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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  Its had its problems... - 1998 Dodge Neon
  By neon1998c - May 31 - 6:49 pm

  My 1998 Dodge Neon has had belt issues where the water pump locked up and the timing belt jumped. Then a month later the serpentine belt shredded completely and had to be replaced as well. The car rattles a lot when I drive it, and shakes bad when it idles. My Neon doesnt have much power to it either. Its got bad acceleration, (it doesnt pick up speed quickly). Also my dome light and my shifter light dont work, (I changed the dome light and yes have checked the fuses and light switch, I dont know how to change the shifter light.) Over all, I wish I had a different car, or a better Neon :(

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  Good car - 2003 Dodge Durango
  By cincykayaker - May 31 - 3:13 pm

  I got screwed by the dealership... The sold me a demo saying they were going to discount it $2k and then they secretly added it back in and smooth-talked me into believing they were honest until I went home and double checked the math. But this car has been reliable as hell even though it has been a gas hog. I blame the dealership and Dodge Headquarters for not responding to my complaint... but the vehicle itself is not to blame.

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  Better Than You Think - 2011 Dodge Avenger
  By georgecavalier - May 30 - 10:18 am

  Bought in Heat trim with the 3.6 Pentastar V6... Edmunds wouldnt let me choose that for a trim. MSRP was close to $26K but I got it for just above $18K. Car has plenty of power, my only gripe with performance is the economy-minded transmission. Its quick to get to high gear and sometimes needs a stab of the gas to shift down. Otherwise, a fun car to drive that never feels underpowered. I get around mid-20s MPG but probably could do better if I kept my foot off the gas pedal. Smaller than a lot of midsizers nowadays but theres more room than youd expect. Nobody feels crampt. The cabin for 11 is much nicer with plenty of high quality materials. Rides smoothly and theres little noise.

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  do not buy this car - 1999 Dodge Intrepid
  By knight1988 - May 25 - 10:11 pm

  I am a 21 year old. This is by far the worst car I have ever owned. The first year was okay, Purchase car 4/11/08 from 2 owner WITH 94K. Motor start go BAD 104K AND TRANS TOO ON 5\23\11. Also the power window motor went out 3 time. Water pump went bad too. service and change oil and fluids every 1500 miles. First, the car started burning oil too fast. I was putting about 3 quarts of oil in it every weeks. Daimler-Chrysler should be ashamed of this 2.7L engine. i will never buy dodge again

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  Daytona ES - 1991 Dodge Daytona
  By rams73 - May 22 - 10:37 pm

  I own a 91 Daytona ES that I just drove back from NM back to Denver. It just turned over 147k. This car has been in the family since it was new on the show room floor so I know the history of the car. I have taken excellent care of it and love the way it looks and drives on the interstate. Ive had to replace the fuel pump after 20 years just replaced the rack and pinion clutch timing belt brakes and regular maintenance to the vehicle. I would like to enhance the power and suspension and fix it all up, but my brother tells me "You cant polish a turd"! (Rude) The interior and exterior are in excellent shape aside from the front fender from hitting and killing a dear.

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  Takes a licking - 2003 Dodge Neon
  By khowicz - May 22 - 7:21 am

  I bought my 03 brand new in January 04 with 300 miles on it. I was 22 and drove it hard...and drove it everywhere. This car has been on many road trips all over the US, I did not keep up with the scheduled maintenance, aside from oil changes, Ive been in a couple accidents, and I still have had no major problems that I didnt cause myself. It has almost 200,000 miles on it now. After 7 years, Ive only had to replace tie rods and the struts, and I am now having some suspension issues, which I need to get checked out..... but like I said, I was not careful with it at all for a couple years. If you need a reliable car that gets good mpg, then I would suggest a neon!

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  Very Good Car - 1999 Dodge Stratus
  By vannp - May 20 - 2:26 am

  Got this car in 04 with 40k miles on it, replaced the brakelight switch, starter, water pump, drivers window motor & front brakes several times, rear brakes once, very comfortable car with good gas mileage, still running strong at 122k, going to buy another one for my daughter tomorrow.

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  2011 Dodge Nitro 4x2 Detonator - 2011 Dodge Nitro
  By duckettsteven - May 19 - 5:11 pm

  Amazing SUV!! Handles and dries great, very quiet comfortable cab. Its a head turner. Nothing but compliments from other people. I average about 19-22 MPG but i have added a cold air intake by mopar for more horsepower and better gas mileage. Tank usually lasts me about 350 miles. My children luv it. Car is more than worth the $$.

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  2011 Dogde Avenger LUX - 2011 Dodge Avenger
  By krs4 - May 19 - 3:37 pm

  Black Pearl Coat Leather Interior Fully Loaded I looked at the Ford Fusion, Nissan Altima and the Honda Accord. If you want to stand out and have a car that is fun to drive. Buy the Dodge Avenger. I love this car! It looks so good compared to the above mentioned competitors. It is so fast with the 283 HP engine. Highway MPG is respectable and City is good too. The features this LUX version has are incredible. The UConnect system compares will with the Ford Sync system. It even does some things Sync cannot. The build in 30 GB HDD is so great. I have never written a review on-line before but I had to tell people to look at this car. It is my pride and joy! It is a little muscle car!

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  Dodge Journey United Kingdom - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By miffed3 - May 19 - 8:09 am

  I bought my Dodge journey SXT CRD AUTO in May 2009 7000 miles on the clock, went in for service @ 20000. The result being new brake pads on front and 1 new tyre. Three months later another new tyre. In Feb this year car was juddering on take off so took it to the dealer they ran the computer on the car and told me to pick the car up as it was now running perfectly.Needless to say there was no difference in the running of the car. Was told to bring the car back to workshop on the 16 Feb.on the way the gearbox intermittently lost its drive so the car limped into the workshop. Was told it needed a new gearbox and it would be a week {Chrysler supplied a hire car} it is now 21st May & lots of phone calls to garage,{none from them to me}lots of phone calls from Chrysler customer service, have had three delivery dates from them for this gearbox to arrive but still hasn’t infact Chrysler customer service told me he was going to stop ringing me with updates as it was clearly upsetting me…….Who wouldn’t be upset ive owned this car for 2 years now but its only been in my drive for 21 months and in the workshop for 3 months.The Garage who sold me this car is based on Mereyside United Kingdom & said under no circumstances would they consider a buy back. Will keep posting on here and other forums as and when things begin to happen.