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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  Best vehicle that I have ever owned. - 1997 Dodge Avenger
  By Bandit - February 28 - 12:53 am

  The powertrain has to be the most suprising feature of this vehicle. Also, the independent rear suspension contributes greatly to the superb handling of this race inspired road rocket. The interior is almost as aggressive as the exterior, and in that regard, is just as appealing. Overall, this is the best vehicle that I have ever owned.

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  Great deal at the time! - 2000 Dodge Stratus
  By scourge - February 27 - 7:33 pm

  Bought new approximately 2.5 years ago. Just hit 50k miles. Bought because it was a better value than its competition (sonata, altima) at the time. Final year before the 2001 redesign and Dodge was offering free upgrades like the power package (power seat, windows, mirrors, etc.) and a free engine upgrade from the 2.0 to the 2.4 liter 4cyl. Had a couple power window motors and a computer module for the tranny go out, but under warranty so no prob.

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  Gts review - 2002 Dodge Viper
  By airtym - February 27 - 2:39 pm

  the best

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  Gas guzzling facade with versatility - 1998 Dodge Durango
  By EZYRACER - February 27 - 11:51 am

  For transporting a family on vacation, and for hauling cargo, -- its a dream. Its fold-down 2nd and 3rd row seats provides versatility. However its 13mpg deters it from daily driving. Its interior are well designed with kids in mine, as well as hauling 30 bags of groceries. Its got power to spare but the ride is truck-like. Dont expect it to stop in wet weather, --- otherwise its a great SUV for the money. No major mechanical defects or problem transpired during my ownership.

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  Brand New Junk - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By geri - February 27 - 11:36 am

  What an embarrassment. I really got took on this and now that I want to trade it in, I find out that its not worth anything. The seat broke, the mirror cover broke. You cant breath on the seats without staining them. I have never hated a car like I do this one and I had a Chevette once. The Chevette had more power. Need I say more?

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  A good value - 2000 Dodge Neon
  By chris - February 27 - 10:54 am

  After over 38000 miles in two years this car is still running great and a lot of people like the way it looks.

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  The good and the bad. - 1998 Dodge Durango
  By cjp - February 27 - 12:03 am

  Lots of problems with the CV Joints. To check the computer on the vehicle took five minutes, cost $86. The rotors warped in 10k, just freeway driving. Most disappointing thing about my Dodge is the Dealerships I have to deal with to get minor repairs or just regular services. 4 wheel system whether it is in "Full Time" or "Part Time" is bad in winter snow, easy to spin out on this truck.

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  poor car - 1997 Dodge Neon
  By gman - February 26 - 11:51 pm

  too many repairs to the transmission.costly repairs to the struts.poor electrical system and noisy interior.

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  The Shadow Rules the Road - 1993 Dodge Shadow
  By DrShadow - February 26 - 8:18 pm

  Seriously, how many of these do you see out there on the road. Probably a ton, yeah so the paint jobs on these are pretty worthless but they will outlive your car anyday. So far I have 146000 miles with original clutch(original d/t warranty 7yr/100K miles) and tons of other originals such as hoses and stuff. Nothing at all wrong. Seems to be fairly sound. I intend to drive it until it falls apart in about 100K more miles

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  Buy the Stick! - 2002 Dodge Neon
  By king ding-a-ling - February 26 - 7:37 pm

  If you are interested in a FUN little new car, I would suggest the Neon with the 5 speed. The only weakness with this car is the noisy engine. Handles great (tires dont squeal), good power (132HP), looks great (in silver with tint and factory 15" wheels), and is one of the rommiest in the class. Get ABS and TRAC (optional). Stock stereo is also very crisp. Been very reliable (even after accident!).