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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  One Great Van. - 1997 Dodge Caravan
  By Kelly Lloyd - December 14 - 2:43 pm

  This has been a terrific van. It has never failed to start and had no repairs except for brakes and normal maintenance. It is a pleasure to drive, gets good fuel mileage, and rides very good. I like it so much, I bought a 2006 Town & Country last December, but I am not getting rid of my 97.

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  Recommended - 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By arge - December 14 - 10:00 am

  I bought it used 2001-39000ml for $12,500 with new tires and keyless entry. Not bad at all. The 3.3L engine has very good pick-up but it slows down if you really try to rev it up. I average 18MPG. This could be better! A hybrid engine or turbo diesel would help quite a bit on the fuel economy side. Road handling is surprisingly good, car like, but in a sense, driving its better because of the nice view from “up there”. Comfort: low engine/aerodynamic noise (even if they cheap out on engine sound shielding), smooth shifting. Driver seat feels a little cheap. Sometimes the door armrest squeaks. Internal space is gorgeous, kids love it.

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  Great Car for a Low Price - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By nywoman77 - December 14 - 4:23 am

  Ive had my Journey for two weeks now. I looked at many other vehicles and found this one to offer all the features I was looking for. It was the best price in its class. It has fair gas mileage for a vehicle of its size, weight and engine size. I think the space and convenient storage exceed any expectations I had. I cant wait to take it on my first road trip. All in all, its fun to drive

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  Give it up - 1996 Dodge Intrepid
  By kevin - December 13 - 5:31 pm

  This was my wifes car. She bought it brand new. She would not part with it even after it started having problems. After 10 years we have replaced the tie rods twice, the air conditioner compressor, had it painted, replaced the serpetine belt twice, the water pump three times, struts, tires several times more than we should have due to the tie rods. The motor after was finally replaced last year because the oil sending unit and pump went out and we could put a new engine in from a wrecked one cheaper than we could fix the oil pump problems. The car rides great, just not very mechannicaly sound. Also the door gaskets kept falling off.

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  2005 Dakota Q Cab - 2005 Dodge Dakota
  By hasel - December 13 - 10:50 am

  Other than a little cabin noise have found this vehicle sound and comfortable. Gas mileage I feel is OK.

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  I hate that I brought this car!!! - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Tabitha - December 13 - 7:13 am

  I purchased this car because I wanted something larger but with great gas mileage. The transmission is shot and I have only had the car for TWO years. :-(

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  Fun To Drive and Economical - 2003 Dodge Neon
  By larry s. - December 13 - 3:29 am

  Have 44K miles and almost 4 years on my lease. Get the 5 speed, quicker and better mileage. About $6 grand less than Honda Civic. Dodge made mistake by replacing this car with Caliber, which doesnt handle as well, and aint as sporty looking. One problem that has come up recently is the front strut bushings (rubber ring to cushion ride) have slipped down making ride more rough. Car shop quoted $330 to fix, but they tend to be more expensive for repairs. Hope for a recall since this problem should not happen on a car with 44K miles.

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  NEVER EVER AGAIN! - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By Apache - December 13 - 12:50 am

  Ok I was so happy at first - never owned a car this nice......never judge a book by its cover they say....it has been in the shop for brake sensor recall, warped rotors X3! MIGIG crashed. Now its sitting in the driveway the past month pending Lemon Law for the rotors. Us brakes and rotors people got to find each other and DO something about it. We paid alot of hard earned money for this vehicle! Everyone else - dont buy one....just say NO!

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  Can you spare some oil? - 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Laura - December 12 - 2:43 pm

  Bought our van new in late 05. Was perfect the whole time it was under warranty. As soon as we ticked past 36K everything went to heck and FAST! EGR valve, water pump, power sliding door motors, transmission is slipping, burns up tires and brakes, and the icing on the cake is that last year it starting burning a quart of oil every 1000 miles! Now a year later, it has used to a quart every 500 miles! What a joke! We are trading it off in a few weeks and will never buy another Chrysler/Dodge product again! I am so disappointed in this van. We had planned on keeping for a long long time and now are forced to go look for another vehicle. The re-sale value is crap as well.

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  2001 Quad Cab - 2001 Dodge Dakota
  By mtrialsm - December 12 - 12:15 pm

  This is my first Dodge. I wanted a mid-size truck with 4 doors. The Quad was the only truck that fit the bill. I have been very pleased with this vehicle. Only problems have been taken care under factory warrenty. The ball joints were replaced at 33,000 miles and will be replaced again soon.