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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  Big mistake - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Sandra - January 31 - 4:16 am

  I traded in a very nice 2004 Jeep Liberty for this thing, I got it out of the showroom. (GOD I wish it were back in there.) Ive had it at the dealership for fuel smell in the car while driving. They say they cant find anything wrong with it, my husbands a mechanic he says their crazy, but its under warranty so they should fix it. Ive had to have it lined up because it eats tires up on the inside, and Im fixing to replace tires for the 2nd time, it only has 31,000 miles on it. I really wish I could trade it in, but the Dodge place only offered me $9,000 for it and it is in excellent shape, they know the cars are junk.

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  Versatility King - 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By David - January 18 - 8:20 am

  I bought the Grand Caravan over the new Odyssey because of the StownGo feature and it hasnt disappointed me. I need versatility and maximum cargo space, and the Dodge has it and more. Reliability and build quality are not on par with Japanese vehicles but they cannot match the Dodges versatility. I keep my vehicles forever, so resale value is not a factor to me.

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  2005 Dodge Magnum RT - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By macster - January 12 - 10:00 am

  The styling of the new Dodge Magnum caught my attention as soon as I got near it, and caused me to want to look and look some more. The long, low stance, the tall wheel/tire combination, the short window chopped top look, made me think this was a custom vehicle. Drove one (the hemi) at the dealership and was sold on it. Nice looking inside, but not frilly. Looks strictly business. Gets more serious when you apply those 340 horses under the hood to the pavement. This thing gets the drivers attention! Surprising headroom too! Im 6-6, and no problems!

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  Pretty Good, all things considered - 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Mighty UTU - January 7 - 9:50 pm

  Have had the Van for almost a year now. Cant beat the storage (sto n go). It is Awesome. I think it looks better than the new style. Yeah its a minivan but if you put your ego aside then it is the most versatile vehicle out there. My 3 kids love it.

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  Good family vehicle - 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By bubjack - January 3 - 10:00 am

  We bought the Grand Caravan Sport model new and have been fairly satisfied. It has been reasonably reliable(knock on wood). It now has 70000+ miles and still runs and drives good. Issues we have experienced: replaced MOPAR battery twice within first three years (warranty repair), replaced CD player (warranty repair),broken driver side mirror, phantom wipers, water pump replaced recently (not unusual for 70,000 mile car). Amazingly, the exhaust still works good (I usually have to replace a muffler or pipes by now). Car has the 3.3 liter engine and seems a bit weak going up long inclines or passing. Not enough HP and torque for this heavy vehicle.

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  Last minute buy - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Chris - January 3 - 6:26 am

  I had a pick up truck that I had to retire, I went to the closest dealership to my home to find a vehicle that I could afford and that I liked. By 6pm I drove off the lot in my sunburst orange Dodge Caliber.

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  Stow n Go - 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By mel_gibson_ - December 31 - 7:06 pm

  This is my second Dodge Caravan. First was a 1995 Dodge Caravan (SWB - 3.3L V6). I love the Stow n Go, which allows the both the 2nd and 3rd row seats to go into the floor, virtually creating a cargo van in 4 minutes. Great for my side business to carry a bunch of equipment. Also great to haul my friends for trips - whether theyre short or long. The Stow n Go puts the vehicle in a class by itself. Yeah, stuff falls off, but its the standard Dodge build quality - not great, but for the most most, its nothing that prevents the engine from running. BTW, as others have noted, Ive been a bit disappointed by the gas mileage (18 mpg mixed, 23 highway)

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  My First Minivan - 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By mcrebob - December 29 - 10:00 am

  I test drove this van and was instantly impressed with the handling and acceleration The list price on the model we chose is over $40,000. One thing that struck me is that the interior is, well, kinda cheap. The seats are nice, firm and supportive, but the armrests are plastic. The doors are very hard plastic. Theres no memory on the power settings. There seems to be an odd lack of headroom for an interior with so much available space One thing that drives me crazy is that theres an edge that juts out from the door where they mounted the PW switches. This edge is hard is exactly where I might rest my left knee while driving. It is terribly uncomfortable

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  Brakes, Brakes and more Bad Brakes - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By audrey - December 22 - 2:26 pm

  Purchased vehicle with 18,132 km. in Feb 2008,;October 2008 @ 33,942 km (15,810 km driven) replaced front brake pads and rotors. Drove additional 8,842 km - in May 2009 replaced the rear brake pads and rotors; at same time they again replaced the Front brake pads only 8,842 km use (they did this part for free! Today is August 18th - it has been 3months since both front and back have been replaced - 5 weeks of that it was parked and only 4,920 km later the van is going back into the dealership tomorrow because the brakes are causing severe shuttering. Already have put out $964.00 and a free set for the front --Dodge Service- -What will this cost me- I feel totally ripped off - known problem

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  Very reliable car - 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By chuckdi - December 20 - 5:56 am

  The only problem I had was the air conditioning. Went out at about 150000 miles. However, I never had any other mechanical problems. It has 232,000 miles and is still going strong.