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:

• 

  Great Car! - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By Tony - November 29 - 2:00 am

  You have to go with your gut feeling because I read the report before buying my Avenger. They are helpful but sometimes you have see it in person to decide. I just had it two months and yes when you buy something use, you will have problem but the dealer fix it right away. If you like it get it because sometime your first decision is best one. If you get it be careful changing lane because you have blind spot and might hit someone. This can be corrected when you buy little round mirror at Walmart. To me it was a gamble after reading the report but I very happy with my car.

• 

  COSTS a lot to maintain - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Tron - November 29 - 2:00 am

  I love this car - fun to drive, great fuel economy, and I can even fit my 9 ft surf board in it. However - its expensive to maintain. I just hit the 60,000 mile mark and because the Caliber has a variable transmission it takes, "a special kind of transmission fluid" and has to be done at the dealership. So the 60,000 service is going to cost over $650. I also just replaced the tires and since the Caliber has an odd tire size (lower profile) there are only a few tire manufactures who make that size and I spent over $900 on new tires. I do plan to keep the car for awhile - I just wasnt expecting such large chunks of money going out for routine maintenance on non-luxury vehicle.

• 

  MoPower - 2008 Dodge Challenger
  By PCG - November 28 - 2:00 am

  Ive been a Mustang guy all my life. So this is a walk on the wild side for me. But have been very pleased so far. Great road car. Took it on a 1,400 mile road trip the 2nd weekend it had it. Got 22 mpg and it rides great on the slab. Got lots of looks. Mine is Hemi Orange. So it kind of stands out. I usually drive manual muscle cars too. But the 5-speed Autostick is impressive. I manually shift it more than half the time. With an open air element, headers, and a cat-back system she really sings out over 4,000 RPM.

• 

  Have to drive it - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By Mr.Avenger - November 27 - 2:00 am

  I went car shopping and decided on my Avenger. My orange burst color is new and everyone love it. The interior could be upgrade,a little to much plastic.Since being a Artist,I upgrade the inside myself by putting my own touch inside which bought it out a lot.

• 

  An honest SXT review after 2 years... - 2007 Dodge Charger
  By Sam - November 26 - 2:00 am

  I drive an SXT. Awesome to look at, fun to drive, handles well (especially for its size), it is big and comfortable with plenty of room for my 65" 300 lb body. Lots of space, huge back seat, huge trunk. Great family car. Problems: There are several "known issues" theyre not horrendously expensive to fix, but the two problems I had are both well known and common (shifter becoming "jammed" due to a mechanical breakage of an internal plastic part and the O-Ring for the transmission doesnt fit quite right and will have to be replaced eventually). Biggest problem is the build quality. It is cheap. The car develops rattles and squeaks quickly on the interior plastic molding.

• 

  Overall, has been good to me - 2000 Dodge Durango
  By Jared - November 25 - 2:00 am

  I bought this thinking the gas mileage wouldnt be too bad with a 4.7 v8, boy was I wrong. My biggest complaint is the gas mileage and visibility. There is no reason a car with only a 4.7 should be getting this bad of gas mileage not to mention no nuts either! Youll be pushing 3500 rpm to pass on a hill. And the visibility being bad is because of the large sized window towers. But the 4x4 is awesome. It is impossible to get this thing stuck, its been deep in the snow and sand and has owned both like no problem. It handles curves very well with a tighter suspension, but does only okay in snow and ice, it tends to slip a lot because of how high the rpms run.

• 

  The Chally - 2010 Dodge Challenger
  By wakefan01 - November 24 - 2:00 am

  Love the car! the 6.1 is tremendously powerful and fun. Although it may not be the fastest of the mustang and camaro but it sounds amazing. A deep rumble that the others dont make

• 

  A Lovable Disappointmenrt by Mopar Momi - 2010 Dodge Challenger
  By Vintage Lover - November 16 - 2:00 am

  Had problems from day one. Despite the fact that I absolutely LOVE this car, it hasnt been the perfect marriage. Interior-headliner falling at the driver side door, heat control malfunctions and needed to be replaced, no light in rear seating area.Exterior-cheap paint job (paint chips down to metal with a door ding, had to have valve stems replaced due to low tire pressure light. Performance-car shimmies and has poor stability with braking past 80 mph, violently past 100 mph. Other than those things I LOVE THIS CAR. Love to feel and hear the purr of the Hemi. Im a hot rod chick and barring those things, I would buy another. Stuck on the retro look. Had a 70 Hemi Cuda back in the day.

• 

  Dads Car ! - 2008 Dodge Charger
  By Frank - November 15 - 2:00 am

  After driving around a Honda CR-V for a year I needed a new car because that Honda is boring! This R/T is a blast the HEMI roars or just chills whenever you want this car does it. Nice roomy cabin, heated seats, nice back seat for the kids and much more ! For the money you can beat this car If I wanted a Honda I would have bought a Honda.

• 

  Her name is Ruby - 1999 Dodge Avenger
  By Jessica - November 13 - 2:00 am

  Ive had this car for 5 years now and it has been great. Ive only had two major repairs. I had to replace the ball joints and the timing belt. other than that, normal maintenance is all that is required and the car runs beautifully! I take a road trip twice a year and the car always holds up nicely, better actually because it just wants to be driven! In California, we dont have to worry too much about the cold so this is not an issue. to this day it only has 100,000 miles on it and I will continue to drive it until it will no longer drive. Im sure I have at least another 5 years with it!