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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  Caliber - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Richard Castle-Hacke - October 13 - 5:56 am

  I live in England and bought the two litre Diesel SXT Caliber and so far I have been pleased with my car. For a small family car it is one of the safest cars here in Great Britain. I was amazed with how well the car performs, the two litre turbodiesel gives all the right power at the time you need. I would advise any to buy the new Dodge Caliber.

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  A car for the ages - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By Joe O. - October 12 - 10:13 am

  What can I say, this car is exceptional because it is what it is. That being an American name plate car that eats the imports for lunch and dinner. In these times of too many Camrys and too many Accords, this is whats needed. Yes its reliable, yes its fast, yes its comfortable, and it doesnt look like it came out of a cookie cutter mold. The car gets stares and a lot of questions asked about it. And I tell everybody who asks that this is the best car Ive ever owned. It always seems that old stereotypes about "bad" American cars keeps the public buying wishy washy foreign cars. I just say, bring em on!

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  Excellent............... - 2005 Dodge Durango
  By Mr.B - October 11 - 8:56 pm

  Just a great handling SUV. In snow or on the beach, it never bogs down just motors along. On the parkway or open road it flys and handles like a dream. Exterior and interior are great everything at your finger tips. Sound system with the navigation aid is excellent love the radio and the Satellite radio too. All around great deal for the price.

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  Great Car. Tag yourre it for problems! - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By magnumagogo - October 11 - 5:59 pm

  First of all I love my car. It seems like I was chosen by Dodge to be the guinea pig for the problems that dont happen to anyone else. Tires lasted just over 22k. Was told I overinflated them, but mustve been dealership because I am never one to do it yourself. Tranny went out at 30k (its a Mercedes tranny too!) & it took forever to fix! Then the temp gauge went out (cant remember why, but they had never seen the problem in all of the magnums they had seen in the shop), window went out, key fob died, still have a popping noise when I make sharp left turns, but never can be heard when in the shop.

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  Next Best Thing - 2007 Dodge Charger
  By bobnrobin - October 11 - 10:33 am

  The car is a blast to drive. I have never owned a car that receives more attention than this car. Every where I go someone is stopping me to ask about the car or compliment me on the looks of the car. From ages of 8 to 80 people are stopping me to comment on the car. Either to tell me about the Charger they owned years ago or how much they would like to buy the current model. The down side is at every red light someone is challenging me to run it. Dodge got it right with this car. Its fast as a bullet stops on a dime and corners like its on rails. Some complain about the fact they made it a sedan, but from my perspective the car is the best of both worlds.

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  Solid Ride! - 2008 Dodge Dakota
  By Blue truck - October 10 - 9:54 pm

  It has a firm, borderline stiff ride, much less spongy than the previous model years. We have many 2006-07s in our fleet and you can tell the difference. The console and cup holder layout is great and much improved. All controls are easy to reach and use. The ride is quiet. I would recommend the V8 if you need serious power. So far, my 3.7L accelerates good enough and maintains highway speeds adequately. We have had very few quality issues in our fleet so far with Dakotas, and hopefully this series will even be better.

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  What SUV? - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By Ed Salvadore - October 10 - 2:06 pm

  Brutally fast and solid ride. Long wheelbase makes vehicle less nimble for around town driving. Overall I am very pleased.

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  Transmisson - 2001 Dodge Caravan
  By Cheys for me - October 10 - 10:46 am

  I have had my van for over a year enjoyed driving it. I did not go out and purposely buy it. Family situtation which I took posssession of the vehicle. Ran great took it on about five trips. About a week ago just going down the road felt two jolts and the transmission was gone. Just went out of warranty. So I had to spend over $ 2,000.00 to have it repaired. Went online to check if other people have had problems. I was blown away with all the complaints. No wonder they are offering lifetime warranty. Needless to say Im trading in the near future.

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  Decent.... Not reliable - 1998 Dodge Intrepid
  By smitty - October 9 - 9:42 pm

  I had this car for 2 years. First let me say, while the car was running, I loved this car, but For the first 6 months the car seemed to be doing great, then after that, problem upon problem upon problem. I bought this car for $3000 and put probably another $3000-5000 in it for problems. In the end the head gasket went and I was done with this car, got a 2000 Mustang, love it! This car looks great, very comfortable, when it ran, it ran great, nice power, on the 3.2 engine at least. I love the looks of the car and the size, I love big cars, but I just had way too many problems with this thing.

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  The best truck weve owned - 2004 Dodge Dakota
  By moo - October 9 - 8:02 pm

  This Dakota has best the best vehicle weve owned. In July, Savannah, GA flooded and we had to drive through the waters to get home. We have the 2004 Dodge Dakota SLT 2WD pickup. We were one of the only vehicles to make it out of the 4 foot running waters. We owe Dodge for our safety and their reliability.