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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  Excellent Car - 2000 Dodge Intrepid
  By Dan - September 14 - 6:16 pm

  I purchased this car as my first vehicle and I absalutly love it. It has been very, very reliable and have not had any problems with it. I have owned the car for a little more than a year and it has been treating me very well. My Dodge has almost 100,000 miles and it runs like brand new. It has never leaked ANYTHING since I have had it. The gas mileage is not as bad as I thought considering that it is a big car. The turning radius is excellent and the confort if great. Its an awsome family sedan and I could not think of anything bad to say about it. The interior and interior design was well thought up and I am very satisified with my car. If they still made them I would by another.

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  Very Nice Minivan! - 2005 Dodge Caravan
  By Raul at Miami - September 14 - 1:27 pm

  The SXT Caravan its a very nice to own minivan, has lot of interior room, smooth ride, nimble handling. DVD, trip computer, a plus!!! Excellent for the family. The exterior is quite modern also. On the other hand, 14 real MPG in city and 24 in highway is not enough. Not even closer to EPA advice.

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  Electrical / Head Gasket - 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By BeeTeeFarm - September 14 - 2:00 am

  18 months old and would start and not run. After several days, dealer found short near top of engine. Dealer very good about not charging us a lot. At 5 years and 62000 miles, the head gaskets started leaking coolant into the cylinders. Dealer estimate for repairs exceeds $1000. Engine should last longer than that.

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  2004 and Water Under the Hood - 2004 Dodge Durango
  By safTman - September 14 - 2:00 am

  During the second week of ownership, I dealt with chugging and bucking of the truck and the engine light coming on. The dealership pulled out the spark plugs and found the plug ends outside of the engine to be coated with rust and the "gap" area of the plugs, in the engine, showed burn marks and other evidence of a "high temperature" condition. According to an engineer in Detroit, my Durango needs a "water management shield" that they are in the process of developing to keep water away from the top of the engine. So, I like my new vehicle, but wish I had a HEMI...

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  00 Dodge Dakota - 2000 Dodge Dakota
  By Walter - September 13 - 8:33 pm

  The Dakota with the 4.7 V8 has ample power to pull a two horse trailer, stock, but with a few minor modifications it puts close to 300 HP to the rear wheels. Be careful though on wet roads with its light rear axle weight it will easily spin the tires.

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  Awesome ride - 2005 Dodge Durango
  By scote - September 13 - 7:50 pm

  I leased an 05 Durango SLT and this vehicle surpassed all my expectations. I used to drive a 2000 Cherokee, so this was a big jump in size and payment, or so I thought. The ride is exceptionally smooth and does not handle as big as it looks. In fact, I think its easier to maneuver than my Cherokee. Fuel economy isnt the best, but which SUVs is? And with employee pricing, I’m only paying $100 more a month with nothing out of my pocket. Definitely give it a look. Only dislikes are the 4.7 seems to take a while to get going, so I wish I got the Hemi. Other than that I think it’s a great value. Was comparing it to a 4runner and I think it beats it hands down.

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  Best car ever! - 2002 Dodge Intrepid
  By Dantone82 - September 13 - 5:01 am

  This has been the best car Ive ever had. One minor glitch in Feburary 05 with a leaking water outlet housing. Other than that, I am highly satisfied with this car and would recommend it to families that need a car with a lot of room. I average 23 MPG overall and it has enough power to get me down the road. As long as maintenance is kept up and as a suggestion to all, use synthetic motor oil, this car will last your over 200,000 miles. Awesome car!

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  The best car in town - 2006 Dodge Stratus
  By dana - September 13 - 1:48 am

  This car is nice and sporty, also it is very roomy in the back and has lots of power. I would recommend this car. It has everything that any other car has except for heated seats and navigation system, but thats ok because who needs all that. I just want the speed and the look because its a sporty car and fast. It is a womans car for sure.

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  Good while it lasted - 1993 Dodge Shadow
  By bzieba - September 12 - 4:23 pm

  3rd shadow we have owned. nice car but watch out after you hit 100m plus miles, start your euology. These are what we call "throw away cars", after 10-12 years throw em in the junk yard. They will start to fall apart. Mechanically, body and hardware. Actually one is still going pretty good with 135m miles on it, the other two are done. Transmissions seem to be first, then cooling systems go haywire, and the usual minor repairs but will nickel and dime you . Gas mileage is allright, nothing to shout about though, ride is well, a ride in a small car, what do you expect. A pretty basic car, good for the high schooler or college transportation, not a family car though.

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  Wanted an SUV -- sold on this minivan - 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Hawaii Ohana - September 11 - 2:36 am

  After years of SUV ownership due to large family size, I went to trade into a new SUV with all the huge rebates and literally stumbled upon this minivan. The color (Inferno Red) caught our attention, and as the dealership was out of not only 2005 SUvs, but 2005 everythings went for a test drive. Still got an excellent price and was able to trade out of TWO cars I was "upside down" thanks to late night, weekend shopping and a hungry salesman. I cannot believe I have never owned a Chrysler product before! The fit and finish is excellent. My neighbor just laid out almost $40K for an Odyssey with no power liftgate, stow and go seats, and only leather and a DVD more than my van. I paid $22K.