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:

• 

  Good Car - 1996 Dodge Intrepid
  By JGrigg - March 30 - 2:00 am

  Not many problems. The A/C dosent work but it isnt a problem in CT. The power windows are tempermental. Good car. Lots of road noise from windows

• 

  Miss My Dodge - 1998 Dodge Dakota
  By Brian355 - March 30 - 2:00 am

  I recently traded mine in and miss it already. It was a good truck but the extra cab wasnt quite enough. The rear bench seat is OK but not as OK as I had hoped when I bought the truck. The ride and performance are first rate for a pick-up. For the 50+ thousand miles I owned it, I only had to perform normal maintenance and replaced the tires. (The stock Goodyears really sucked.) There was only one recall during this time. If it wasnt for a growing family, I would have kept it til the doors fell off.

• 

  Very solid vault - 2002 Dodge Caravan
  By Kestrel - March 30 - 2:00 am

  Have owned other Caravans and the 2001 model is a nice leap up in quiet solidity. Ive towed a small pop up to Florida with great results. No real problems besides the pop-up throwing off the cruise control (it couldnt compensate for some reason). With 14000 on the odometer, I am still very happy. I got the cheapie Grand SE. You get all the room, the 3.3, but miss out on the power sliders and tailgate. I paid 20 even so I was willing to make the trade off. Would have liked to option to the 3.8 but of course that is only available on EX and ES.

• 

  Very reliable car and fun to drive - 1994 Dodge Spirit
  By andreas111 - March 29 - 2:00 am

  Ive owned this car for a half a year. I havent had any trouble with this car ever since I bought it. Runs about 25 mpg, which I think is good for a middle size car.

• 

  Dependable - 1997 Dodge Caravan
  By Dan O. - March 29 - 2:00 am

  After 150 000 km (90 000 miles) this has been a great vehicle with minimal and only routine maintenance. I would recommend this vehicle to anyone for the money.

• 

  My Dodge - 1997 Dodge Dakota
  By Miles - March 29 - 2:00 am

  Looks great, even got a complement on it at a tire service center today. Brakes are weak link, and had to have serpentine belt idler replaced.

• 

  front ball joints - 1997 Dodge Dakota
  By ken pittman - March 29 - 2:00 am

  love my dakota but disappointed when i had to replace all 4, upper and lowers ball joints with under 50000 miles. this was about a 500 dollar job and one i felt unnecessary because chyrsler put under size ball joints on in the first place.

• 

  Dodge Spirit - 1994 Dodge Spirit
  By np109 - March 28 - 2:00 am

  The dodge spirit is a nice family car. The seats are not comfortable for long trips. But gas wise this car uses very little gas. The paint jobs on these cars are not very good. And when exposed to the sun it will fall of . I suggest having it painted with spf 15 paint. But overall I think it is a relibal econmical car. My ratting is a 7.2

• 

  No support from Dodge - 1994 Dodge Intrepid
  By Nikki Hailey - March 28 - 2:00 am

  The paint has been coming off of my Dodge Intrepid since it was 3 years old. This car has been garage kept most of it life. I have had transmission problems, steering problems, overheating problems, and A/C problems. The hood has never stayed up by itself and the hub caps came off until they were replaced with Intrepid wheels. The A/C vents and the cup holders were a really bad design. All of this happen before it got to 100000 miles. The one good thing I can say is that at 14700 miles it is still going down the road.

• 

  I like my Durango - 1998 Dodge Durango
  By jazzdog - March 28 - 2:00 am

  15 mpg stinks, but you knew that. We tow a 19 ski boat or a loaded camper. 4X4 is great in snow or ice. Uncomfortable third seat for adults, but works for kids, folds down for cargo. Fun vehicle to drive, will buy another.