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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  Love this car - 1998 Dodge Stratus
  By Mia - November 7 - 9:18 pm

  I bought this car 6 years ago with 20K miles on it. 3 cross country trips later with over 130k miles and its still in great condition with only routine checkups and TLC needed. I bought another car 2 years ago but we still use this one. I will miss it when we eventually sell it.

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  Great Car, Bad Mileage - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By John - November 7 - 8:03 pm

  20,000 miles in 10 months. Great road car, lots of space, quiet, comfortable for long trips. Sticker mileage is way off. 20-22mpg @ 70mph. 25mpg at 55-60mph. Sticker is 27, no way...Had to have 4 wheel allignment at 20K because it was eating up front tires.

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  My Rally review - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By Murray - November 7 - 8:55 am

  I bought the Dart sxt (rally) immediately after it became available in the fall of 2012. It came with most of the features that I wanted, such as Bluetooth, satellite radio, remote start and fog lights. It has the Rally trim, which included the red exterior with black accents, along with the black/red interior striping. The car looks very sharp and its fun to drive. It came with the 2.0 tigershark engine and the automatic transmission, which work very well together. It has served me very well for over 3 years with no major mechanical problems. 11/06/16..update.. The car is still fun to drive but has developed some quirks that I am trying to understand. The security system has a glitch that will cause the doors to lock and the horn to sound while just sitting in my driveway. I had to disconnect the battery a while back in order to stop the horn from blowing. The key fob was not able to silence the alarm. After replacing the battery in BOTH key fobs the problem appeared to be resolved, but the doors will still occasionally lock for no apparent reason.

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  2007 Dodge Caliber - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Missy B. - November 7 - 2:06 am

  Overall, I love the car. The gas mileage is good, the adjustable seat height on the drivers seat is a plus, I love the look of the car. The headrests seem to limit visibility when Im looking over my shoulder to go in reverse. The car is fun to drive though!

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  Love my Durango! - 2006 Dodge Durango
  By Love it! - November 7 - 12:00 am

  I just picked this vehicle up and its a dream. The HEMI is very responsive and it drives like a dream. Kind of like driving a recliner down the highway. Got the loaded out Limited with navigation, 6 disk changer, Sirus Satellite radio and DVD player. Its Inferno Red which I guess is a new color for this year. Heated seats, love the auto climate control too. I has the tip start feature to which works pretty good. I always have a confident feeling while driving this Durango. Ive read other posts here before deciding to buy and a few listed gas mileage specs. Ive got over 1000 miles and the average economy on the highway is between 18 and 20 mpg. I supposed a heavy foot could change that

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  Not happy at all with this van. - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Jules - November 6 - 5:10 pm

  I have had nothing but problems with my 2008 Grand Caravan since I got it in Jan. 2008. It has had a new exhaust put on it. The sliding door on the drivers side has been worked on 2 times because it starts to close and then re-opens. That still is not working 100% of the time. The keypad does not work at all when it is near my husbands Tahoe either in the garage or in a store parking lot. Now it beeps at me when I am driving, the lights on the dash all turn on, the RPM and MPH go to 0 & the windshield wipers turn on. I bought it for convenience since I have 3 kids & when the doors dont work or I have to stand there and make sure the doors shut it is anything but convenient.

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  Its Growing on Me - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By altarofego - November 6 - 9:50 am

  This car is a good commuter car. I bought it because it seems the car best balancing gas mileage and interior space. Im on the tall side at 64". It is slow and handles poorly when pressed, but I dont dirve that way. The tubing covering the break lines has dropped down 4 times and the dealer does not seem to have a solution. I had to fix it. The steering wheel controls for the radio/cd player have a mind of their own. The left button that should change the stations only does that occasionally. Mostly it lowers or raises the volume randomly. I no longer us it. I dont know that Id buy this one again, but Im not terribly dissatisfied either.

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  Awesome - 2006 Dodge Magnum
  By ROB - November 5 - 2:57 pm

  I love my Magnum. My wife told me that I had to loose the sports car because we had children. I couldnt bare the "m" word. (Minivan) I figured that if I had to loose the sports car, I might as well purchase a family car that hauled some serious tale, and cornered like it was on rails The Magnum is such a wonderful option in a vast sea of the same. The power and handleing are second to none. Not to mention, my fuel economy is wonderful, even with the Hemi engine. No mechanical, quality issues thus far. Very impressive. You really need to check this car out for yourself. It is absolutely amazing.

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  Reliable, Fun car - 1998 Dodge Neon
  By moneyshot - November 5 - 2:12 am

  This car has been an amazing vehicle. I have had it since new. It had a head gasket leak at 45000 miles, but the dealer took care of it for free. The sunroof broke on it 6 times. Those are the only problems I had with it. I had it in Germany with me, and spent lots of time in the governor (118 mph). I now have 120000 on it, and havent even had to replace the altenator, or anything else not mandated by the owners manual.

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  Brakes, check engine - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By BC - November 3 - 7:26 pm

  1 of only a few manual Calibers. Had to return to dealer many times 5+ for check engine light. Bad software which was a big topic in Detroit as #2 o2 sensor was slow to respond. Finally have that fixed and brake rotors are severely warped. Sorry, warranty only good to 12000 miles. Hope some aftermarket co. soon makes good rotors!