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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  Wow - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By chef - April 11 - 5:36 pm

  I bought my Avenger a month a go and LOVE it. It has V6 and lots of power, the interior is well designed, it rides great has 18 inch tires, sport suspension. Very sporty looking handles well hugs the road.

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  Great Reliable Vehicle - 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By LUVSit - April 9 - 2:20 pm

  I bought this van about 3 years ago. It was a certified pre-owned vehicle with about 45,000 miles on it. I must say it has been a great family hauler. It is very comfortable, and reliable. I never had to use the pre-owned warranty which took it to 80,000 miles. I currently have 102,000 troublefree miles on it. Chrysler/Dodge really is number one in mini-vans. I have only had to replace oil, battery and tires. I have the 3.8 litre engine which is quite powerful.

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  Dependable and Practical - 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By ronwagn - April 3 - 8:00 am

  The best vehicle we have ever owned. Our third minivan. No problems. Stowaway seats are great unless you need to drive on rock strewn terrible roads. It has lower clearance due to the stow away seats. I would buy one again, but will try to wait for a hybrid, preferably with a gasoline generator to charge it if needed. I would consider other brands, but prefer to buy American. Do not know of any other good American options, aside from the more expensive Chrysler Town Car. That may be all that is available next year though. The SXT is fancy enough for us. Anything else we need can be added on separately. We will drive this until it dies and then look for a hybrid minivan that is cost efficient

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  its not a JEEP - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By dojodriver09 - March 29 - 10:46 pm

  Got this ride last year when my lease was almost up. For a long time felt like I had traded DOWN from the Grand Cherokee.. I still feel that way BUT when gas was over four bucks a gallon I was smiling at my Improved mileage. I was a bit worried about what it would do in snow since I couldnt find meatier tires. I have to say it went every bit as good at the GC and I was even going thru snow on roads that werent even plowed this past winter. When I got home I had snow caked in the grill.. So I guess I will live with it for another 24 months and see whats available when this lease is up. There arent that many on the road where I live.

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  Plenty of power - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By Bob G. - March 29 - 12:06 pm

  Car has more then enough power and is fun to drive. Interior design is a little on the plain side but doesnt matter when you tap the gas to go around some slow poke. Just got to be careful and not give it to much gas.

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  Bad brake design - 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By alflaggs - March 21 - 5:05 am

  The rear brakes on my 2010 Caravan do not release properly and the brakes wear down in less than 25,000 miles. It is in need of a second set of rotors, pads, and calipers on the rear AGAIN. Looking online, I find this a very common problem...I think because of the poor design. On almost all cars, the braking force goes 70% to the front, 30% to the rear. The 2010 Caravan is designed for 50/50 braking and that seems to be too much to the rear brakes. In addition, the rear calipers do not seem to release fully when the brakes are let off. Chrysler really needs to address this problem since it is causing premature brake failure.

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  minivan - 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By bobpaul - March 18 - 10:00 am

  This has been a great vehicle for our family. We have 4 captain chairs and a back bench seat, with rear heat/air. We have taken some great family trips in this vehicle. Also, I like driving sitting up in the captain chairs.

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  Still goin! - 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By autoitking - March 16 - 11:58 am

  My family has had this car for 10 years now, and its still going strong. Original engine and transmission are rock solid and perform well. Only problems we ever had was a leaky radiator hose, a bad spark plug wire, and a bad idler. Once the idler and spark plug wires were replaced, it ran like new again! The power steering is very powerful and has a lot of boost. Very easy to steer, and handles well considering its size. The leaf springs in the rear make loading over a ton no problem, and the engine can haul it adequately. We fit all of my college stuff in there with room for three adults left. And the engine made it 350 miles to my dorm and back. Also a few very long trips (over 600 miles)

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  Neon interior - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By Chris Gordon - March 12 - 2:00 am

  I enjoy this car very much, its got power when I need it, runs fairly quite ging down the highway. However, the interior can leave you with desire though. The side to side room(for us long legged people), is not quite enough, and the gas and brake pedal could use a little more seperation. But after 4 months, thats really all I can complain about.

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  Great value, very good vehicle - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By former GM guy - March 9 - 12:00 pm

  Weve have about 16,000 on the Journey now and still love it as much as we did when it was brand new. Great road vehicle, innovative interior. One issue, the groaning steering was a recall that was promptly fixed.