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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  First &Last - 1999 Dodge Durango
  By First & Last - November 22 - 2:00 am

  First Dodge I have owned. Bought new 10/99. Summer of 2000 I discovered the airconditioning stops working on trips over 100 miles. 1st dealer both unable and unwilling to diagnose problem. Out of town dealer discovered problem was a frozen recirc switch. Fix lasted 1yr and the problem reoccured. Now with 55,000 miles wont shift out of 2nd gear and the dealer says it needs a new transmission.

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  2006 Charger R/T - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By Gene Herbert - November 21 - 3:03 am

  I have owned this car for a year and a half. It goes like the muscle cars of the 60s.The gas mileage isnt great, but , what do you expect? The car has great handling and a perfect ride, not too soft. This is a great car.

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  very excellent - 1992 Dodge Stealth
  By dodge678 - November 21 - 2:00 am

  the car is the best i had so far

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  Pretty good car - 1996 Dodge Avenger
  By mememememe - November 21 - 2:00 am

  98,000 miles so far and completely trouble free. Ive done nothing other than normal maintenance and the car has never let me down. Its fun to drive, perfect size, big trunk, still looks great.

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  Good Car - 2000 Dodge Avenger
  By Floc - November 21 - 2:00 am

  Ive had my Avenger for almost 3 years now and its been a great car. Besides a few small problems all was well with the car.

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  Loved my caravan - 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By kmfresh - November 20 - 8:05 pm

  I loved my caravan. It had everything I needed and wanted in a vehicle. It had surprisingly good gas mileage (I could make a 6 hour trip and still have over a 1/4 a tank to spare) Pros: Great seating, comfortable, smooth ride, durable, easy to drive, easy to clean and maintain both cleanliness wise and mechanically . Cons: The only bad things I have to say is I went through brakes like no other and had to get new axles at 100K miles. We also had to get a new radiator at 100K, as the one we had developed a leak and the van started to overheat.

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  Great First Car - 1991 Dodge Stealth
  By Tenny - November 20 - 2:00 am

  This car was my first car (of my own). Ive driven several other cars within the same price range, and they cant compete with this car. Its very comfortable to drive, and very forgiving. All my friends say they cant beleive I got such a good car, then I tell them the price and they are shocked, becuase they spent more on thier car, yet they wish they could have mine.

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  my rants - 1999 Dodge Neon
  By vanilla - November 20 - 2:00 am

  over all this car is very good! There have been a few things that required servicing more than once. The sunroof has caused a few concerns as well as the head gasket leaking. Both items being covered under the warranty.

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  fun fun and more fun - 2003 Dodge Stratus
  By sanad@2gss.org - November 20 - 2:00 am

  this is the one of the coolest and sweetest looking family cars out there trust me after puting my intake in that baby was even fast and boy is she fun to drive

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  Nice truck - 2002 Dodge Dakota
  By victoria - November 20 - 2:00 am

  After driving a Dodge Caravan for years, it was a little difficult to get used to the truck-like ride. However, for a truck, I think the ride is pretty good. Im concerned about the way it handles over bumps. Could use more head-room. Seat belts are hard to put on. Nice acceleration and fun to drive.