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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  Caliber - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Brandon R - August 7 - 11:06 pm

  I saw the ad online, did my research and knew this was the car for me. I got all the benefits of the SUV I was driving with handling and fuel economy of a car. Selection is still hard to come by at the dealerships

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  RT with R/T Sports Package - 2007 Dodge Charger
  By CallMeTheBreeze - August 7 - 11:18 am

  I get roughly 19.5 City and 26 Highway with the MDS. The car is quiet, smooth riding and very comfortable ( 62 , 240 )while cruising and very agile, throaty when accelerating. Dependability has been excellent thus far with 30k. The steering, seating and pedal adjustments are great for the long haul road trips. I have a 1970 Charger R/T show car and I get many compliments on the 1970 when out and about yet I also get a lot of positive comments while driving the 07.

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  Fun Car with Speed & Reliability - 1991 Dodge Shadow
  By Jackbird60 - August 7 - 9:22 am

  This is my second 1991 ES Convt Turbo. I cant tell you how thrilled I was to find another. Very, very hard to find. This one had only 80K (Carfax certified) The Paint was very good except the trunk area. Not one ding on the car. The top is in VGC and the interior looks great. The car runs and drives excellent and everything works except A/C which was converted to 134a & just needs a compressor. Driving impression: The Turbo really sends this car flying and yet the engine at normal operating speeds is quite quiet & smooth, even at a stop light. This is the best car experience for $2,000 you can get. VG Reliability. It will blow the doors of any 90s Miata, etc.

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  Stay away from the Nitro - 2007 Dodge Nitro
  By squig29 - August 7 - 2:45 am

  I have had my Nitro for a little over a year now & absolutely hate this vehicle. Here are the problems I have had so far: park brake does not hold vehicle on slight incline unless you give it that extra little pull to the last notch, park brake boot zipper splitting 5 times dealer glued it closed & say that was chryslers fix, it split open the next morning), truck completely shut off while I was driving, roof rails lifted up, pass seat squeaks, a/c isnt very cold, cant roll up pass window from driver side, unlock switch actually locked all doors, seal on rear pass window replaced, tire press dings in cold temps, seat belt warning when no one in pass seat key fob issue when vehicle running

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  Not that many issues - 1992 Dodge Caravan
  By Alex - August 7 - 1:09 am

  Easy to maintain Lasted 252,000 miles and still is going. Never was rebuilt. Comfortable seating, plenty of room. A great car, considering its sat for over 4 years, and is now going to be my daily driver.

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  Nice Grocery-Getter, NASCAR drivers need not apply - 2017 Dodge Journey
  By Vincent Singer - August 6 - 10:31 pm

  Im an old man. I got my drivers license after learning on a 1967 Rambler American and a 1969 Pontiac Bonneville. I made it this far without a nav/infotainment system, traction/stability control, or bluetooth. The 4-cylinder engine in this thing has more horsepower than many older V-8s. That said, I think the 2017 Journey is a fantastic buy. I bought a $21,000 "stripper" - which still has, standard: a 173 hp engine (shared with Hyundai and Mitsubishi - buy one of their comparable vehicles and get the same motor), 4-speed OD automatic transmission, traction control, a six-speaker touchscreen audio system I can plug a USB drive into and "have my own radio station", dual-zone air conditioning, front and rear stabilizer bars, better interior lighting, automatic headlights, daylight running lights, and a nicely (manually) adjustable drivers seat. They even threw in an outdoor thermometer, and a gadget that lets you monitor your instantaneous and average fuel economy! I traded a 2007 Ford Escape for this, after the transmission grenaded at 146,000 miles. I consider this to be a step up, although still a front-wheel-drive "disposacar". Same ground clearance, same fuel mileage, good looks, with MORE standard features, more horsepower, easier for my wife to get in and out of. a better radio, more room (its about a foot longer), and a bigger gas tank. Drives just as nice, handles about the same, much quieter, and I dont have to "drive it like I stole it" to get it moving at an intersection or on to the freeway. Controls same quality or better than the Escape. More power ports. Steering has enough feel for the average driver. 4-wheel power disc brakes "stop on a dime and give 9-cents change". Everything you REALLY NEED is included in the base price - this thing has move comfort and convenience items, and a ride and interior that rival a 1990s Cadillac. Dont option up unless you really need to, as "everybody" says these dont hold their value all that well. At 3800 lbs., its heavy, and has a long wheelbase - probably why it rides so nice. BTW - if you dont plow your 2017 Journey into anything, youll doubtful ever discover the difference between a 4-star and a 5-star safety rating. The Escape had poorer overall ratings, and in 10 years I never had an occasion to find out. If youre driving a 10 or more year old Escape or other, similar small SUV/CUV, and you are looking for a new vehicle with similar dimensions that doesnt look like every other SUV/CUV on the road, and an improved overall driving experience, you could do far worse than the 2017 Dodge Journey.

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  great car - 1996 Dodge Avenger
  By cbones - August 6 - 12:40 pm

  Bought this car my freshmen yr of college for $900, had an oil leak & needed brakes, I put a new head gasket (a Chrysler known problem) to fix oil leak, a new timing belt & tensioner on at this time, & spent $60 on brakes, broke the trans pinion shaft doing high speed doughnuts in the snow (whoops) bought a new diferential and its worked great ever since, I have done is regular maintenance, belts tires, o2 etc. As needed, rewired the a/c in auto class & now it will freeze you out. I recently broke 200k and it is still running as strong as ever, car looks great, handles like a dream & is fun to drive. Average 30+ mpg on the interstate & recently hit 37 mpg on the highway, 24 in town

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  sxt - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By maxsxt - August 6 - 7:37 am

  Only bought this car because we needed reliability and room for our newborn, which it excels at! Besides that the gas mileage of the 2.0l and CVT is horrible, as bad as my last v8. The CVT is very smooth, great for a sleeping baby. However, it causes a frighteningly slow throttle response time, especially noticeable when pulling out into traffic. Also has bad blind spots and makes a horrible drumming noise when you roll down a back window going any over 30 mph

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  What a Lemon! On to Toyota! - 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Andrew561 - August 6 - 5:16 am

  We bought this second hand 1997 Grand Caravan LE AWD with 30k klms on it. Now it has 84,000 km on it and its literally falling apart. Rusting, brakes, transmission, phantom wipers, electrical, underbody rust etc....its simply pathetic the problems this relatively new car has. Already this year, weve dropped approx $3,000 into it, figuring its the cost, but a pattern was starting to develop where this thing was simply not reliable. Then the van starting mysteriously not starting or just going "click" and turning of!Then, the gears starting malfunctioning, put the van in Reverse and it goes forward! Drove it to Toyota the other day and traded it in...bubye

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  Driving on up - 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Christine - August 6 - 3:16 am

  I think this van is a great find. It handles great, has a nice design and is very comfortable. The stow and go seating is an awsome addition, it was always difficult getting the seats out of my old van. I get decient gas milage concidering its a van. The only complaints I have about the van are that after only 6 months a couple of the seat side panels fell apart (screws fell out) but the dealer promptly fixed them at no charge of course. There was also a recall on the van (something to do with the heat/AC system), but that was also quickly fixed. I think if you want a nice van at a decent price, then this van is a good choice.