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:

• 

  Some love it.... - 2007 Dodge Nitro
  By Luebbe - April 3 - 3:56 pm

  Ive read some negative reviews on this car, but we "fell" into our Nitro as a dealer special. It was an end of year clearance special on the car, which we suspect was so low because of the manual transmission and the color. (Sunburst orange). Since we bought the car, I havent had a problem, and the spacious interior is amazing. You would never know that there was that much room in the car from looking on the outside. And the Yousync feature for my bluetooth enabled phone is a life saver. In short: I love my Nitro.

• 

  Reminds me of an old Chevy Nomad - 2007 Dodge Magnum
  By John CT - April 3 - 3:06 pm

  Fun car to drive. I installed a Jet chip to even out the sluggish starts. I cant complain, though it is only a V6 (3.5L) and not a Hemi. The chip worked nicely. Next is a K&N Air intake, cheap ways to gain a few more ponies.

• 

  Great Car - 2003 Dodge Neon
  By way2fast59 - April 3 - 10:00 am

  For under 20K, I do not think you could ask for anything better. The only problem was that the sales rep that sold me the car did not know ANYTHING about the SRT-4. All in all, I am pleased with the performance of the car. Just keep your foot out of the gas.

• 

  Best Family Vehicle I have Owned - 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Gary Frazier - April 3 - 10:00 am

  We love this van. Roomy and confortable along with a gread smooth driving vehicle. I recommend one og these ot any family with kids.

• 

  Quality Ride - 1998 Dodge Intrepid
  By marty - April 3 - 2:03 am

  First new car Id ever owned, happy that it was this choice. Pretty decent car for the first completely built by computer. Gets around good in all kinds of weather conditions. Even though its the 2.7 standard model, the power is still there when you need it, and the comfort is there all of the time. At almost 50,000 miles, I am hoping to have a long, continued contentment with this car. I love the looks of it so, that I still baby it, and park it out in the back 40s so it wont get scratched. I have taken good care of this car, and it has taken good care of me in return.

• 

  The Beast - 2007 Dodge Charger
  By Larry Jackson - April 3 - 1:39 am

  I love this vehicle, brillant black and I added some aftermarket chrome and this car really came alive. Catches all the cutie eyes. Plenty of hp. Love to just go for a ride just to watch people faces as I Cruise by. Went in to dealership ship for service and people could not take there eyes off car and was told to enter in car show. It cost me a lot to bring it out, but it was well worth it. Cold air intake is well worth its weight in gold. I cant say enough about this vehicle.

• 

  My Pig - 1997 Dodge Dakota
  By cordulidae - April 2 - 10:41 pm

  I name all of the vehicles I drive, and this one is appropriately named. I love this truck and hope to pass it on to my favored heir one day. :) It is fun to drive, full of torque, fast, has trailered everything I own several times over w/out complaint, and looks better than the current Dakotas. The few bad things I have had with Pig include Batteries, I put my 4th battery in this weekend, the gas mileage (avg. 14 mpg), but it is a 5.2 V-8. Oh, and when they built her, someone put an engine bearing in wrong or forgot to. Regardless, engine was rebuilt at 3,000 miles (under warranty). But, it hasnt stalled, hiccuped, or let me down since.

• 

  great value - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By Steveo - April 2 - 9:19 pm

  The caliber is a fun car to drive. Im still getting used to the CVT instead of a transmission. The body style really impresses me, its like a wannabe Magnum on a Geo budget. So far Im well pleased with the decision to buy it. Like a lot of people have said, it is loud on the road. Dodge would do well to correct that fault. I highly recommend the caliber to small families and commuters, a lot of value for the price.

• 

  Looks awesome, fun to drive! - 1998 Dodge Avenger
  By aresauburn - April 2 - 8:09 pm

  A great car that is very fun to drive. The 6 cylinder sounds good, but I wish late 90s cars such as these made more power. However, if you treat this car well, keep it maintained routinely, it will run reliably and look awesome!

• 

  Chryslers core design quality is slipping... - 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By buddhanature - April 2 - 4:23 pm

  35,000 miles, Owned for 2 years from new. Dealer sales-lady lied about UConnect and rebate for multi-vehicle purchase. Wouldnt reimburse us either. Drove to Florida from Michigan twice. Cruise control problem - didnt use. Transmission hard shift when first taking off. Used to own 94 Voyager minivan, 03 Intrepid and 98 Sebring convertible. This vehicle has more design problems than the older ones I owned. Had transmission reprogrammed - still bad (even had 3 Chrysler quality engineers ride with me and they said this is normal operation for this vehicle.),wind shear problem, heater blower motor has only low speeds. Original tires only lasted 25,000 miles before no traction in snow.