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:

• 

  Great car, needs more juice - 2003 Dodge Neon
  By Tallman - October 12 - 3:18 pm

  First off, this car is definitely worth the money, just for interior space alone. Im somewhere in the 67" to 68" range and I still fit comfortably (albeit with the seat all the way back and tilted a bit). Ive also driven it about 33,000 miles and no problems at all other than the occasional flat (weird tire size, Walmart doesnt even carry them). This cars one main drawback is its not very quick off the line, no real torque. Luckily, the Neon is a sport compact tuner car, so lots of performance parts are made to remedy this, if you have the money for em. Speakers are incredible, I dont even have the urge to switch them out. All in all, a great car for the money.

• 

  Shes a brick house! - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By BRICKCHIK - October 11 - 1:43 pm

  I love this car! Styling is on point, Dodge hit a home run with this one. I laugh at the new Mustangs, there is no comparision. Interior room is great, and handling superior. My baby came with "Charger" pinstripping applied @ dealership, gave a even more dynamic appearence to her. Not a day goes by that someone is not asking about the car. I have to get the SRT-8 as soon as possible. INSTANT CLASSIC!!!

• 

  Best truck Ive ever owned - 2000 Dodge Dakota
  By mistermopar - October 11 - 11:05 am

  Bought this truck new, traded in my Mustang for it. Turns out to have been a great decision. Not an ounce of trouble so far. Worst thing Ive ever had happen is a ticking valve lifter, but that goes away in 20 seconds or so and then it just runs perfect. Runs on low octane without pinging at all, a problem Ive had with almost every other brand Ive owned. Love the V8, but it could have more HP/torque for its size, but incredibly smooth and more of an economy engine than the 360 was (I have one of those in a 1996 Ram). I dont really know what else I could want a truck to be than this one!

• 

  Overall decent - 1998 Dodge Intrepid
  By joe - October 10 - 8:57 pm

  Fast enough to get you a hefty speeding ticket but not fast enough to outrun a police cruiser! This car is quite good if you take care of it. Yes it doesnt run like a $50000 luxury model but what did you expect? Good value for a large car. Ask around your town for opinions about local dealers, Ive had good service where Ive bought it but bad experiences with the ability of other dealerships to perform maintenance when Im out of town,

• 

  A 7 - 2005 Dodge Stratus
  By terry - October 10 - 2:16 pm

  It is a good car for a Dodge but there are several minor things that you would expect with a Dodge. The interior cup holders stink. It does handle and perform fair. But for the money there are a lot of nice things. I would definitely have gone with the Ford Fusion if it was out 2 months ago.

• 

  Love the way it handles - 2001 Dodge Durango
  By E Stewart - October 9 - 2:28 pm

  Great overall vehicle. Not too wild about the looks but it drives like a champ. Handles easy, very fun to drive, with plenty of room for everyone. Has been an extremely reliable vehicle but I hear unexplained noises from time to time. I would highly recommend vehicle.

• 

  Its a hard vehicle to love - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Connie - October 8 - 4:20 pm

  I will be honest: I find the new look of the 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan to be ugly. It looks like a box from the rear and an SUV in the front. Gas mileage is OK, cabin noise high, and the heat/AC nodules hard to operate. The front bumper cracked when I drove in single digits over the winter, cracking the bumper. Ice had stuck to the inside of the bumper and when the ice melted, it dropped, cracking the bumper. The Paint is also cheap. My one good kudo is the cargo space. I use this van for car-camps when I drive long-distance on weekends to attend road races, and crashing in the back with the seats stowed away is great. I wish I could love this vehicle, though. Its so ugly.

• 

  Run away! - 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Leaf - October 8 - 10:00 am

  Everything others have complained of in this vehicle is true. It is a roomy, well appointed money pit, with a weird psychic ability to detect when you have the least bit of spare cash and eat it. We bought ours used in 99. The mileage was not high and it looked like new. The fact that the transmission went a week later should have alerted us. Now, four years later, were stuck with a belly up loan and a constant stream of repairs. It still *looks* nice. I wish theyd put more effort into making the damn thing run.

• 

  18 again - 2017 Dodge Challenger
  By classic dennis - October 8 - 5:18 am

  its fun to drive

• 

  Good car, but some problems - 1998 Dodge Avenger
  By KatyW - October 7 - 9:56 pm

  This is essentially a great car, except for two major problems. First, the door handles break off. BOTH of my handles broke within a year of having the car! I personally know two other people who have had this happen to them, and I see other Avengers on the road with messed up handles all the time. Its not a cheap problem to fix, either ($250/door without paint!). Which brings me to the second problem: the paint. Almost every black Avenger I see is oxidized like crazy - my entire trunk is now white, and the roof isnt far behind (even though I waxed it regularly and kept it in covered parking).