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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  Pretty nice little van. - 2006 Dodge Caravan
  By Reid Benham - August 4 - 6:35 pm

  Nice to drive, wish it gave better gas mileage. Drivers seat is difficult to move back and forth. No defects in material or workmanship. In 6,600 miles I have changed the oil twice and rotated the tires, not bad for American Iron.

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  First American Car in 20 years - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By cmoth - August 4 - 10:20 am

  So far so good. I love the fold flat seats. Extremely versatile. I opted to not get the myGig, just kept in simple. With a lifetime powertrain warranty, keeping it simple makes sense. Well keep this van for 10 years. I am very tall and the flexibility of the pedal positions, and lack of an obtrusive center console made the Grand Caravan my choice over Honda and Toyota. I drive less than 7,500 years and my 1998 BMW 528i was costing $2,500 in annual repairs to achieve this meager goal. The Caravan is fantastic economy and reliability by comparison.

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  Good Riddance Durango - 2005 Dodge Durango
  By azjim - August 3 - 11:04 pm

  After a year and a half I have bid good bye to my 05 Durango Ltd. This vehicle had every option including Nav, DVD and chrome wheels. Had to take it back to the dealer 8x so they could finally fix an oil leak. 3x back to dealer to get the drivers seat repaired because it kept cracking near the power seat controls. One time they tried to glue a broken piece back on. The front bumper had to be reclipped because the some of the plastic clips were missing. Weather stripping had to be replaced numerous times due to falling off. All this and 12 mpg with a Hemi for a vehicle that stickered for $43K. Traded this hunk of junk in for a Honda Pilot and 24mpg.

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  OK SUV - 2002 Dodge Durango
  By mike20 - August 3 - 1:38 pm

  OK family vehicle. Has enough power. Transmission shifting needs help. A/C is very poor.

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  Dodge SWB Caravan - 2005 Dodge Caravan
  By teckelwood - August 1 - 11:58 pm

  My 05 SXT(SWB) Caravan is responsive, easy to park and handle, and very comfy. Quiet inside, and a pleasure for me (62") and my wife (54") to drive. We are in our mid seventies, and are fond of Dodge minivans. Quad seats are a pleasure to move around and sit in. This is a great car for our older bodies with comfort and performance in mind.

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  Great fun little car - 2005 Dodge Neon
  By andy - August 1 - 9:04 pm

  The Neon has had a bad reputation over the years but Dodge really hit something with the 2005. I bought it just because it had decent gas mileage, but it turned out to be better than I thought it would. I average around 30 mpg with a good variation of both city and highway driving. The sound system that came with it is awesome for it being factory installed. The outside looks great and it is a really sporty car. I love the smooth ride and comfortable interior it offers. I love the power that it has too. Nothing that will blow your socks off ,but it is a really quick car, especially for not being turbocharged.

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  Still Loving It After a Year - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By NickTheFish - August 1 - 9:03 pm

  Ive driven this car for a year so far, and love it as much as the day I drove it off the lot. The AWD is great in any less than optimal traction situations - its very cool to just power away up a hill from a stop light in the rain with no wheel spin! It doesnt drive like your daddys station wagon. The handling is much more like a high performance sedan (i.e. Mercedes). You wont believe the amount of stuff you can get in this thing. The loading crew at Lowes never thought wed get a 4 burner grill (in the box) in there along with an arbor, a dozen plants and some bags of potting soil the other day. Weve towed a 3400lb trailer on multiple occasions with no sweat. Great car!

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  Worthy of my love! - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By G. - July 31 - 4:10 pm

  I have been the proud owner of 1968 Ford Mustang for over 15 years. Ive been wanting to set him up as my "Go for a Sunday drive" car but hadnt found anything worthy of my attention, a car worthy to be my everyday car. That is until I found my Caliber. It just fit right the first time. A little sporty, a little tough and very comfortable.

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  An SUV only a mother could love. - 2001 Dodge Durango
  By Chance D. - July 30 - 2:00 pm

  I recently aquired my mothers 15 year old, 233,000 mile black Dodge Durango. She has driven this car since I was 5 years old, and now she has passed it onto me. It seems Dodge really struck gold with the 4.7l V8 and 4A because it has been through Florida summers and North Carolina winters and still starts up everyday without an issue and shifts like silk. The engine and transmission have not been rebuilt or replaced, which astonishes my entire family because we frequently hear about the horror stories people have with transmissions in Dodge RAMs and others. Corporate must have visited the factory the day my mothers vehicle was built, especially being a FCA automobile, because it runs like a top. The only issues that I have found seem to be small electrical problems, a blown fuse every once in awhile for a drivers side taillight and the drivers door lock does not work (which I suspect is result of some maintainance from my mother and father. Other than that, all the windows still roll up and down, albeit slowly, the headlights and fog lights still work, and all the dials in the instrument cluster still work. Another downside is the appalling fuel economy, with only averaging 13mpg even at 70mph and 1750rpm on the freeway. But with the vehicle weighing almost 4700 lbs and having a 4.7l V8, it does make sense. All in all, I would recommend this vehicle to anyone that needs a work horse and still needs it to start everyday.

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  One Year Review - 2005 Dodge Durango
  By Debbie - July 30 - 4:14 am

  Coming up on a year with our Durango, this is a good time to share a few things. The brakes have an occassional squeal that we are told is normal. But the interior front seat design is very poorly done for anyone over 200 lbs. My husband is an ex-football guy and whew, his muscles and size just dont go with the seatbelt contraption that pops out at the bottom of the seat. It has broken twice now, with just normal wear and tear, and you can see we dont drive it much with low miles. But that is probably the only complaints we have thus far.