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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  A Good Simple Family Car - 1999 Dodge Caravan
  By kjmarchione - March 3 - 9:11 pm

  When we purchased our Caravan, we were looking for an inexpensive, roomy vehicle to hold our kids and their friends. We purchased this vehicle new for about the same price of a compact car made by other companies. It was a stripped down model, with a four cylinder and we had no unrealistic expectations of performance or luxury. We were pleasantly surprised by the cars performance and actually felt quite nimble, probably because of the lesser weight.

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  my second Dodge - 2001 Dodge Intrepid
  By patnwaga - March 3 - 1:01 am

  I am on my second Intrepid. I went for the R/T Motorsports edition this time and am totally pleased. The ride is great and the additional power of the 3.5L vs. 2.7L really comes in handy on the interstate. My 2001 is much quieter than my 1998 base edition, and the ride is exceptional for a car in this price range. Driving about 50K per year I really need a car that is comfortable and reliable and my Intrepids have certainly been that.

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  Awesome Magnum RT - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By Miles - March 1 - 12:03 pm

  Verasatility says it all. This is the first car I have had in a long time where people will stop me and tell me how COOL my car is. I really love it.

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  Best vehicle that I have ever owned. - 1997 Dodge Avenger
  By Bandit - February 28 - 12:53 am

  The powertrain has to be the most suprising feature of this vehicle. Also, the independent rear suspension contributes greatly to the superb handling of this race inspired road rocket. The interior is almost as aggressive as the exterior, and in that regard, is just as appealing. Overall, this is the best vehicle that I have ever owned.

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  Gts review - 2002 Dodge Viper
  By airtym - February 27 - 2:39 pm

  the best

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  More fun than a barrel of monkeys! - 2000 Dodge Viper
  By Y2KGTS - February 26 - 4:31 pm

  After looking at several high-performance vehicles, I was drawn to the Viper GTS. The roar of its mighty V10 brought back memories of the muscle cars of old. The car has proven to be wicked fast, very comfortable, and with supermodel looks. NOT for introverts, fans will swarm you as though you are a major celebrity. Celebrities: Forget “blending in”. On the track it performs like no other car. Corvette who? You will not be able to wipe the smile off of your face when you own a Viper.

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  Great Car - 2002 Dodge Neon
  By Andre - February 26 - 3:59 am

  I purchased my Neon on April of 2000 and Ive put 35K miles in it. So far Ive not had any problem. The car handles beautifully on the road. Its extremely stable on the corners and it has plenty of grip. The Neon is pretty powerful for its size (5 speed manual) and shifting is pretty smooth. Breaking is also excellent. Ive been involved in an accident a year ago and the car handled it without a problem. Im very happy with it. Simply a great car.

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  Experienced Driver of Grand Caravan - 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By nmdude - February 25 - 6:26 am

  I enjoy driving the Dodge Caravan so I bought one. There have been concerns about the six speed transmission. I have specifically rented a SXT model to haul film lighting.The rental was quite less than SUVs. The transmission is sensitive and needs understanding. The six speed transmission allows one to save on fuel costs whether driving through hilly country or flat lands at highway speeds. Carrying 1 ton of cargo, it drives well granted, you understand how to shift. There is a reason why the shifter is located next to the speedometer. 10, 500 ft above sea level it performed well on hairpin turns. Height, stow n go, 12V inputs, width, wheel size 5stars.

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  My best vehicle ever - 2002 Dodge Caravan
  By Bill - February 24 - 12:20 pm

  If you dont take care of your Dodge eC Caravan you may not have the luck Ive had, but for the money I spent this is my best car in 52 years of driving. I bought the van new on December 31, 2001, for $16,600 (if I remember correctly). The Dodge new-car discount/rebate of about $600 did not apply, but in almost 16 years with it Ive probably saved $2000 in gasoline at 28-32 highway-miles per gallon over what I would have spent on a 6-cylinder model. I use it only for vacation and business trips, sleeping in the back of the van with the seats removed, and Ive probably also saved close to $20,000 on motels. I regret not having cruise control, but in the eastern U.S. cruise is not as efficient as it used to be because there is so much traffic. Until ethanol became ubiquitous in gasoline I was consistently getting 31 to 32 mpg, but with ethanol that drops to 28 most of the time (a 16-percent drop in fuel efficiency for a 10-percent infusion of corn liquor--not the most environmentally sound decision, and decidedly counter-productive in the quest for energy independence). On the rare occasions when Ive run through a tank of gas in local traffic the mileage has been about 23 to 24 mpg. Ive followed the maintenance manual religiously, changing the oil every 4000 miles until I switched to synthetic, and now I let it go 6000, but Ive had no emergency repairs to make. Because I let it sit through the winter I had a problem with mice hibernating in the ventilation system, but thats no fault of the car. The only other trouble I ever had was getting the steering wheel to unlock when I parked on a precipitous hill, but with a little manhandling I was able to get it to release enough to pull into drive and go on my way. I have no rust issues because I never drive it in the winter, save for one 600-mile trek through a freak October snowstorm. Despite having only summer tires (albeit brand-new ones) I plugged right along with my front-wheel drive through that heavy, wet snowfall while trailer trucks and SUVs were off the road on both sides. Speaking of tires, Im only on my second set, and as of today (September 13, 2017) the van has 126,000 miles on it. Next week it goes in to get the timing belt replaced: I wasnt sure until calling my mechanic today that it had a timing belt instead of a timing chain, and I dont think the manual mentioned that; at least the maintenance schedule didnt say anything about it. Ive babied the van from Day One, and no children have been allowed to trash it, or abuse the doors, so perhaps your experience may vary, but as for me I regret that there is no new eC model available to replace this one when (and if) it dies.

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  This car rocks! - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By civictd04 - February 23 - 2:00 am

  I decided to buy the SRT4 over the WRX. Test driving a WRX with STi exhaust I noticed more turbo lag and less acceleration. The SRT4 is a mean machine when it comes to performance. This car can out accelerate and corner more expensive cars. It looks great too. Inside the interior is a little better than a regular Neon with chrome trim gauges, silver and carbon fiber accent pieces, and boost gauge. The stock stereo sounds suprisingly good. Gas mileage is average, 22-30mpg, but considering the power this car has that is very good. Overall I am very satisfied with this car.