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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  My perfect purlple car - 1997 Dodge Intrepid
  By loved my intrepid - November 23 - 2:00 am

  was in a side impactwreck I walked away with a tiny scrach and my child injury free very safe car

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  2006 Charger R/T - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By Gene Herbert - November 21 - 3:03 am

  I have owned this car for a year and a half. It goes like the muscle cars of the 60s.The gas mileage isnt great, but , what do you expect? The car has great handling and a perfect ride, not too soft. This is a great car.

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  very excellent - 1992 Dodge Stealth
  By dodge678 - November 21 - 2:00 am

  the car is the best i had so far

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  Pretty good car - 1996 Dodge Avenger
  By mememememe - November 21 - 2:00 am

  98,000 miles so far and completely trouble free. Ive done nothing other than normal maintenance and the car has never let me down. Its fun to drive, perfect size, big trunk, still looks great.

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  Great First Car - 1991 Dodge Stealth
  By Tenny - November 20 - 2:00 am

  This car was my first car (of my own). Ive driven several other cars within the same price range, and they cant compete with this car. Its very comfortable to drive, and very forgiving. All my friends say they cant beleive I got such a good car, then I tell them the price and they are shocked, becuase they spent more on thier car, yet they wish they could have mine.

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  fun fun and more fun - 2003 Dodge Stratus
  By sanad@2gss.org - November 20 - 2:00 am

  this is the one of the coolest and sweetest looking family cars out there trust me after puting my intake in that baby was even fast and boy is she fun to drive

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  This car is plain awesome! - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By Buddy Rogers - November 19 - 10:50 am

  I bought the Charger Daytona R/T. I cant say enough about this car. Absolutely beautiful and amazing to drive!

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  Better than expected - 1998 Dodge Durango
  By Scottyl - November 19 - 2:00 am

  I got the low-end with the 8-cylinder and really like it

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  Sleeper - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By jwoodward_78109 - November 18 - 10:00 am

  I was totally sold on this vehicle by the different car magazines that did features on it. I traded-in a 2000 Mustang GT that was putting out around 320hp to the engine and Im looking forward to modifying the SRT-4.

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  Stratus R/T Coupe - 2003 Dodge Stratus
  By 2003 R/T - November 18 - 2:00 am

  I came from a Grand Prix GTP, 240HP 280 Torque. Im impressed with this car. Its only 200HP and 205 Torque, but with the manual, it feels faster. Its comfortable and fun. Its smaller than Im used to, and I dont think anyone will ever want to sit behind me. Its a little restrictive on the view, hard to see right behind me, but Ive adjusted. Its a great car (with my 200 miles so far) and I would recommend this to anyone (so far). Its got a new look that I like much more than the 2002.