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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  Great car with all the options - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By Ron Deutsch - January 16 - 1:04 am

  If youre over 6 foot tall, dont buy one. Overall, this car is an excellent choice.

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  Anything But Cute - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Tim & Gina - January 15 - 11:33 pm

  We have owned our R/T AWD for a month now & we love it. We fight over it every day. We are extremely impressed with the quality of the car & the gas mileage. We average 29mpg & have had over 32mpg at times. We drive it 120 miles round trip & the majority are highway miles. The Boston Acoustics stereo easily drowns out any new model rattles. The electronicly controlled 6 spd like CVT runs smoothly but is a little jerky when slowing down. But, we seldom need to apply the brakes as the downshifting slows the car naturally. We dont have the moonroof & it has ample headroom. 18" rims without the chrome are perfect on this car. We tinted the windows & the car looks awesome! Great car to buy!

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  A Different Wagon - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By Roy Pratt - January 15 - 5:53 pm

  After seeing the introductory annoncement on the Magnum I was pleased to see eye catching styling, but that is only exterior appeal. The real test came, after a lot of research, to the test drive. I found the advertisements to be every bit as honest as the researchers/road test folks had stated. A GREAT RIDE AND EXCEPTIIONAL PERFORMANCE!

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  More Auto-Stick Please - 2000 Dodge Stratus
  By chrisr - January 15 - 2:00 am

  Bought my ES with 25K miles, now has 71K miles. Wont blow hot air at all now, dealer says $500 to tear out dash and get to heater box. Blows cold fine, at all settings, too bad its January....am gonna trade it in for an Intrepid as I cant find a newer Stratus with Auto- Stick......where are they, I want a used one. I like my Stratus but dont want to put a $1000 into it(needs brakes now too as I put off getting pads replaced)

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  Love it! - 1999 Dodge Durango
  By Mankster - January 15 - 2:00 am

  Ive had nothing but fun with my Durango. Compared to other SUVs, it ROCKS! Too many of them lack power, styling, room, etc... Not the Durango. It has all the above. The only thing I would like improved, would be the gas milage, though its not all that bad when compared to other SUVs.

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  Give it a Chance - 2002 Dodge Durango
  By joedurango - January 15 - 2:00 am

  I am tired of hearing about how the Durango gets bad reviews in Consumer Reports. Ive had mine for 2 years and 30,000 miles and I havent had one problem. It rides like a truck, not some sissy SUV.

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  Buy the warranty and dont be shy! - 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Marty - January 14 - 10:20 pm

  Bought this vehicle because we got a great deal Dodge bring in the 2008 body change saved over $7000. From new we complained that there was excessive noise coming from the passenger side rear door, we kept being told they could not reproduce the noise. What does that mean? Finally insisted in seeing service manager to find out there is a service report out on the weather striping. Why wouldnt service have access to this? Any way also had tie-rod ends replaced at 19,000 mi and needed brakes an 20,000 dealer also LIED about needing rotors I did brakes rotors easily well in spec. Tranny is terrible, and Im sure there will be no end of trouble with this thing. Wish I had my Windstar back!

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  I Love This Car - 1995 Dodge Intrepid
  By wootfepp - January 14 - 2:00 am

  This is an excellent car, lots of power and comfort, very reliable too mine has 137000 miles on it and its still kickin hard

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  Fun little inexpensive car - 2002 Dodge Neon
  By Jwfirebird - January 14 - 2:00 am

  good car for driving alot of miles good acceleration, handling

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  michelles review - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By chellebells5 - January 13 - 10:00 am

  Excellent car to drive.