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 - 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By lili12345 - November 28 - 10:00 am

  my husband was one of those"mini vans are for women" until one day he was hunting and his truck got stuck up on the logging trail. not only was i able to pick him up, i was able to take him further. it went over huge rocks with ease and never damaged the van. he now loves the van...also it is able to keep up with a bmw z-3! love, love my van...lots of room too

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  5.7 L Hemi Midnight Blue - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By James - November 27 - 5:05 pm

  Im 38 yrs old with a family of 4. After some extensive research and looking for a good all around family car, I purchased a 2006 Dodge Charger RT with spoiler showing 46,000 km on the odometer. The Charger RT has great looks, grin smiling power, and is a great all around family car with lots of rear trunk space. The interior is simple & pleasing. Gas mileage on the highway is fairly decent as long as you keep it under 110km/h as the MDS will stay on. Highway 24-28 mpg. Its hard to keep good gas mileage though with the HEMI when you have 340hp at the mercy of your right foot. At the end of the day, this car is an amazing bang for the buck. PS. Put a K&N Cold Air Intake on!

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  i luv the dakota - 2004 Dodge Dakota
  By bravada75 - November 26 - 12:22 pm

  I have a 04 dakota quad cab 4wd i bought it with 50000 miles now i am at 80000 and it starts like new drives like new it is great i put a boss sport duty 7ft plow and the v-8 has no prob hanging with the big trucks i have a easier time in tight spots and i would recomend this truck because as a mid size truck it is a work horse better then the chevy and ford smal truck all together i love my dakota

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  Update of previous review - 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Paul Fritz - November 26 - 10:00 am

  I have had my 2010 GCSXT for 4 months and still very much enjoy it. It has the 4.0 BTW. The 30 GIG hard drive is really nice. I put the running boards on and it has really added to it. Everything still works as advertised. The pickup is really good and it is still right as a drum. I did drive it to New Port and got 27 MPG while doing around 70 all the way. I was going to get a factory nav system but ended up with a Garmin--much nicer and easier to use. Wind noise is not an issue and the seats (it has the lumbar support) were good for my trip. It was around 7 hours and I did not feel any pain in my back. Still happy I bought it.

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  LOVE MY GRANDMA CAR!!! - 1991 Dodge Dynasty
  By JoshinColorado - November 25 - 6:37 pm

  I bought my Dynasty from my Grandmother in 1998. She bought it from Budget car sales when it only had 30,000 miles on it. I bought it with 98,000 miles and as of today it currently has 200,000+ miles on it and is still running strong! I have had to rebuild the transmission but besides normal stuff that you need to repair/replace, Ive never had a problem with it. Its NEVER left me stranded anywhere and the seats are still to this day so COMFY! The seats alone are every reason to own this car! Great engine, great comfort, great design! Dodge made a big mistake getting rid of this automobile! Ill drive it until the body rusts away!!!!!! LOVE MY DODGE!!!!

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  Great Truck - 2001 Dodge Dakota
  By Slick - November 25 - 3:30 am

  My dakota quad cab is an outstanding truck. it has a lot of power backing up that loud exhaust note. its performance and exhaust note will turn heads. its a great truck that can haul 6 people in comfort. it can go from 0-60 in about 7 seconds which isnt bad for a truck. its a really comfortable truck and i enjoy driving it everyday.

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  Owners love this car. - 2009 Dodge Avenger
  By Nail - November 23 - 6:05 pm

  Have made several trips in this car and love it. Excellent looks quiet ride, great pick up, steering excellent, good solid car feel. If you read "professional" reviews you would believe they were in a different car.

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  a night out - 2009 Dodge Charger
  By got muscle? - November 23 - 12:44 pm

  i broke 12 seconds at the drag track with micky tompson drag radial tires (stock out of the box! 12.90@ 106 mph

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  Runs Like a Champ - 1999 Dodge Stratus
  By Andrew - November 23 - 12:17 pm

  This was an amazing first car. it has 140,000 miles on it and still runs great. Its about to get towed off though due to hitting a deer at 65mph, but it was still able to get me safely back home. GREAT GAS MILEAGE if you take this on the highway going 65-75 u can get 400+ miles to a full tank of gass. Other than keeping up the maintance,this car has always gotten me from point A to B. Never left me stranded or finding another way to school, work, a date, or any other venue. Almoast feels like a tank in the snow. Getting plowed in i thought it would never make it out put a slight touch on the gas and i was on my was just like that. Though im getting a newer vehcile i hate to part with it

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  Way better than old Nissan 370 - 2010 Dodge Challenger
  By George Kipper - November 23 - 5:52 am

  Man I love this car! I had a Nissan 370Z that was just plain aweful. The interior bits were falling off it daily. This new Challanger is tight. I love the outside looks compared to the bland "upside down bathtub 370" too.