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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  Poor craftsmanship - 2011 Dodge Durango
  By betseyjane - October 18 - 4:46 pm

  I was so excited to get my Durango in June 2011. Since then I have experienced odd hiccupping, like its missing, when accelerating up hills. An extremely irritating rattle in the dash. I have had to have the back of the drivers seat replaced twice because the clips that hold it on break. The review mirror had to be replaced because the night dimmer decided to just stay on all the time. The key fob does not always work. Sometimes the push button start cannot detect the key. Since most of these issues are intermittent, of course, they cannot reproduce them. At least my seat and mirror are fixed for now.

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  Do you homework first! - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By josh1189 - October 17 - 6:42 pm

  I bought my 07 Caliber SXT 2.0 CVT (Not 1.8 Manual) in April 2011 from a Chrysler/Dodge dealership with 74K miles on it. Drove great, sounded great, felt great. And it WAS a great car....for about a year. Then, thats when the sh*t hit the fan....The door panels started to rattle (probably from the awesome sound system but thats no excuse. If youre going to put in a powerful system, make the car equipped to handle it.) Then it started to jerk and putter a bit when I accelerated and make a moaning noise when I turned the wheel. Then the alternator went out at 91K miles. 6 days later, the fuel pump went out. Now, Im just waiting to see whats next. Do yourself a favor and buy Japanese.

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  A ok car - 2010 Dodge Avenger
  By dafozzy - October 14 - 10:17 am

  We bought a 2010 avenger sxt in Feb 2010. Right of the bat the A/C stop working on high. The Dealer wanted $125 just to tell me what wrong, then another $200to fix it said the part was NOT under warrenty. Then the brake light started coming on and going off. another $125 to look at and $325 to replace the parking brake switch. Now the computer is resetting its self on the climate control switch and you have to park the car pull the fuse out and put back in to reset. Just a headache from the time we bought. The transmission is very weak the motor is turning 3000-4000 rpm traveling the interstate at 70-75mph. I will never buy another Dodge Avenger!!

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  Anyone else? - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By sonya08 - September 23 - 4:44 pm

  I loved my dodge when I first bought it. I have driven it a year and 8 months and have started have some sort of problem that I do not know what is going on. I can be just driving down the road and car shuts off. Sometimes it will crank back and sometimes not. It just dies while driving down the road. Is anyone else experiencing this problem? I had to have it towed one time and the mechanic said he couldnt find anything wrong. Someone please shed some light on this for me.

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  weak towing, crappy heads - 2002 Dodge Durango
  By zcarguy73 - August 11 - 5:51 pm

  Bought my durango for 9 gs with 32000 miles. for 30000 miles no problem. Started falling apart at 60000 miles. The window regulators are constantly breaking. Had an overheating problem at 70000 miles while towing 2000 pounds (and thats a maybe). No big deal so I thought. Changed out the cooling system and still overheating. You guessed it, blown heads. I loved this car until now. Time to move on. Never again will I buy a dodge gas vehicle. Seems there diesels are the only thing worth it.

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  DONT BUY ANY YEAR INTREPID - 2002 Dodge Intrepid
  By lemon2002 - July 22 - 4:07 pm

  I have had two intrepids. My first used in 1998 was beautiful and fully loaded. It cost a fortune to have anything worked on because they put everything under the engine. First the thermostat out, water pump, belts since the engine was pulled. Got rid of it. Thinking they surely would have changed everything since the new design came out, I bought another. Fully loaded. Same darn problems as before but Im sitting here with no A/C and its 105 outside. I think that is BS when an auto company knows it has problems but doesnt fix until government forces them to. Never a Dodge ever ever again. Treat your customers with respect and dont sell something you know is wrong.

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  What a disappointment - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By lisajanern - June 29 - 5:30 pm

  Bought the 08 Avenger used with only 20,000 miles on it-what I thought was going to be a huge improvement on my old beater. At 44,000 miles out of the blue the shifter was stuck in park (yes, I put my foot on the brake!). Apparently there was a recall for this reason and I was NEVER notified. Even though it was covered under warranty AND the recall the dealership was incredibly difficult to work with. Other than that, it runs and handles well. The interior is cheaply made and it shows. Low quality plastic all around. Seats are uncomfortable, especially for long trips and blind spots are literally big enough to fit a semi truck in.

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  What was Dodge thinking - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By ortega8794 - June 28 - 2:24 am

  My god! What was dodge thinking when they decided to build this piece of crap? Lets build a car which will never get out of the shop!? Im 17, I got my Caliber as a gift from my parents at 15 been driving it for 2 years and in those 2 years Ive had to change Engine supports, Alternator (twice), battery 3 times, Tires (all four), Compressor (Twice)... And those are just the major things let alone the small things every time I take it to the shop. Ive been told its due to the sound system I have in the car but friends of mine have much bigger sound systems in civics and such cars and nothing. Ive been left out on the road twice! Car just died on me had to get a tow because it wouldnt start

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  Cant take a journey in my journey - 2011 Dodge Journey
  By no_joyride - June 26 - 5:39 pm

  Well they say when life gives you lemons you make lemonade, but thats not always as easy as said and done. I purchased my 2010 dodge journey rt. About 2 yrs ago. Since then I too have had it in the shop more than my own garage. ( it is in the shop now.) I have the problem of the random not starting. "dead battery syndrome" as they call it. I too have tried to jump the car with no luck. Then all of a sudden it will just start. Dodge also tells me they cant find anything wrong and sends me on my way. They did however on my last visit and this visit tell it needed a computer update and that should fix the problem. Well it didnt the last time so I am not holding my breath this time.

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  Disappointed!!! - 2012 Dodge Journey
  By azme44 - June 26 - 10:55 am

  I purchaced my 2012 Journey in April. A little over a week later it (transmission) began shuttering/jerking when upshifting or downshifting. I took it to one dealership and they said that they "reset the computer chip because it was off" and that was suppose to fix the problem. It DID NOT!! I took it in to a different dealership and took the service director/ex-master tech for a test drive and he told me that there was nothing he could do. He said that the transmission shuttering/jerking is normal for the transmissions in the Journeys and that most people dont notice it until about 3000-3500 miles... WHAT!!!!!! How can that possibly be NORMAL for ANY vehicle.