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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  lost confidence - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By STRONG33 - February 8 - 6:10 pm

  All in all an ok van. seating is comfortable. STO N GO is nice. back seats slide up and back for more leg room.space utilization inside is good. very good in the snow! Wish the seats reclined further in back and psnger side. NOW the CONS 25,000 miles had to replace brakes and roters. dealership said consider myself luckey most go out at 12-17,000 mi on these new vans. you would think Dodge would come up with something to fix this problem! Back doors dont always want to close.Been to the dlrship 4-5 times and they still cant find anything wrong.wind noise on the highway seems to be getting louder. The dash rattles again dealership cant seem to find anything wrong. confidence in amer made??

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  Go Mango! - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By Greg - February 8 - 3:03 pm

  Best car Ive ever owned, It never stops amazing me as to its abilities, I cannot count how many "awesome car" comments Ive received. Goes like stink, handles great, Great highway fuel is excellent over 30 mpg (I have switched to synthetic oil and relaced the air filter with an K & N)

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  Great car- 1 year ripe - 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By stonewt - February 8 - 10:00 am

  This has been a like riding on air. The drive and handling is so smooth. Would like some extra oomph in hard excelleration, (but its a minivan) and have had fit and finnish problems. Had to take it to the overstaffed dealer to replace a weather strip on the top after a week. The dealer sent me to a bodyshop which looked at the strip that came off, and called the DEALER to order the part which would take 2 wks to arrive (we didnt get to pick the part up. The piece eventualy drove us mad so a more helpful service man stuck some doulble sided tape on and fixed the problem.....

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  Be Prepaired - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By Brian - February 8 - 6:37 am

  If you buy this car be prepaired to spend over a $1000 a year in tires. The F1 Supercars only last about 18,000 miles. At $250 apiece it gets very expensive to drive. The fuel was a surprising factor, it actually does very well if you keep your foot out of it. I get 20mpg on the highway and 17 in the city. Not bad for 425hp. Dont even bother driving it in the winter or real cold weather, you litterly wont go anywhere. Tires stink in the slightest bit of snow. Overall, I would buy this car again, but only if you can finance it for 3 years then trade it off.

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  Feels bigger than it is. - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By hschall - February 8 - 2:33 am

  Long time Ford advocate tries Dodge. I chose this vehicle over the Ford Escape and it fits my needs very well. Feels like a more expensive car than it is. Love the "indiglo" lit dash and cup holders. Sharp look without going overboard. Got it in the CVT which is very smooth although a little louder than I expected at times. Currently has a dash light on that right now Dodge can not fix. Told its an oxygen sensor bug. Seems that Ford had slightly better customer service.

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  Beast Unleashed - 1993 Dodge Stealth
  By The Bullet - February 7 - 10:40 pm

  Ive always wanted one so when I had the chance to get one I had to get it. Once in it I experienced overwhelming joy as I pushed on the pedal. Its handling and performance are all that I expected it to be.

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  Dont buy - 2004 Dodge Stratus
  By Skidawg79 - February 7 - 7:46 pm

  Upon hitting 40,000 miles my Stratus has been breaking down approximately every 3 months. In the past 20,000 this is a list of things that have happened. A car slammed its brakes in front of me, I went to hit mine..didnt have any! My master cylinder broke and needed replaced. Then about 3 months later my compressor went and I didnt have any air conditioning while I was stuck in traffic on a 90 degree day. Also my water pump went, Ive had the valve gaskets replaced twice, upper and lower radiator hoses and the thermostat, also my clutch needed replaced due to a manafacturing defect. Only good I can say is that its good on gas. I will never buy another Chrysler product again!

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  The best car Ive ever been in! - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By JamesAlfano - February 7 - 10:11 am

  The 2006 Black Charger SRT8 is the car Ive always wanted. I cannot afford to own and maintain a dedicated play car, and this is better than that anyway. I get to drive it all the time. Surpsiingly good in snow with Perrilli Scorpian Ice and Snow tires. There is nothing under $80,000 that even comes close.

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  Love my Durango! - 2002 Dodge Durango
  By AlaskaMamaBear - February 7 - 1:38 am

  We bought this Durango as 2nd owners from a rental liquidator and were worried. But we have had no problems what-so-ever. I trust this vehicle in the Alaskan elements with my children on board. Its been a wonderful family vehicle. I feel very safe with the side curtain airbags in the both the front and back seats. I couldnt live without the third row seat! The cargo area is spacious enough for our two dogs, or a full Costco run, and has made a conveinent diaper changing station on more than one occasion! Weve taken excellent car of our Durango, but I have to say it has taken even better car of us.

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  High miles. - 2005 Dodge Caravan
  By JD - February 6 - 10:23 pm

  This is my 5th Caravan. I drive 50,000 miles a year. Just passed 107,000 miles. Had no problems untill 75,000 miles, then several small problems with egr valve and vaccum pump. At 105,000 miles the transmission valve unit went bad, that and the 100,000 mile maintenance items + brakes, rotors, sway bars and tires cost me $3,000. The 3.3 liter engine is holding up well. tires lasted 105,000 miles without being aligned, or balanced.