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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  Turbo Shelbys Live Forever! - 1990 Dodge Daytona
  By Ernest Laird - August 25 - 2:00 am

  Mine is actualy an 87 Shelby Z, but similar enough to the 90. I found the car with on ly 71k pampered miles on it, garage kept, in near perfect condition. I conduct all the regular service and repairs on it myself, except alignments, This is my thrid Dodge/Plymouth of this type, early 90s FWD, and all of them have been an incredible joy to drive, given me verry verry few problems, and the few they gave I was able to fix myself easily and at minimal cost. These cars are incredibly fun to drive every day and have a devoted following of verry inteligent and helpful owners. I hope to drive a car like this for the rest of my life, fun, fast and beautiful.

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  Nothing to complain about - 2002 Dodge Neon
  By 2NRXTC - August 25 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car as a used fleet vehicle according to carfax. It had 35k on it and I just paid $5500! Ive driven the car for about 10k and havent had the slightest problem. Had a 95 neon up to 140,000 miles without any problems. Cheap, reliable, fun to drive. What could be better?

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  Awesome Car - 2004 Dodge Intrepid
  By Lorri1968 - August 23 - 2:00 am

  This is the best car I have purchased. I love the look, the feel the comfort and reliability. It feels great to drive such a classy car. The gas mileage isnt bad either, about 25 miles per gallon on a regular basis. What an awesome car this is!!

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  favorite car - 2004 Dodge Stratus
  By Titanic3i - August 23 - 2:00 am

  Love to drive the car realy enjoy it.

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  My Grand Caravan - What fun! - 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Grand Caravan - August 21 - 7:26 am

  I love being able to get in, turn the key, & go! If I do run into any problems, a phone call to the dealer takes care of it. If I have a problem on tne road, a call for Chysler Roadside Assistance gets me help in a very short time. And repairs take very little time at all. It does make the drive into Seattle very easy, and one I would not even contemplate without my Grand Caravan.

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  Love it! - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By THE9TH1 - August 21 - 6:16 am

  Bought this in May, took a 2600 mile road trip 2 weeks later. Got excellent gas mileage for a AWD crossover vehicle (averaged about 24 mpg). The DVD/Rear entertainment system was a lifesaver for our kids. Already had to replace the radio though. Not a big deal, just a couple hours in the shop. Still trying to figure out all the options that the radio has. Hopefully the updated CD we got in the mail this week fixes the problems we had with it. Love the amount of room and the storage compartments. Glad we went with all the options the SXT had to offer. We use all of them!

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  Reliable as Anything Out There - 1998 Dodge Intrepid
  By Ferrari_Rules - August 19 - 2:00 am

  This is my second Intrepid. I was going to buy new, but did a search for a Candy-apple Red ES with Climate Control, the Infinity sound system, Trip Computer and a tan leather interior. Found one with only 16k miles, paid what they asked for it and its been a real pleasure to own. Any car will go 100k miles these days with oil changes and new plugs every so often, and you get more car than a Honda.

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  So far, so good! - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By SXTDriver - August 19 - 2:00 am

  Ive only driven a few hundred miules thus far, so of course this review is brief, and limited to my inital impressions. Style - Great! Dodge has done a great job of keeping a somewhat old design looking fresh and stylish Ride/Handling - Great! Smooth and quiet for a car in this class. Power - Im still breaking the car in, but so far - more than adequete. Quality/Durability - The big question mark...Ill let yall know as time passes Cargo/Space - Extremely roomy: Im 62, and have plenty of wiggle room! Price/Features - Almost unbeatable - loaded to the gills, my Neon cost less than 13K after rebates/minimal haggling!

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  everything about the car is great - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By Linda Leonard - August 19 - 2:00 am

  I love this car its fast and cheap ! The best thing dodge has done next to the VIPER!!!!

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  Great Vehicle - 2004 Dodge Durango
  By Durangova - August 19 - 2:00 am

  Great engine (Hemi), wonderful ride, great handling. Dodge got it right. I recommend this vehicle to anyone who is shopping the mid and large size SUV market