpm near red line! This car obviously does not have enough higher gears! Why not add a CVT Transmission to the four cylinder engine to make the 4 cylinder engine practical?

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  Like the 2.7 V6 - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By AlaAvenger - November 15 - 6:02 pm

  I went with the 2.7 V6 with the 18" premium wheels and with the Inferno Red color. It is as sharp as can be. It does great in town and super-great on long trips. Really like the Sirius radio and for a standard stero with 6- speakers it sounds supreme. Being 62" the leg room is outstanding. The best part though is the body styling, nice and manly, not wimpy like the Camry.