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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  A real hoot to drive - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By Jill - January 27 - 12:20 pm

  The Avenger being my first car (going from trucks) in 15 years, I was a bit nervous about how well I would settle in to driving it. But, this car has turned out to be a blast to drive. Smooth shifting and handling, responsive accelleration, better than stated fuel economy (19 mpg combo hwy/city) and a bunch of nifty creature comforts. I will be interested to see how well the AWD with ESP does on icy roads. No regrets here!

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  Great car! - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By flyusmc - January 26 - 3:56 am

  No problems and I avg 30 MPG. Tons of features and good fit and finish. Was not looking for the color I got but it stands out and be ready for attention (Sunburst Orange). Tons of space on the inside with very versatle interorior configurations. CVT is something to get used to. It definitly saps some of the engines power, but it makes up for it in fuel economy. Overall way underated but much better then the others I drove. For the same price you get a much bigger car with way better features. The rated MPG is very close to actuall unlike the Honda & Toyota I drove.. They may be faster, but thats all. PS. the integrated chill zone cooler really works and is very cool!

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  Great Vehicle - 2001 Dodge Caravan
  By felipe a - January 26 - 2:00 am

  We bought a program car from the dealer with 30,000 miles. It has run great, Im over 50,000 miles, and have not yet had one issue with the vehicle

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  2004 Dodge Caravan - 2004 Dodge Caravan
  By Pardue - January 26 - 2:00 am

  I have always been a "Ford" person but after riding/driving the Dodge Caravan I dont know if Ill ever go back! It fits me and my family like a glove and is so quiet. I just love it!

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  A great car to drive - 1996 Dodge Avenger
  By Rudy Arias - January 25 - 2:00 am

  Its a great car for the money. With the exception of stock engine performance, its been a very exceptional car to own. The only money that I have sunl into it has been in Audio and engine bolt on performance items like mass air intake, headers, cat back exhaust,etc. The only suspension madification done was better front & rear sway bars. The body shows no signs of fatigue or rust, I will drive this car till it dies (or when Dodge brings it back).

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  Cant be it for the buck. - 1997 Dodge Intrepid
  By Frostyman - January 25 - 2:00 am

  I have had this car for 5-1/2 years and drove it off the showroom floor. As the salesman told me "you cant beat the package for the money and cant find the same in another make". I would say he was correct. The car has performed and required little more than routine oil changes. The computer had to be reprogrammed once because the A/C would malfunction but that was done two years ago and its been fine. The only other item for repair was a speed sensor that affected the transmission shifting. These have been the only "repair" issues on this car period. I cannot say enough good things about it.

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  Excellent - 2000 Dodge Dakota
  By cterry - January 25 - 2:00 am

  I have had no problems with this truck. Use it daily for a country paper route of 79 miles per morning and love the gas mileage. Also use it for my small farm. Will tale 28 bales of hay and 1,000 pounds of cattle feed with no problems but have been told I need to get heavier duty shock absorbers for the cattle feed by my mechanic. Handles very nicely.

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  Great Car, With One Issue - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Ben - January 24 - 8:13 am

  I just bought this car just a few weeks ago for my son, he loves it and so do i. it has a great exterior and interior, and runs great too. However as soon as we got it home the brakes or brake pedal squeaks. It is very annoying but the dealership said they would try to fix it so i can only hope. Overall this is a great car and i would recommend it to anyone

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  03 R/T Coupe - 2003 Dodge Stratus
  By StratusOwner - January 24 - 2:00 am

  I love my stratus. It looks great, rides great, and there are so many aftermarket modifications available due to its common engine with the sebring and eclipse.

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  Dodge Quad Cab 5.7 8cyl - 2004 Dodge Dakota
  By Bryan Orange Park - January 24 - 2:00 am

  I have enjoyd the truck as a hole , but worried about the upper ball joint problem, I have taken it to the deal and of course they find nothing wrong , but there is a popping sound when i turn the wheel, I see future problems in that area for Dodge. I only drive about 9,000 miles a year.